Newer applications are more aware of high-resolution displays, and some developers have caught up with the times and have adjusted their older applications. The first major problem with Windows 10 high-DPI displays is that the vast majority of Windows applications weren’t written for such high resolutions. Since then, manufacturers have shipped displays with significantly higher ppi, causing a few problems along the way. Microsoft originally defined “high-DPI” as a display with between 120 and 144 ppi, and it started supporting high-DPI displays in Windows 7. The more physical pixels installed in a screen, the more dots the GPU can “print” (or render) in both directions. On displays, this translates to the measurement of an image on the screen. The term dots per inch, or DPI, is typically associated with printers and how many dots they can print both horizontally and vertically within an inch. That makes them extremely hard to see and use.

However, they require a higher physical pixel count, and when you cram all those pixels into a small display, on-screen items not properly scaled to support that high resolution can become very small. There’s no question that high resolutions are great. These PCs have a very high pixels-per-inch (ppi) count packed into a screen with a 3:2 ratio versus the more common widescreen 16:9 ratio. Other manufacturers use custom resolutions, as highlighted by Microsoft’s Surface line. Some PCs, such as the HP Spectre x360 15, only offer 4K UHD screens. Though Full HD (1920 x 1080) and higher displays are much more common today, 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) displays are now the new high-resolution norm. Here’s how to adjust high-DPI scaling in Windows 10 to get the best visuals you can squeeze out of your PC. Still, Windows 10 is catching up now that 4K has become the new high-resolution norm.

However, there is one thing that MacOS has always done better: Take advantage of high-resolution displays.

Tinker with the settings to see what works best.

High DPI scaling override settings explained.

Adjust the DPI settings manually on an app-by-app basis.

Windows monitor text adjust