Why am I only getting 3840 x 2160 resection on my brand new studio display when connected to my iMac (Retina 5k, 27-inch, 2019)? I should be able to get 5k resolution.
Studio Display
Try holding the option key when you click on Scaled.
Try holding the option key when you click on Scaled.
You may have already checked this but I'll mention it anyway.
In Display Settings is the resolution set to Default for the Display? I ask this because on my M1 iMac the default resolution for the built in display isn't the highest resolution and I have to click on Scaled to change to the highest resolution.
This may not be the same on the Studio Display though (I haven't got one to check)
Have you looked at the resolutions in safe mode? And trying after resetting the SMC?
File a report here Feedback - Displays - Apple… good luck!
I have experimented with that a little, and what I find does not seem right to me. When I choose scaled, I am not offered choices in resolution. Rather it offers me choices between Larger and Smaller text, which is guess is supposed to be simpler, but I find infantilizing and really annoying. When you hover the mouse over the options resolutions pop up, but the highest one is 3360 x 1890 as shown in the attached image. That number is still a lot smaller than the 5120 x 2880 spec for the display, and when I choose it, it actually seems a lot higher--meaning it makes everything smaller than what I see on my iMac's monitor. None of this makes any sense to me. Why do the display settings not let me chose between actual resolutions, and why is the 5k resolution of the monitor not an option. I have my iMac and my Studio Display side-by-side, and there should be a setting that makes them equivalent in size since they are supposed to be the same resolution displays.
Thank you! That very simple tip gave me a menu with the options in numerical resolutions. I was surprised to discover that the 5120 x 2880 that I expected to find was not an option. It maxes out at 3840 x 2160. But I was also surprised to discover that my iMac, which does go up to 5120 x 2880, has always been set to 2560 x 1440, which was also an option for my new Studio Display, and so that is the resolution I chose. The two displays now match in scale and I am happy. But I am still curious why my 5k Studio Display doesn't offer 5120 x 2880 as an option. It turns out I wouldn't use it if even if it were an option, so my question is now academic. But thank you very much for the help.
You're welcome. To answer your question, as you found out, a 27" screen at 5120 x 2880 is much to small for humans to read. 😎
+1. You need eyes like an Eagle to use the 5k setting.
Only getting 3840 x 2160 resolution on my brand new studio display
