MacBook Air screen resolutions and readability
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
I haven’t gone to see the new MacBook Airs at the Apple store yet, I will tomorrow, but this article is stating what I feared on reading the technical specs of both the 11″ model and the 13″ model: The screen resolution is so high that they’ve shrunk everything making it difficult to read.
On a 11″ MacBook Air, a 72-pixel line—which would measure 1 inch long against an onscreen ruler—is just 0.53 physical inches long. On a 21.5″ iMac, that same line is 0.70 inches long. User interface items, like buttons, menu items, and scroll bars are 30% bigger on the iMac than on the Air.
I’ll look at both the two Air screens, a MacBook screen, an iPad screen and an iMac screen. Readability is important to me, even knowing that I can increase the size of text on a browser. I like to keep text size as the web designer set it so that all elements look right next to one another.
I have to say, readability trumps having a hardware keyboard.
[via Daring Fireball]
Very important point. I have sometimes problems reading the text on the screen in my 13″ MacBook. For me, as having epilepsy, all additional stress caused by poor visibility could be a bad thing.
jonne: I didn’t know you had epilepsy, you have it managed very well it seems. Given my dyslexia and aging eyes dot pitch is important to me. Depending on time of day, I need my reading glasses to text on the iPhone4′s high resolution screen. I wasn’t happy when the only way to get a matte screen on a 15″ MacBook Pro was to get a screen with an increase in resolution (increase in dot pitch).
I’ve become accustomed to 72 dots per inch and when there are 72 dots in less than an inch I’m straining. Amazingly, more than any other consideration, this may be my #1 consideration in buying a new computer or device like an iPad or MacBook Air.
I think it’s a problem that Apple is doing this, not a good thing. As you know, one can always decrease resolution but using a screen and video system in its native resolution yields cleaner results so I’d rather buy the computer/screen that I can use in its native mode if possible.
I hope to sort some of this out today at an Apple store. I’ll be in New York tomorrow at a photo show and will get to another Apple store with a friend and that will help sort it as well.
Getting old… sucks.
I have the very same concerns. As I’ve aged, my vision isn’t what it once was, and I find my self growing more and more nearsighted.
While I am lucky enough to already own a 13″ MBP/ipad combo, the new MBAs are so alluring that i am considering replacing my MBP for the weight savings on business trips.
I was disappointed to read that they had bumped the resolution on the 13″ to 1440×900 and have my doubts about it working for me but I guess we will see when I get time to swing by the apple store tomorrow afternoon.
I look forward to seeing your impression Richard.
Richard,
I may missed this in an earlier post, but if you go with the iPad, will you use a wireless keyboard when you write a bunch? (and have the Pad in a dock).
Sandy, I don’t like that solution, preferring an attached keyboard. Think plane…