Stop buying low quality external displays
Let’s face it, we sit in front of a computer for a significant portion of our day. The pandemic has only increased the amount of “screen time” we as professionals spend in front of a device. And while we battle our children to limit screen time, we simply continue to increase our own.
As Apple device users, we are blessed with exceptional built-in displays that are crisp, bright, and color accurate. Apple has been using Retina capable displays for years and this has saved a lot of eyes, heads, necks, and backs from excess strain.
This begs the question, why would you buy an inferior external display that turns your text into a Rorschach test and your images into mud?
Sure, the deals can be tantalizing. A $300 32” display sounds like a great deal until you realize the image quality is so low that you now live with a daily headache. Save your eyes. Treat a display like you would a mattress purchase. Humans spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping and modern humans spend an additional third (or more) on a digital device. Treat yourself to a quality display.
How do you determine what is a quality display? As with most things, the way to start is with science, math, and logic. Begin with some basic algebra.
PPI is Pixels per Inch. Apple devices rated as Retina deliver a PPI of 220 or higher. This is the benchmark for any display to ensure consistent clarity across devices. pWidth is the pixel width of the display. pHeight is the pixel height of the display. pDiagonal is the diagonal length of the display in inches.
To get the quality that you enjoy on your MacBook Pro, you want to look for an external display that can achieve a similar 220 pixel per inch (or higher). This does not mean arbitrarily selecting a large monitor and calling it a day.
To put this into perspective, a popular (and cheap) ViewSonic (VX3276-MHD 32 Inch 1080p) is a massive 32” but has a 1080p display. Basically, ViewSonic is selling a 17” panel stretched out to 32”.
Let’s look at the math and compare the ViewSonic to the built-in display of the 16” MacBook Pro M1 Late 2021. The ViewSonic sports a pWidth of 1920, a pHeight of 1080, and a pDiagonal of 32”. Plugging these values into the formula above reveals a remarkably low PPI of 69 PPI. Ouch. What are we, living in the 90s?
Apple’s latest MacBook Pro 16” sports a built-in Liquid Retina XDR Display with a pWidth of 3456, a pHeight of 2234, and a pDiagonal of 16”. Plugging these values into the formula above reveals the eye pleasing and Retina exceeding PPI of 257! How can you insult your MacBook Pro with a 257 PPI by connecting such an inferior external display?
The astute reader will recognize that the 16” MacBook Pro has more pixels along the height (2234) than the ViewSonic has along its width (1920). There is no competition. There is no question of quality.
Quality is not cheap. However, investing in a quality display is an investment in yourself. You will thank Carbon every minute of your work day that you don’t have eye strain or a headache. Reach out to your favorite Carbon technician for guidance and advice on the right display for your workflow needs.