Blurry Text Issue Solved (well sort of)

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Level 1

5 points

Blurry Text Issue Solved (well sort of)

I recently purchased a new 21.5" iMac and have been having issues with the text appearing blurry in certain applications and programs. Most notably in Gmail on both the Chrome and Safari browsers. After researching this forum and online it turns out this is a very common problem with Apple users. One thing I noticed is there was a lot of feedback from people who didn't have the issue telling people maybe it was only their computer or maybe they needed glasses. After much research it turns out in fact there is an issue with the way Apple computers render their fonts. People who come from the PC world are used to seeing perfectly crisp fonts and have a problem adjusting to the hazy blur on Apple computers. However people who have only ever been on Apple computers don't notice the difference as much, sometimes not at all. Apple is aware of the problem and is working on fixing it with their new retina display which solves it perfectly. Unfortunately as of now the new retina display is only available on two laptops and not on any desktops. But if you are having a blurry text issue go into an Apple store and sign into your Gmail on a laptop that has the retina display and you will see a huge difference. The text looks absolutely perfect. Unfortunately for now it looks like the blurry text is just something you have to live with and learn to adjust to if you don't have the retina display laptops. Our hope is that our iMac turns out to be as cool as our iPhones and iPads and that we learn to love it, imperfections and all.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 26, 2013 7:29 AM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jan 26, 2013 9:38 PM in response to AppleJS

Hi, thanks for the post, but I run Widnows also on my old 2007 iMac, no diff in Font clarity, & no problem in OSX 10.5.8 to 10.8.3 without Retina... could there be a setting you're missing?

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Answer 2

AppleJS Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 28, 2013 7:41 AM in response to BDAqua

I don't think it's anything with the settings. I tried a bunch of different setting variations to try and solve it and after that didn't work I went to investigate at the Apple store itself. It was at the store where I compared the font issue with my own computer to make sure it wasn't something with my own computer. If you visit a store you can test the situation out on their computers with the regular screen vs. the retina. Just sign into Gmail on Safari for example on each computer and you will see there is clear difference.

The one thing I have not tried is a work around that was suggested in an earlier post that involves changing the system registry. I would have no idea how to do that though and wouldn't want to risk ruining my computer over it.

I'm still surprised Apple doesn't have a way of solving this to be honest. With so much attention given to detail and design it's a shame that something as basic as font crispness can't be solved.

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Answer 3

AppleJS Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 28, 2013 7:43 AM in response to BDAqua

PS: Here is a screenshot of the blurry text on an open application just to show you an example that the issue isn't just within the web browser and Gmail, but also on some application programs, etc.

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Jan 28, 2013 12:34 PM in response to AppleJS

Hmmm, my vision isn't all that good, but the screenshot looks decent here, can you view that screenshot in Windows & see how it looks?

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Answer 5

AppleJS Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 29, 2013 9:15 AM in response to BDAqua

Hi BD - I think you saying that you think that screenshot above looks OK is where the disconnect is. Text just doesn't look like that on a PC, it's much much cleaner. Next time you're in an Apple store have a look at the retina displays and check out the difference in Gmail for example - it's really noticeable.

I'm attaching an image of how clear the text looks on the Firefox browser download page. I pulled this page up on my iMac in Chrome and it looks great. This is how clear the text normally reads on a PC and also on the retina displays on Apple. I wonder why Apple can't get this kind of clarity with all text on all of its units? Oh well it is what it is.