Just three days after the announcement of the new MacBook Pro, developers have begun updating their software packages with support for the new Retina display. Until software is updated, text and images are generally pixel doubled, making everything displayed within those apps look somewhat fuzzy on the ultra-high resolution display.

Google has built Retina support into the nightly build of Chrome -- a continually updated beta release -- but says in a blog post that the Chrome team has "further to go over the next few weeks."

NewImage
Retina support will also be added to multi-format video player VLC in the next release of the software, version 2.0.2.

This way, both video and subtitles or other overlays will be rendered at the display's native resolution leading to a greatly improved viewing experience.

If you're one of the lucky guys to have a MacBook Pro with Retina Display already, you're welcome to check out tomorrow night's nightly builds (CEST).

When the MacBook Pro with Retina Display was announced, Apple disclosed that it had been working with major developers like Adobe, Autodesk, and Blizzard to enable Retina support in their apps, but it will likely take some time for major apps to gain Retina support.

Top Rated Comments

applesith Avatar
178 months ago
Macs are in the minority for PC marketshare and this new MBP is a minuscule part of that small percent. But it's making everyone jump.

Not many companies can create knee-jerk reactions like this. #leader
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LastLine Avatar
178 months ago
Don't you think that eventually all computers across all brands will move to very high resolution screens like this? Enhancing the apps now only makes good sense for the future.

Very true, but you have to ask, if Acer, HP, or Samsung put this out - would everyone have jumped as quick? :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GenesisST Avatar
178 months ago
Funny, because I remember someone criticizing Google because Chrome didn't get the instantaneous benefit for text because of their rendering engine...

<sarcasm>But I guess it was because it is Google... </sarcasm>

EDIT: I guess I wasn't clear. I meant that their rendering doesn't benefit from built-in text rendering, but they added support for retina fast enough.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wikus Avatar
178 months ago
VLC! Yes please!

Kind of the LAST application that would be on your list for 'retina' capability...

Your videos arent going to be sharper which is 99% of the reason why you use VLC.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Undecided Avatar
178 months ago
Kind of the LAST application that would be on your list for 'retina' capability...

Your videos arent going to be sharper which is 99% of the reason why you use VLC.

Yeah but subtitles are going to look fantastic! :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benpatient Avatar
178 months ago
Except only WPF apps get that fully - GDI apps just get the whole thing blown up, the OS renders text before magnification. And most stuff is GDI, still. (Even though Microsoft backported WPF to WinXP, specifically so that devs would write WPF apps.)

Or are OS X apps getting blurry text on HiDPI, even when the OS is rendering the font?

So what you're saying is that Microsoft went out of their way to give developers the tools they needed to make High-DPI apps, and developers ignored it and kept doing things the old way.

Reminds me of the companies that were still using PPC-dependent installers for printer drivers or OS X apps for 10.6!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...