I'll start by saying that this "hack" is not for everyone. It is certainly not elegant, and for people who need to move their laptops around often it might not be practical. But, if you have an older Unibody MacBook Pro and feel like it has plenty of life left in it, then read on. Also, if you're short on time, feel free to skip the Background section below.
Background
I love the design of the unibody MacBooks. My first Mac was a 2009 13" MacBook (Polycarbonate). I bought it refurbished from the online Apple Store after lusting for it for months. I quickly fell in love with it but the aluminum Pro proved to be too much of a temptation and eventually I bought a refurbished 2010 13" (also from the online Apple Store). I used the MacBook Pro for over 4 years while attending university. I carried the thing everywhere. It was a pleasure to use. I particularly enjoyed the keyboard (plenty of key travel), the ports (plenty to choose from) and the upgradeability. Over time I added another 4GB of memory and installed an ssd. The one thing I always wanted to upgrade but figured it wouldn't be possible was the screen. My desire to upgrade the screen really took hold after the MBP retinas were released. After experiencing the hi-dpi of those gorgeous screens, it was hard to go back. Again I couldn't resist the temptation and eventually bit the bullet and bought a brand new, late 2014 13" MBP. While at first I really liked the machine, and the increase in performance was very noticeable, I never quite got used to the keyboard which had slightly less key travel and at least to me felt a bit flat (I know, the butterfly keyboards introduced later were infinitely worse...). There is just something with the Unibody MBP keyboards that I've only experienced with Apple's own (now discontinued) A1243 keyboards.
But back to the screen...
I remember doing some research back then about screen upgrades for the 2010 MBP and it just wasn't possible. Even today, there's not much on the internet. I guess part of it has to do with the use of proprietary technology by Apple which makes it difficult to mod the hardware. Or... there just isn't much interest in modding these already perfectly designed machines. In any event, while not the mod I originally would have wanted, by chance I discovered an alternative which gets me 80% there..
If you're not aware, it seems like 2022 is the year of the 16:10 aspect ratio resurgence. Almost every laptop manufacturer out there is offering 16:10 laptops. I believe all of Lenovo's Thinkpads have transitioned or will transition from 16:9 to 16:10. The benefits of a 16:10 aspect ratio in laptops has been widely discussed in forums. Mainly, it provides additional vertical space which is great for spreadsheets as well as browsing the web. Apple laptops have for a long time used this screen aspect ratio (with the exception of the 11" MacBook Air which used 16:9). Apple also introduced a 16" sized screen with the slightly redesigned 2019 MacBook Pro. I will not say that other manufacturers are following Apple, but suspiciously, the number of 16" screen laptop offerings has grown exponentially since. There are now also a few 16", 16:10 aspect ratio portable monitors available in the market as well, which brings me to the "hack".
The Hack
I purchased a 2560x1600 16" portable monitor recently from Amazon for $139.99. Initially I bought it to use as a second display for my late 2013 15" MBP when working remotely. The remote server in my company can be very finicky if the guest computer uses multiple screens with mismatched resolutions. I had to test various configurations (MacOs vs. Windows, multiple resolutions) to ensure things worked well without the server freezing on me when moving spreadsheets from one screen to the other. During this process, I used SwitchResX to get more control of the different display resolutions. I also used Lunar, a fantastic app that allows you to control the brightness, contrast and other settings of an external monitor, all from your keyboard just the same as with the built-in display. Having achieved success with the setup, I then thought why not experiment with an older 2010 15" MBP I had laying around. Could it even handle the external display without the fans ramping up to jet-like proportions? To my surprise, not only did it worked perfectly, but also I realized I could rest the portable monitor on the MBP's display and it almost sat flush (I am including a couple of pictures which will hopefully do a better job at explaining this). Then, using SwitchResX I was able to disable the built-in display as well as reduce the screen brightness of the built-in display. Also with SwitchResX, I selected the 1280x800 hi-dpi resolution for the portable monitor and Voilà!! retina display!!.
A few things to consider...
This setup works best if you treat your MBP as a desktop replacement. My 2010 15" is already 5.5 lbs on its own, and the external monitor adds at least another pound to it. Also, the quality of these portable monitors can be a hit or miss. I had to return the first one I purchased because it had a strong magenta hue which was impossible to correct through calibration. The second monitor turned out perfect. The portable monitor requires power, so a usb port is sacrificed. Lastly, the highest available hi-dpi resolution (at least in Mojave) is 1280x800 which can feel a bit like everything renders too large. I find this not too bothersome, and in fact I've been able to correct it in several scenarios (i.e. set Safari to render all websites at 85%, or change the size of fonts in Finder).
All in all, there's nothing special about this setup in terms of complexity. It might be even considered an inelegant solution. However, I find that it has given my old 2010 MBP almost a new lease on life. I can imagine the setup would work even better with a 2012 15" Unibody MBP, which are much more powerful than this machine. If nothing else, you end up with a portable monitor which can be used as a second display, definitely handy in an era of remote work..
Background
I love the design of the unibody MacBooks. My first Mac was a 2009 13" MacBook (Polycarbonate). I bought it refurbished from the online Apple Store after lusting for it for months. I quickly fell in love with it but the aluminum Pro proved to be too much of a temptation and eventually I bought a refurbished 2010 13" (also from the online Apple Store). I used the MacBook Pro for over 4 years while attending university. I carried the thing everywhere. It was a pleasure to use. I particularly enjoyed the keyboard (plenty of key travel), the ports (plenty to choose from) and the upgradeability. Over time I added another 4GB of memory and installed an ssd. The one thing I always wanted to upgrade but figured it wouldn't be possible was the screen. My desire to upgrade the screen really took hold after the MBP retinas were released. After experiencing the hi-dpi of those gorgeous screens, it was hard to go back. Again I couldn't resist the temptation and eventually bit the bullet and bought a brand new, late 2014 13" MBP. While at first I really liked the machine, and the increase in performance was very noticeable, I never quite got used to the keyboard which had slightly less key travel and at least to me felt a bit flat (I know, the butterfly keyboards introduced later were infinitely worse...). There is just something with the Unibody MBP keyboards that I've only experienced with Apple's own (now discontinued) A1243 keyboards.
But back to the screen...
I remember doing some research back then about screen upgrades for the 2010 MBP and it just wasn't possible. Even today, there's not much on the internet. I guess part of it has to do with the use of proprietary technology by Apple which makes it difficult to mod the hardware. Or... there just isn't much interest in modding these already perfectly designed machines. In any event, while not the mod I originally would have wanted, by chance I discovered an alternative which gets me 80% there..
If you're not aware, it seems like 2022 is the year of the 16:10 aspect ratio resurgence. Almost every laptop manufacturer out there is offering 16:10 laptops. I believe all of Lenovo's Thinkpads have transitioned or will transition from 16:9 to 16:10. The benefits of a 16:10 aspect ratio in laptops has been widely discussed in forums. Mainly, it provides additional vertical space which is great for spreadsheets as well as browsing the web. Apple laptops have for a long time used this screen aspect ratio (with the exception of the 11" MacBook Air which used 16:9). Apple also introduced a 16" sized screen with the slightly redesigned 2019 MacBook Pro. I will not say that other manufacturers are following Apple, but suspiciously, the number of 16" screen laptop offerings has grown exponentially since. There are now also a few 16", 16:10 aspect ratio portable monitors available in the market as well, which brings me to the "hack".
The Hack
I purchased a 2560x1600 16" portable monitor recently from Amazon for $139.99. Initially I bought it to use as a second display for my late 2013 15" MBP when working remotely. The remote server in my company can be very finicky if the guest computer uses multiple screens with mismatched resolutions. I had to test various configurations (MacOs vs. Windows, multiple resolutions) to ensure things worked well without the server freezing on me when moving spreadsheets from one screen to the other. During this process, I used SwitchResX to get more control of the different display resolutions. I also used Lunar, a fantastic app that allows you to control the brightness, contrast and other settings of an external monitor, all from your keyboard just the same as with the built-in display. Having achieved success with the setup, I then thought why not experiment with an older 2010 15" MBP I had laying around. Could it even handle the external display without the fans ramping up to jet-like proportions? To my surprise, not only did it worked perfectly, but also I realized I could rest the portable monitor on the MBP's display and it almost sat flush (I am including a couple of pictures which will hopefully do a better job at explaining this). Then, using SwitchResX I was able to disable the built-in display as well as reduce the screen brightness of the built-in display. Also with SwitchResX, I selected the 1280x800 hi-dpi resolution for the portable monitor and Voilà!! retina display!!.
A few things to consider...
This setup works best if you treat your MBP as a desktop replacement. My 2010 15" is already 5.5 lbs on its own, and the external monitor adds at least another pound to it. Also, the quality of these portable monitors can be a hit or miss. I had to return the first one I purchased because it had a strong magenta hue which was impossible to correct through calibration. The second monitor turned out perfect. The portable monitor requires power, so a usb port is sacrificed. Lastly, the highest available hi-dpi resolution (at least in Mojave) is 1280x800 which can feel a bit like everything renders too large. I find this not too bothersome, and in fact I've been able to correct it in several scenarios (i.e. set Safari to render all websites at 85%, or change the size of fonts in Finder).
All in all, there's nothing special about this setup in terms of complexity. It might be even considered an inelegant solution. However, I find that it has given my old 2010 MBP almost a new lease on life. I can imagine the setup would work even better with a 2012 15" Unibody MBP, which are much more powerful than this machine. If nothing else, you end up with a portable monitor which can be used as a second display, definitely handy in an era of remote work..
