How to Increase the Menu Bar Icon Size in Big Sur

the problem with changing the font size is that it changes it EVERYWHERE! Apple, this is a bad design decision. If you want an itty bitty menu bar, fine, but give a way to increase JUST the menu bar size. Remember your claims about supporting accessibility? Well, you have failed big time on this decision.

I agree that the menu bar changed to a small icon and font size, despite the other poster's (RizwanRzaKhan) assertion. The menu bar cannot be changed independently of the rest of the text. Apple one step forward and two steps backward.

rizwana khan Said:

"How to Increase the Menu Bar Icon Size in Big Sur: Hello, Recently i have updated my Macbook Pro "15 to MacOS Big Sur. I just noticed icon size in the menu bar is so small as compare to recent MacOS Catalina. I use glasses while using my 15 inch Macbook but these icons looks very small to me. Is there any way to increase the size of menu bar icons? Thank you"

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Provide your Feedback:

Do your Part: Inform Apple of your feedback of this issue. Include how you’ve troubleshot this, and your results. Apple wont get back to you directly, but the more feedback they receive from its users, the more likely they will know what needs to be fixed, and what their customers prefer in updates, and future macOS versions to come.

1. Go Here: Feedback - macOS - Apple
2. Select: "Feature Request" for the "Feedback Type"
3. Select: "User Interface" for the "Feedback Area"
4. Proceed from there as necessary

DCApple_Guy Said:

"I found that adjusting the contrast helped, but the font size did not change. I’d also add that I think the new Mail interface is just plain ugly, insufficiently hierarchical graphically, and less user-friendly. Many of us buy Macs because we appreciate good design. This is terrible design."

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Provide your Feedback:

Do your Part: Provide Apple of your feedback of this. Apple wont get back to you directly, but the more feedback they receive from its users, the more likely they will know what needs to be fixed, and what their customers prefer in updates, and future macOS versions to come.

1. Go Here: Feedback - macOS - Apple
2. Select: "Feature Request" for the "Feedback Type"
3. Select: "User Interface" for the "Feedback Area"
4. Proceed from there as necessary

It's a bummer you cannot change the menu words and icons separately. But I'll take it for now, changing the Display size for all. Hopefully one day Apple will give users the options to increase and decrease items separately.

thanks all for the answers. For me changing the display scaling is not an answer because, as I said above, it changes ALL font display and makes it way too large for everything except the menu bar. Apple made a big mistake on this one and needs to correct it. Now, where did I put that article about switching to Ubuntu?

I have the exact same problem. The text size on the desktop menu bar is far too small and none of the available adjustments change the menu bar only. I do not want larger icons on the desktop, only larger text on the menu bar. I hope Apple lets us know of a remedy as nothing else is working.

Do not put too much hope into Apple increasing it. It has to do with resolutions > individual pixel sizes. There is a reason Apple displays are drop dead crisp/clear/gorgeous: the resolutions are made up of tiny pixels. They cannot change the pixel size for one part of the screen only - it is impossible. It is either all or none.

Apple has always embraced minimalism.

Look at it this way: a screen resolution of, say 1600 x 1000 means there are 1600 pixels horizontally - if the resolution is 3000 pixels wide, then there are 3,000 of them in the very same space. Makes for a beautiful display, but individual letter (fonts) are made up of, say 12 pixels - on a 3,000 pixel screen, that makes the letters or images tiny.

This debate has been going on for years. Increase what you can: in Finder, you can adjust the minimum font size on the screen or in Finder windows. You can also adjust it within apps, but the menu bar is part of the OS installation and there isn't anything you can do unless you can find an adjustment withint the Accessibility options.

I found that adjusting the contrast helped, but the font size did not change. I’d also add that I think the new Mail interface is just plain ugly, insufficiently hierarchical graphically, and less user-friendly. Many of us buy Macs because we appreciate good design. This is terrible design.

Frankly, feedback will be a waste of time. This has been requested many times for at least 20 years - Apple still embraces the same design process, tiny pixels for crisp displays. As you probably noticed, enlarging the pixel size on the display will result in a fuzzier display.

As for font size, many apps allow you to adjust the font within the app - look at the preference settings for each app. And, in Finder, you can adjust the font size as well - go to Finder > View > View Options > adjust the font and the icon size. That will not do anything for the menu bar though.

That will also not do anything to the horrible waste of screen real-estate that is the Finder Toolbar. Whoever did that monstrosity should be fired. Especially awful when it's switched to "text only".

True UX blunder to behold!

Obviously you have not done what you recommend or you don't understand what you wrote " It also increases the size of all text on the desktop." By using the scaling feature EVERYTHING is scaled larger. How stupid. BUT for the dock icons there is a separate adjustment that impacts only the dock icons - so if Apple cared they would make the do the same for the menu bar.

I apologize if you felt the term stupid referred to you - it was aimed at Apple. But at age 77 and perhaps not matching your IQ exactly I have been using Apple since the Apple IIe and I know what can be done when Apple wants to do it. So this older person would prefer to be able to enlarge that portion of the screen that is beneficial to me and that ability is widely available except for the menu bar. The point being that it can be done and should be, in my opinion.

RizwanRzaKhan wrote:

There are two option "Default" and "Large" but nothing changed in the menu bar.

>System Preferences>Displays>Scaled>Larger