Display scaling isn't available on Macbook Air but is for Macbook Pro?

CONCEDE wrote:

Just the one single external display. exact same display, same TB4 cable, etc. and I get different resolution options depending on if i'm connecting it to my M3 MBP or M3 MBA.

So is the actual resolution of the display 5120 x 2160? (For an ultra wide monitor with an aspect ratio of 2.37:1?)

And you were trying to run it at Retina "like 3840 x 1620" and "like 3072 x 1296" settings? That would imply that the internal canvas resolutions were 7680 x 3240 and 6144 x 2592, and I believe those are the resolutions which would count for determining whether you had run into the display support limits of the machine.

• Apple 27" 5K Studio Display = 5120x2880 = 14,745,600 pixels
• Apple 32" 6K Pro Display XDR = 6016x3384 = 20,358,144 pixels
• 7680x3240 canvas for "like 3840x1620" = 24,883,200 pixels
• 6144x2592 canvas for "like 3072x1296" = 15,295,248 pixels

The M3 MacBook Air supports "one external display with resolution up to 6K" … and, when the lid is closed, can drive "a second external display with up to 5K resolution." You say that there's just one external display – so I'd think that the 6K limit would apply.

But the internal canvas for Retina "like 3840x1620" mode would have about 22% more pixels than the number of pixels on a 6K display (or the number of pixels needed to support Retina "like 3008x1692" mode for said display).

My Mac offers me the option to run a 4K display in Retina "like 3360 x 1890" mode, where the internal canvas has 25,401,600 (6720 x 3780) pixels, which is even more than you'd need for Retina "like 3840x1620" mode. But my Mac has a M1 Max chip that is theoretically capable of driving up to five displays, compared to the two (total) of a base M3 chip.

What chip is in the MacBook Pro that is offering the Retina "like 3840x1620" option? You implied that both of your notebooks are "M3 devices" – but is the chip in the MacBook Pro a M3 chip, a M3 Pro chip, or a M3 Max chip? As you go "up the line" within any particular Apple Silicon chip generation, you get more of various things – including video support. Maybe when you're trying to process more pixels than an actual 6K display has, higher-end chips have some (unadvertised) ability to do that, and base chips don't.

In the version of Ventura that I'm running, Displays Settings can show available "resolutions" either in "Larger Text … More Space" format, or as a list. Going into the "Advanced…" options lets you choose which view to use.

I'm guessing that you went into the "Advanced…" options on the MacBook Air at one time, and asked to see choices as a list, and that you can go in there and switch the preference back.

CONCEDE wrote:

I'm not talking about the laptop display. I'm talking about an external display.

Whether you get Retina scaling options for an external display may depend on the resolution of the display.

I'm not sure if you will see those options for anything with a resolution of less than UHD 4K (3840x2160 pixels).

CONCEDE wrote:

Yes, correct. MBP is M3 Max.

MBA is the higher config M3 chip.

If you talk to Apple Support again, or if you provide feedback to Apple at Product Feedback - Apple, you might want to mention the SoC difference, and point them to this thread.

I'm thinking that the SoC is likely to be the key, and that if your MacBook Pro had been one with a base M3 chip, you might be running into limits similar to those that you encountered with the M3 MacBook Air.

Note that the 14" M3 MacBook Pro has pixels that are packed together more tightly than the pixels on the 13" and 15" MacBook Airs.

Is this the only external display that you have connected?

Or is it a second display that you are connecting when you close the M3 MacBook Air's lid?