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macOS doesn't even support subpixel rendering since Mojave from what I understand. And even prior to that change, simple XP ClearType and beyond has always look

by mouse_ 4y ago

macOS doesn't even support subpixel rendering since Mojave from what I understand. And even prior to that change, simple XP ClearType and beyond has always looked far superior to macOS/freetype rendering in my opinion.

nighthawk454 4y ago
That may not be a bug. I think there's a notion that once the display has high enough DPI, there's no point trying to do subpixel rendering anymore. It also relied on a known physical subpixel layout which I'm not sure holds in modern screens.
- TheCoreh 4y ago
  Subpixel antialiasing also looks weird with scaled video modes (where the screen is rendered at a higher resolution then resampled at the native resolution), can't really work correctly with translucent/transparent backgrounds, and can look weird when mirroring or dragging windows between displays with different subpixel order.
crazygringo 4y ago
Subpixel rendering does almost nothing for Retina screens, they're already so much sharper. And it introduces tons of complexities and tradeoffs, namely that it breaks all scaling, adding ugly color fringes. I remember it was such a pain on Windows to remember to disable subpixel rendering every time I needed to take a screenshot to paste into documentation.
- NBJack 4y ago
  And this is precisely what frustrates me about Macs and their focus on Retina displays: historically horrific support for the world of external monitors. It does not even shock me when Apple rolls out a laptop that only officially supports a single secondary display. This is only further complicated with the only 'Canonical' external displays offered are either woefully out of production or charge as much as the laptop itself just for the stand. And say what you will about ClearType: at least you can turn it off. I recall trying so hard to do the same for my Mac only to find out my instructions, including massive config changes, sadly no longer worked due to a version bump of the OS.
dhritzkiv 4y ago
The removal of subpixel rendering since macOS Mojave is only an issue on lower pixel density screens. On >150dpi (or thereabouts) displays, text is very nice (IMO, I suppose).
- howinteresting 4y ago
  The vast majority of external screens in existence are lower than 150dpi. Most high-end/high refresh rate screens are similar.
  - doodlesdev 4y ago
    Yup, even a 31" 4K monitor has less than 150dpi. The current monitor I'm using right now has little bit less than 100dpi. Still, gotta say I prefer MacOS/Gnome-style font rendering to Windows, sub-pixel rendering and all the stuff clear-type does just makes the text look _bad_ (but surprisingly readable).
    - howinteresting 4y ago
      Apple either wants you to be hunched over its laptops and develop bad posture, or to buy its $1500 monitor that only does 60Hz.

by mouse_ 4y ago

nighthawk454 4y ago

That may not be a bug. I think there's a notion that once the display has high enough DPI, there's no point trying to do subpixel rendering anymore. It also relied on a known physical subpixel layout which I'm not sure holds in modern screens.

TheCoreh 4y ago
Subpixel antialiasing also looks weird with scaled video modes (where the screen is rendered at a higher resolution then resampled at the native resolution), can't really work correctly with translucent/transparent backgrounds, and can look weird when mirroring or dragging windows between displays with different subpixel order.

crazygringo 4y ago

Subpixel rendering does almost nothing for Retina screens, they're already so much sharper. And it introduces tons of complexities and tradeoffs, namely that it breaks all scaling, adding ugly color fringes. I remember it was such a pain on Windows to remember to disable subpixel rendering every time I needed to take a screenshot to paste into documentation.

NBJack 4y ago
And this is precisely what frustrates me about Macs and their focus on Retina displays: historically horrific support for the world of external monitors. It does not even shock me when Apple rolls out a laptop that only officially supports a single secondary display. This is only further complicated with the only 'Canonical' external displays offered are either woefully out of production or charge as much as the laptop itself just for the stand. And say what you will about ClearType: at least you can turn it off. I recall trying so hard to do the same for my Mac only to find out my instructions, including massive config changes, sadly no longer worked due to a version bump of the OS.

dhritzkiv 4y ago

The removal of subpixel rendering since macOS Mojave is only an issue on lower pixel density screens. On >150dpi (or thereabouts) displays, text is very nice (IMO, I suppose).

howinteresting 4y ago
The vast majority of external screens in existence are lower than 150dpi. Most high-end/high refresh rate screens are similar.
- doodlesdev 4y ago
  Yup, even a 31" 4K monitor has less than 150dpi. The current monitor I'm using right now has little bit less than 100dpi. Still, gotta say I prefer MacOS/Gnome-style font rendering to Windows, sub-pixel rendering and all the stuff clear-type does just makes the text look _bad_ (but surprisingly readable).
  - howinteresting 4y ago
    Apple either wants you to be hunched over its laptops and develop bad posture, or to buy its $1500 monitor that only does 60Hz.