3 Ways to Adjust Resolution for Second Display on Mac

Quick Tips

• Using a second display in native resolution may not yield desirable results. 
• You will need to adjust several parameters, including external display brightness, resolution, and refresh rate, to get the best out of your new setup.
• You can either use the Display menu settings or third-party apps.

Method 1: Tweak Display Scaling Level for External Monitor

If you don’t want to deal with third-party apps, you can tweak the display with these simple steps.

Step 1: Click the Apple icon in the top left corner and navigate to System Settings > Displays.

Step 2: Here, check the connected display at the top and glance over the default resolution options.

Here are the resolution options on our 4K Samsung M7 monitor (when connected to a 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro).

• 1920 x 1080
• 2560 x 1440
• 3008 x 1692
• 3360 x 1890
• 3840 x 2160

As you may already know, the system text turns smaller as the resolution increases. Even if you choose QHD or a Full-HD, the macOS system is smart enough to scale it to match your monitor resolution. For example, we connected a 4K monitor to our MacBook and selected 2,560 x 1,440 from the macOS system settings. The system scaled it to 4K resolution without skipping a beat.

Note: Using a scaled resolution may affect your Mac performance. While performance drop isn’t visible on high-end Mac models, you may notice longer loading times for older devices.

At the same time, if you want to check all the resolution options, scroll down and click Advanced within the same menu. Toggle ‘Show resolutions as list’ button and check the available options.

You can tweak the following parameter from the Displays menu besides display resolution:

• Color Profile: The system lets you select another color profile, such as Adobe RGB, Display P3, image P3, and more. Pro users can also customize a color profile on Mac.
• Refresh Rate: If you work with a high-refresh-rate monitor, make sure to tweak the refresh rate from the same menu.
• High Dynamic Range
• Rotation

Method 2: Tweak Display With BetterDisplay

The Display menu in Mac Settings is basic at best. So, if you want more advanced options, you can also use third-party apps like BetterDisplay.

Step 1: Once you’ve downloaded BetterDisplay and given it the relevant Accessibility permissions, open Accessibility Settings and enable the toggle beside BetterDisplay.

Step 2: At this stage, you’ll be required to enter your Mac password for authentication.

Step 3: You can now check the BetterDisplay menu icon at the top. Click on it. You can use the slider to tweak the second display resolution. You can also change the refresh rate, screen rotation, color profile, enable HDR mode, and more.

BetterDisplay offers a 2-week trial, and after which you must purchase the pro version, which costs $21.

Read Also: Best Ways to Control External Monitor Brightness From Mac

Method 3: Tweak Display With DisplayBuddy

Another capable alternative to BetterDisplay is DisplayBuddy. It one-ups BetterDisplay by offering Siri support, Mac shortcuts, a better UI, and better support for a multi-monitor setup. Additionally, you can sync controls across multiple displays, create presets to save settings on all displays, and more.

Once you set up DisplayBuddy, click the app icon in the menu bar and tweak the resolution.

At the time of writing this post, DisplayBuddy costs $18 for a one-time purchase.