What does “2X Retina” mean?

[collin_]

I know Macs inside and out but cannot for the life of me understand this term. An example of this term being used in context appears at 2:44 in this video. Thanks

 

[majus]

Google knows; search for the explanation there.

 

[Andropov]

It means that the display resolution is 2x what it used to be on standard-resolution displays, as if every pixel in the screen had been divided in four. For example, a 3840x2160 would ve the 2x retina version of a 1920x1080p screen.

The 2019 16" MacBook had a 3072x1920 display, but the standard resolution displays of that size would have been 1728x1080, so it's not a perfect 2x scaling. If you set up the UI to look exactly the same size as expected for a screen of that size, the UI would look slightly blurred, since there are aliasing problems* when the pixels are not a exact 2x scale increase.

*Basically, the UI is rendered at 3456x2160 pixels and then displayed in a 3072x1920 display.

EDIT: Also this link may make it clearer.

 

[BigMovieGeek]

It basically means that the default relative resolution is 1/2 the native resolution. So for example if the panel was 2880 x 1800, the icons and overall layout would look like a 1440 x 900 panel… just with denser pixels to give it a super clean look.

 

[antipodean]

It’s also how retina was implemented when it first came to MacBooks. Purists would say it’s how retina should work since any non-integer scaling must result in some small loss of sharpness and/or more GPU overhead.

To be clear you can have 2x retina today on any HiDPI MacBook just by setting the appropriate “looks like” resolution at exactly half the vertical and horizontal resolution of the panel’s native resolution.

However, most folks want “more space” than 2x retina, which is presumably why they upped the DPI on the new 14”/16” panels.

 

[senttoschool]

I know Macs inside and out but cannot for the life of me understand this term. An example of this term being used in context appears at 2:44 in this video. Thanks

It's not something users have to worry about. It's mostly for designers and developers of apps.

Because retina displays are so dense in pixels, designers and developers have to use images and icons that are 2x bigger than "normal" in order to look sharp on Mac displays.

 

[antipodean]

I believe you’re referring to the requirement for 2x sized assets for HiDPI mode, which is not what is being discussed in the context of the video OP links to.

 

[collin_]

@Andropov @BigMovieGeek @antipodean @senttoschool thanks!

 

[Appledoesnotlisten]

Do you know how to render more than 3456x2234 in the New 16"?
I have posted the detailed question here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...s-now-worse-than-3840x2400-of-the-15.2320402/

 

[Arran]

Off the top of my head: Stereo vision?