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Macbook resolution set at 2560 x 1600 somehow?

This might be a really stupid question (apologies if so), but here I go. I've just got a 2015 Macbook, which has a 2304x1440 Retina display. However, when I take a full-screen screenshot, the image is 2560x1600. Also, when I open a 2304x1440 image in Photoshop and display it at 100%, there is a border around the image. Same happens if I set a 2304x1440 image as my wallpaper (using 'centre' setting). If I open a 2560x1600 image at 100%, it perfectly fills the screen, same happens when I set a 2560x1600 image as my wallpaper.


Therefore, it's as if my Mac thinks that it's a 2560x1600 display or something, but if I go to System Report -> Graphics/Displays it shows the resolution as 2304x1440. Apologies if this is completely normal and I'm just not understanding something completely simple, I'm just worried that images or text might not be as sharp as they should be, due to the graphics card thinking the native resolution is something else. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Posted on Dec 14, 2017 2:29 PM

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4 replies

Dec 15, 2017 1:57 AM in response to Lanny

Hi, thanks anyway but it's definitely a Macbook. If I click "About this Mac" it says "Macbook (Retina, 12" Early 2015)". And like I said, in the Display area of the System Report it shows the display as 2304x1440. So, on some level it knows that it's a 2304x1440 display. But on another level it's behaving as if it's a 2560x1600 display. I'm quite knowledgeable about computers and macs, but this is my first Retina machine, so I wasn't sure if it behaved differently in some way that I'm not accustomed to. It's as if there's some sort of 'retina display driver' in MacOS that covers all the Retina display groups, and it's selected the wrong one for some reason. Do other 12" Macbook users take a full-screen screenshot and it comes out as 2304x1440?

Dec 15, 2017 4:35 AM in response to leeuk321

Just to give an update, I've contacted Apple Support, we went through all the settings, did an SMC reset, NVRAM reset and OS reinstall, without any luck. Could someone who owns a 12" retina MacBook please confirm that what I'm experiencing isn't normal behaviour? I'm at a loss, so all I can think is that it's either normal behaviour or it's some stupid setting that I've got wrong. A software issue would surely have been ironed out by now, and it doesn't seem like it'd be a hardware issue. Or, maybe it's a problem with the graphics card hardware or firmware? I'm pulling my hair out with it, any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!

Macbook resolution set at 2560 x 1600 somehow?

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