Macbook Pro 15" High-Resolution Display

Hardware.
Completely different LCD panel.

Are there any disadvantages to getting the high resolution display on the 15" MacBook Pro? Any possibility of compatibility issues? Would the text size and icons, etc., appear smaller on a high resolution display? Are there any good reasons (other than cost) to NOT get the high resolution display on a 15" MacBook Pro? Thanks for any information or advice regarding this.

Text and icons will appear smaller on a screen with more pixels the same physical size. But Apple screens tend to be very high quality and extremely readable.

I'm leaning toward the high-res screen. I went to the store yesterday and compared the 17" regular screen to the 17" high-res screen, and found the high-res screen to be quite readable. I wonder how the resale potential of the high-res screen compares to the stock screen.

Chris, the 17" MBP only comes with a glossy and anti-glare screen of the same resolutions. Did you mean comparing the standard 15" MBP display to the 17" MBP?

lenn

Sorry. I meant that I set one machine to 1680 x 1050 and put it next to another 17 incher. I figured the differences in menu size, text size, etc. would approximate the relationship between the standard 15" and the high-res 15".

I liked the high-res display, but as I'm 49 years old I will probably stick with the regular 15" resolution.

I've had a MBP 15" with the 1440x900 matte display for about 1 1/2 years. Love it. Very readable for everything and movies look great too. Enjoy your new MBP Chris!

lenn

I went to the Apple store hoping to compare the new hi-res 15" to the 1440 x 900. They said the only way to get the hi-res option was to buy it online. I'm afraid that things will be so small that they will be unreadable (for me). Is there anywhere online that has side by side photos showing the difference?

I had the same problem! I went to my Apple store last night and they flat out told me they will not carry i7 and they have to be ordered online! So this morning I ordered my high res i7 7200rpm MBP!!!!! WOOT!

Gregory: You can see exactly what the difference in menu fonts' (and other GUI elements') size will be using your present machine by doing the following:

1. Display a typical/representative set of windows and stuff, including the smallest fonts you normally read, on your present 1440 x 900 MBP display.

2. Take a screenshot of it by pressing Command Shift3.

2. Open the screenshot in Preview by double-clicking it.

3. Print the screenshot, using the following settings in the Print dialog box:

Paper size: whatever your printer can handle
Orientation: horizontal
Center image: not checked
Scale: 100% (do not check Scale to Fit).
If your printer offers a choices of resolutions or qualities, choose the highest.

This should result in a printout in which the fonts and graphic elements are the same size as those displayed on your screen. Verify this.

4. Change the scale to 85.7% and print again, leaving the other settings the same.

This will produce a printout that, if your first one matched what's displayed on your screen, will match what you'd see on the higher-resolution 1680 x 1050 display.

Compare the two printouts.

Eww, thats quite the procedure just to compare the difference. And comparing the difference on paper is different then on screen. Heres a better idea:

Take a screenshot using the CMD + SHIFT + 3 method.

Use a graphics editing program like Photoshop, or here are some free ones if you need a program: http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/top-5-alternatives-to-photoshop-for-mac-users/

Crate a new image with the size of 1680 x 1050.

Now copy/paste or import your screenshot which has a size of 1440 x 900.

You will then see the difference in size. (the "border" around the picture will be the extra space you will be getting.

If you want to see how fonts will look, save this image as a PNG, and then view it full screen.

The 1680 x 1050 picture will "scale to fit" down to the 1440 x 900 screen and you will see the difference in text size.

Hope this helps!

-Scott

Scott: Of course looking at a printout is different from looking at an LCD, but it was the sizes of the elements that were the subject of the inquiry, and my method is considerably simpler and clearer than the one you suggest.

Using the above procedure confirmed my apprehensions that the new HD display would make system and image processing software fonts extremely difficult to read. This is a shame as the antiglare display is only available at this display resolution for the 15" MBP, and it is the only type of display that I would use for processing images.

Ralph Eisenberg wrote:
Using the above procedure confirmed my apprehensions that the new HD display would make system and image processing software fonts extremely difficult to read. This is a shame as the antiglare display is only available at this display resolution for the 15" MBP, and it is the only type of display that I would use for processing images.

you can always set the antiglare display back to 1440x900

However, any LCD display that is set at a resolution lower than its maximum will look noticeably blurry. All LCDs are sharpest at their native resolutions.