It’s been almost 2 months since I picked up an M4 MacBook Air 15″ on the day of it’s availability, having replaced the M1 Pro MacBook Pro 16″ as my day-to-day mobile workstation away from the desk. Once I realized I wasn’t locked-into retina mode, it was a game-changer.

On PowerBooks and older MacBook Pros, the display is usually set to the highest resolution and I’ve always liked a larger screen for the workspace and screen real-estate. It just never crossed my mind to see how a screen would fully scale on the retina devices I’ve owned so far: a 2018 15″ Touch Bar and a 2021 16″ M1 Pro.. but upgrading to a 4K display for my desktop had me thinking.

(Above: 15″ M4 MacBook Air with clear Incase shell)

Ever since the Retina display came to the MacBook Pro, the pixel density and resolution of MacBooks have drastically increased – setting the tone for readability and display clarity on a Mac notebook for over a decade now. Prior to the Mid-2012 15″ Retina display MacBook Pro, the best you could get in a MacBook Pro display was in the 17″ – coming in at 1920 x 1200.

While the 17″ model was dropped in the Mid-2012 refresh, the 15″ retina model which came out that year sported a crisp 2880 x 1800 – a huge leap forward for potential screen real estate if the UI is scaled normally instead of in retina mode. 2880 x 1800 stuck around all the way through the 2019 15″ MacBook Pro model, whereas The M4 MacBook Air has a slightly taller, 2880 x 1864 display, but more or less has the same amount of screen real estate (..but with Apple Silicon)!

Enabling Resolutions as a list

The process is rather simple. Open System Settings in macOS Sequoia > Displays > Advanced > Show resolutions as a list. And that’s it!

Lastly you tick “show all resolutions” and you should have the full list available to you. ..and just like that, you get the full resolution of the MacBook Air’s screen without a retina-scaled UI.

(Tap to enable zooming in above image)

I can get more done and it feels less cluttered

When a random website plugin wipes out a bunch of articles, it can be frustrating working on a display with low “screen real-estate”. A bunch of windows need to be open to keep track of everything – and working on a display with so much space really keeps everything moving.

I really feel like I can get things done, and don’t have to constantly move things back and forth or even switch between desktop spaces. This is my ideal workflow/work setup – everything on one screen. Having this much space feels like having a whole desktop computer in your backpack.

(Tap to enable zooming in above)

(Tap to enable zooming in above)

• The height of the screen is perfect for articles/editorials is it gives more vertical breathing room. Plus I can have other windows side by side or even multitask and watch a video at the same time.

In Conclusion

In the short time I’ve had this MacBook Air since it came out, I quickly forgot I even had an M1 Pro MacBook Pro just a few months ago. I was asked by the Apple Store representative: “Any last words for your MacBook Pro before you go?” to which I said “no, not really. It was good for its time, but it’s time to upgrade now”.

My sentiments haven’t changed at all. Though it would’ve been nice to hang onto the M1 Pro alongside the new Air, in truth it would’ve been collecting dust sitting as a potential backup device and I’ve already agreed with myself not to allow a burgeoning collection again – only keeping what I need or can tinker with. Thank you Apple!