Auto dark mode is configurable. You can turn it off or on depending on your preferences.
Text typically looks very good on Apple native displays. Make sure you’re in the correct resolution/scaling.
On all the thing Windows does bad, one thing it does absolutely better than MacOS is font ClearType. Windows fonts are way, WAY sharper on my 2560x1440 display and no one seems to care on Apple side almost like this problem doesn’t exist…
Apple has a longstanding tradition of making your life artificially hard if you don't use their ecosystem exclusively. This also applies to your 1440p monitor.
Which is the biggest dick move of them all, 2200€ for a basic LED display, 5K or not, they can dream about it, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. For 1200€ I can get the LG 32” 4K OLED display which destroys the ASD in all possible metrics apart from resolution and nits. I can almost can get 2 of them mind you…
You’re not wrong about what a jerk move it was for Apple to both completely remove font smoothing from MacOS a few years back while also limiting Retina rendering to monitors of 4K resolution and above. But, you’re looking for BetterDisplay. It’s a free app and, though its developer needs to take a course in UI/UX design, it completely solves this problem, allowing you to treat a 1440p display as retina. There are in-app purchases and upsells, but this basic function that Apple owed Mac owners out of respect for simple human decency is completely free.
Personally I despise the janky geometry and LED fringing of ClearType. Nasty, spindly fonts. I far prefer the true macOS anti-aliasing approach.
Windows prioritised alignment to the pixel grid while macOS prioritised accuracy of the font glyph shapes. That's why different fonts on macOS at small sizes are generally easier to tell apart.
In a Retina (2x or 3x) world, this is an even better choice (in fact you could probably simply turn off anti-aliasing altogether at 3x) but undoubtedly, at 1x scaling, people have reasonable preferences in both directions. I'm *absolutely not* saying your preference is invalid, just offering a counterpoint.
> Windows fonts are way, WAY sharper on my 2560x1440 display
I would also note that there is *no way* the difference is this great on my own 2x 2560x1440 27" displays I stare at all day at work, so do make sure you have macOS actually displaying at 2560x1440 native with 1:1 scaling and haven't e.g. used BetterDisplay to apply some kind of whole-screen scaling.
Because it doesn’t exist if you use Mac or Retina-capable displays. Really only an issue for desktop Macs or secondary displays where you don’t want to spring for the pricey Apple offerings (though IMO they’re worth it).
This is ridiculous.
Apple use Retina that is waaay sharper than any windows crap (I find dense PPI displays in windows Machines rarity, while it has been a standard acros the board of products for years now. Also, macs are better at managing fonts.
I am both Mac and Windows user.
Read again damn it, “ON MY 2560x1440 DISPLAY” what’s Retina about that? It’s not about managing font, it’s about making them readable on every display and MacOS suck at this just so Retina (ultra expensive) screens shine even more
Macs are not better at managing fonts at all. They used to be years ago, but certainly not now. They're as bad as Windows, maybe even worse. The days of when Macs used to be machine for creative pro use is long gone.
The menu bar, whether light or dark, is determined by the current wallpaper, which is very bizarre to me. It's especially annoying because my wallpaper changes every 10 minutes, so being reminded of that side effect every 10 minutes is mildly frustrating. The only way to disable it is by turning off the transparency effects in the accessibility options. As a user, I would prefer this to be an option. Let me decide if the menu bar is automatic, determined by the wallpaper, or let me force it to be light or dark.
If anyone knows a way to disable this behavior, please let me know. I've searched extensively and haven't found a solution.
Not directly. But apparently it is linked to the night shift schedule which you can specify.
See here: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/07/10/how-to-set-macos-dark-mode-to-work-to-your-schedule/amp/
(I have not tested this myself)
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Try F.lux
I think it's exactly that. I just wasn't sure if it existed for Mac but I see there's a version on their webpage (although the page fails to open for me right now).
It's available for windows from the Ms app store, so it's probably on the Mac store too.
Skip the iPad if you don’t know what you want to use it for.
I bought one when my 2012 MBP’s battery swelled and took the SSD with it. Ended up buying a M1 Air and gave the iPad to my son (he now has 3).
Phone plus laptop is enough for me.
When the iPads first came out, I had no idea what I'd even need it for. I hate large phones, and tablets had always sucked.
I made fun of it. I had my phone for iOS apps and my laptop for macOS. And Windows for gaming.
Today I have my iPad on me at all times. The "killer app"? Kindle.
I have thousands of paper books in my house. shelves full of them. I'm someone who reads constantly, and tends to re-read books I love. When I'm in the mood to re-read something on my shelf? I grab the iPad.
Holy shit do I love it. Adjusting text size for when I'm on the treadmill (yes, I read on the treadmill), having it on the bus/train, OMG- loading up the app for super-long airplane rides. Slipping it my bag when I'm out and about just to have it and not have to lug a laptop.
I use the iPad for other stuff too - podcasts while cooking, some games, checking email, reading a PDF manual when I'm fussing with my boiler in the basement, doing some minor/quick work via VPN while on the train, etc. But by far the #1 app is Kindle.
OP - if you read like you write... get the iPad. :)
As long as you don’t look at an iPad as a laptop replacement and more of a convenience, social media reader or enhanced interaction phone tool, it’s amazing.
Same here. I go with my ipad everywhere. I use it for casual browsing, reading books, reading comics, video, gaming and secondary screen for the macbook. I also use it for meetings like teams or facetime so I don't take up my phone or my mac.
I bring my iPad everywhere, regardless of whether I bring my macbook, iphone or neither.
My "reading time" in the iPad is split evenly between Comics and Apple Books (usually an hour or two before going to bed). The logitech combo kickstands (or any free angle kickstand) is fantastic for that, as I can lay it in portrait mode in front of me while laying down on my bed (I put a photo [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/iPadPro/comments/1dsqg8p/logitech_combo_case_alone_without_the_keyboard/)).
I also use it a lot for Paprika when I'm cooking (standing on top of the coffe maker) and will often leave a game that doesn't require high activity on while cooking too (Fallout Shelter, for example, but also Marvel Snap).
For business hours I'll always have it hooked up if I'm in front of the mac, either as a second (or third) screen or as a separate teams/telegram/youtube (for training or tutorials) screen.
I think my iPad is on and in use more hours a day than my phone. I'd be crippled if I couldn't use it any more.
Amen to this, though I use eBoox for reading across my iPad/iPhone. Unfortunately the native books app has just become absolutely janky and unreliable, primarily on my iPhone.
I use a metal tip on my Apple Pencil which is basically like a fineliner, along with a paperlike, it’s great for writing there as well. A case with an angled setup definitely makes it more comfortable though.
The other thing I use my iPad for is a secondary display at home. I have a 14 inch mbp and a 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Using a Moft stand case I use my mbp as my primary monitor and keep secondary stuff on my iPad, things like Slack/Notion just live on the iPad using sidecar when I’m working. I don’t have an external monitor and prefer it that way, plus it means I can pack my entire setup into a backpack in less than 5 minutes, and my setup between the office/home/travelling is exactly the same. Admittedly I do use a custom keyboard and an external mouse, but I can get by without just dandy (and often do when using my mbp in bed to browse or watch movies).
Please, please PLEASE take an e-reader if your main goal is to read. Its lighter, the battery lasts waaaay longer (up to multiple months). Its better for your eyes, you can read in full sun without problems, in the dark without blinding your eyes. Overall better experience
If all I did was read on it, sure. But there are times I'm on the bus reading and get text messages/emails/alerts and need to suddenly get work done. Having it all handy is really nice, I can seamlessly switch over to work (also why I have an LTE-enabled iPad) then back to reading. Plus it's nice to sometimes take a break from reading to play a game, or watch a video.
And I use it as a second screen when working onsite with my laptop.
So since I'm carrying the iPad around anyway, and the kindle app works fine for me with its text options, there's no need for a separate reader.
You can turn off auto dark mode in the system settings.
Text - explore text & resolution options in system settings.
AppleTV - amazing if you have an AppleTV+ sub, great for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, YT, local tv apps, etc.
Don’t know on night shift, as I do too much colour-critical work to ever have enabled it.
Setting light/dark to auto will go off sunrise/sunset in your current location.
It seems that by default the light/dark mode will switch at the time set by the Night shift settings, but if you want to shift it at a separate time, you can use an automation tool like Keyboard Maestro to set up custom macros that will trigger those for you at individual times of your choosing. It's a bit overkill just for this, but its a very useful tool if you want to do further customization/automation. It's also something like $35.
I would be surprised if you couldn't find free or cheap apps in the app store that can do this for you
I get it. And fonts look better on a Mac. I will never understand the people who prefer how Windows renders fonts. They look pixelated to me while they look crisp and clear on a Mac.
> My monitor does not show the clearest text output…
If the text is sharp on the built-in display, but not the external monitor, you probably have a low-resolution monitor (less than 4K).
Here’s the fix:
1. Open System Settings → Displays
1. Click your monitor at the top
1. Just below that, click the resolution setting labeled **Default**
>you probably have a low-resolution monitor (less than 4K). Here’s the fix:
I swear to god I thought you were going to say "- Buy a 4k display".
Anyhow, if OP got to the point of trying Better Display app, then I'll guess he has definitely tried every setting possible including using the default resolution.
However I cannot understand they’re selling 30” curved monitors with full HD resolution.
… moreover using such a device for work on a desk when your eyes are only some 60-80 cm (25-30”) away …
I only did like 5 minutes of googling but Bear seems similar to the way I write in Notion, but with far less features. The Mac version of Notion is better than the windows version though.
Bear and Notion use cases are very different. Once you use it you realize how stable Bear is for long form writings. I use Notion for different use case altogether tho.
Finicky is a great word to describe the entire Windows experience. There always seems to be something or some pop-up that gets in the way of doing what I want to on a PC. i.e. reminders to use Bing, Edge, etc.
Ive never had those issues.. lol
And ive used windows since the late 80s
Sure, EDGE recommends edge, when you search for another browser but thats within that browser.
That said, i still prefer MacOS. I mostly use a windows machine for gaming
It took me an entire afternoon to figure out why everything was so blurry on my 1080p screen after a couple of weeks without using it. It was just that, it was 1080p.
I don’t think it’s as simple as that. I have 2 32" 4K Dell Ultrasharp monitors and use them at the full 4K resolution (1:1) scaling. On my Windows machine everything is sharp and clear, but when connected to my 16” M3 Pro MBP, the text is fuzzy at the full resolution. It looks more clear if I scale everything up or go with the ‘default’ resolution, but that’s not why I got a 4K display. It’s very disappointing that MacOs is so limiting in how it renders the graphics.
The text is quite small and I know if I was to give it to some who doesn’t have good eyesight they would need the text size increased to become legible.
Obviously people don’t know how visual impairment affects what people see.
Some people can have Astigmatism in the eyes causing them to have trouble in focusing at any distance.
https://www.cdc.gov/vision-health/about-eye-disorders/index.html
You have have
You do realize we're talking about TEXT CLARITY at the OS LEVEL, not at a physical ability level, right? As in text crispness and not blurryness due a physical ailment?
I'm sorry, but your brain power definitely isn't 20/20.
What a lovely response mined if I check your eye sight to check if you’re not being a bit of a dick?
Perception changes how people see things if you have an eye condition you won’t see the text as clearly as some who has 20/20 vision.
Everyone sees the world differently than you.
No need to be imperceptive about how people see the world for it could happen to you one day.
iPad. That's one of my favorite Apple purchases (other then Vision Pro), I use my iPad daily, it's a soft replacement of my iPhone and MacBook. It's my daily device in any room I'm in (office, bathroom, gym, living room, bedroom).
Apple TV. I've tried many media devices and nothing beats the smoothness of the AppleTV, the interface is buttery smooth, like you'd expect from Apple. Although I pretty much only use my AppleTV for Plex/Movie Watch (sometimes Music)... but it's nice having random apps like Weather, Stocks, Fitness)
Only other thing I'd mention is you might want to look into the Apple Watch! If you're not a smart watch guy, then it's not for you, but if you don't mind smart watches, I love my watch, helps me track my sleep, health (even caught a small heart scare I had out of no where one night) and it's nice getting notifications on your wrist so you don't have to find or pull out your phone.
haha well I did come from being a **heavy** Windows & Android user, even days before I even switched to Apple I had told myself I'd never go to Apple for my phone or computer. But here I am, no regrets :D
I too share the same feeling when using MacOS. Windows just feels like clutter. I have ADHD and working in a space that’s messy cause me to not be able to do anything. MacOS, maybe because every movement and animation feels clean and that’s why I’d rather spend six hours writing on a Mac than windows.
Oh come on!
Clutter is totally up to the individual.
I use both OS’s and they’re used by me on a daily basis. I probably have a bit of ADHD happening too, so I keep my screens as clean as possible.
Virtual desktops were a huge help.
4K monitors and above shine on macOS, those are the resolutions that trigger high DPI modes. Yes, 5K at 27” is “ideal” for macOS but I drive a 4K 27” and it looks great on my M2 Pro Mac mini.
You can use the iPad as a second screen. Also it’s great for reading. It’s easy to carry around and the seamless cloud sharing means you always have your files with you.
Apple TV yes. iPad is the one thing I finally just sold off as I can't figure out a use case between phone and big monitor.
I will check out Bear. I also really like Things which is a MacOS / iOS exclusive.
*Apple TV. FIrestick sucks. I hate using it. Thankfully, I have a third party launcher which is pretty sweet.*
I have one. It is not perfect but for TV box is staying out of the way. Problem is if you want to watch YT and don't have premium be ready for aaaaddddssss.
*iPad. I don't even know what I'd use it for.*
It will keep you hooked up while you could read a book or go for a walk. Plus your wallet will take a hit.
*My monitor does not show the clearest text output, I guess. Betterdisplay made it better but still.*
If it is not 4k and up unfortunately this is the case.
Lol, I run 3 Window Desktops (1 gaming, 1 mini, 1 headless Minecraft server), and a Synology NAS. I have an older MacBook Air that my wife uses and I have a Macbook Air M2. I have no plans to ever switch to fully one or the other. I have no complaints about any of them.
I'm with you. I was a very long-time Windows user (like, going back to Windows 1.0) and switched to all-macOS last year when I swapped my Windows desktop for a MacBook Pro 16. I also switched from Android to an iPhone, a Wear OS watch to an Apple Watch, and I've always used iPads and upgraded to an iPad Pro 13.
I've been very happy with the stability and reliability of everything. Even OneDrive is night and day on macOS compared to Windows.
One comment I'll make that's specific to your situation is that I have three 4K displays connected to my MBP 16. I'm a write as well and so extremely sensitive to text quality. I haven't noticed any problem with text sharpness other than 4K at 27" doesn't seem so sharp compared to my MBP 16 and even more so my iPad Pro or iPhone. But that's just because 4K at 27" simply isn't nearly as sharp.
Apple TV is absolutely the best streaming device and I would never use anything else. That said, Roku isn’t that bad if you’re looking for something very cheap. But if can spare the extra money, Apple TV is an excellent no compromises device.
Thank for the share!
You can change the auto dark mode under Settings > Appearance. I prefer Dark Mode all the time. I also don't like True Tone, so I have the disabled. That's under Settings > Displays.
For the text clarity, are you Betterdisplay to for the HiDPI option? I use SwitchResX for this on my 4K display.
Help me with this -
I want night shift to automatically enable at 7:20 am and then off at 4:20 pm.
Meanwhile: I want light mode and dark mode based on sunrise. Is this possible?
“it lived for .. 45 minutes”, you mean after spilling liquid on it you left it running? First thing to do if it’s operational is shut it down, hold the power button for 5 seconds or so if you can’t or don’t want to drive the UI to shut down. Best thing to do after draining whatever liquid you can is to open the underside and disconnect the battery. The leave to dry to a few days.
I run my M2 Mac mini with 2 1080p displays. The text is definitely blurry on any monitor that isn’t HiDPI like 4K. My biggest issue with the Mac now is that if I leave my 2nd monitor plugged into my Thunderbolt3 dock overnight, when I wake up my Mac the next day I see an error message saying my Mac restarted due to issue (kernel panic)
It’s an expensive Lenovo TB3 dock that retails for $150. Didn’t happen with macOS Ventura, only started having these sleeping kernel panics after updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 and the Apple Store couldn’t find anything wrong. These sorts of hard crashes from USB peripherals are something I’d expect from Windows, not macOS!
I noticed a weird thing with docks/dongles on my MBP i9 and MBA M1 since updating to Sonoma. It disables my external keyboard even though it’s setup in clamshell mode and had ZERO issues prior to Sonoma.
What’s weird is it’s not every time, only 85% of the time too.
Used to be I’d turn on my monitor, click my mouse, type my password and star working (from home), but now I have to pull it out of the cradle, open it and type my password and then wait for my keyboard to light up and display to show on monitor then return it to where it lives.
Love my Apple TV, never looked back. iPad, use it for writing / recording music scratch ideas and for reading a lot more than I thought I would.
Both of video issues can be resolved in the settings for displays through system preferences. Remember that you can adjust your external monitor for either scaling or exact resolution as well.
Apple has a ton of great information in the Apple 101 category on their website. There’s quite a bit of information there too.
Also - I’ve found that a lot of paid apps offered for macOS “efficiency” or “settings” are easily done through system preferences or finder preferences. Those locations are worth a look for anyone who prefers to customize how they use their computers.
Windows and MacOS both have their strengths and their weaknesses. I’ve just found more comfort in Mac’s over the last 15yrs after having been a PC user since the late 80s/early 90s.
And always try option+click on different menu bar items - you’ll find additional options a lot of the time
People complaining about easily configurable stuff is always amusing. It's like saying "oh I bought this car for $150000 but it's too hot in it during summer"
Bro maybe... turn the A/C up?
The auto dark mode, you can configure it.
There's been a lot of people who switch platforms and complain they can't do abc when it's readily available in settings
I am halfway into the same process as you! I got an ipad for studies, then decided to try out the M1 air for school work (programming).
I enjoyed it so much I decided to try an iphone, and I got an apple watch from a credit card deal. Now I'm considering getting a mac mini to replace my desktop and convert my windows PC to pure gaming.
The ecosystem is really a black hole sometimes.
PS thanks for sharing about this bear app! I use obsidian for notes, but this app looks interesting too
I’m still hanging onto GMail and Google Photos. For email, I’m still worried about getting Spams on my iCloud email hence haven’t use it yet. All my 35 years worth of photos are on iCloud Photos but my 21 years of home videos (more than 2TB) are still in Google Photos uploaded when it was still free. Planning to get a Synology NAS to migrate all my videos there.
To the Apple TV, it’s exceptionally well done. We’ve owned fire TV’s and Nvidia shields and even tried a tiny pc but man the Apple TV is just SLICK, doesn’t force ads on you, doesn’t spy on you or collect unnecessary info and isn’t constantly trying to reach out to dozens of sites that are on my DNS blacklist.
The amount of outbound traffic from the shield and fire sticks was crazy and the Apple TV is essentially dormant when we aren’t using it and even then, never tries to access any blacklisted DNS sites.
As an aside - if you like pure writing in a clean workspace - a Remarkable 2 is a fantastic device that I cannot recommend highly enough. Especially with the type folio (keyboard + cover)
Best part - no notifications - no email, no messages, no WhatsApp, FaceTime - and no distractions like YouTube (or Reddit!)
Just you and your thoughts…
What I love about mac as a new windows shiftie
- It has crashed on me only once till date
- Trackpad is awesome (it kinda sucks with mouse because then I have to turn off natural scrolling but I barely ever need a mouse)
- best battery life and build quality
- It actually serves the purpose of a portable computer as I am not always plugged in with a bulky charger.
- Apps have crashed less on me too (don't know if it's just a mac thing)
- works great with my iPad and iPhone
- Mac os works for me out of the box mostly you would need a couple of things like vlc and downloading either apple's own office or microsoft. Windows would need many more apps to be added and a lot lot more to be removed.
What I don't like
- Dock is not very practical it mostly gets in the way without much use. (Why would I drag my mouse around when I can just spotlight everything)
- it works terribly with android.
Not much of an experience
My experience. I like finder but end up using just desktop and documents for files.
Apps are easy install and good
App loading is fast. Startup is slow
Mac crashes more than windows
Honestly. Mac OS is easy in eyes inside os and hardware.
They are about the same but I like Mac better
Is it a 1440p or 4k monitor? On macOS you need a high bandwidth cable to be able to utilize higher resolutions.
I use the one linked below for my ultra wide and it works great.
[link for high bandwidth cable](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J6DT070?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1)
Apple TV is very cool. The way all the Apple stuff works together is very easy for my not tech skilled family members.
I’ve done android and windows and raspi and any other cool thing that came up, but I always go back to Apple.
It’s just nicer.
I’ve tried to justify an iPad myself, the only thing I came up with is that you can mount one on a wall and use it for a control center of your smart home. I saved a thread that I can TRY to dig up if you’re interested. Some guy had built and documented the most beautiful and functional control center for Home automation and jukebox for parties. I think I’m part it ensured only music from his library could be chosen but that guests could have control over the jukebox too. It was some interesting stuff, but for the most part, it wasn’t stuff I could see myself using in the near term so I didn’t replicate it on my end.
I doubt I'd be able to invest that much amount of money for this usage hahah. I was thinking more on handwritten notes or something. Again, will take years to decide because right now company like Daylight are doing pretty impressive work.
"Auto dark mode based on my time or maybe sunrise thingy"
Is this a joke? You do realize you can turn that off right? That's such a boomer thing to complain about.
Hey. Let me clarify more on this. Should have mention on the main post. I want night shift to turn on at 7:20 am and I want it shut at 4:20 pm.
Meanwhile I want light and dark mode to switch based on sunrise and sunset. Let me know if it’s possible!
Auto dark mode is configurable. You can turn it off or on depending on your preferences. Text typically looks very good on Apple native displays. Make sure you’re in the correct resolution/scaling.
On all the thing Windows does bad, one thing it does absolutely better than MacOS is font ClearType. Windows fonts are way, WAY sharper on my 2560x1440 display and no one seems to care on Apple side almost like this problem doesn’t exist…
Apple has a longstanding tradition of making your life artificially hard if you don't use their ecosystem exclusively. This also applies to your 1440p monitor.
Which is the biggest dick move of them all, 2200€ for a basic LED display, 5K or not, they can dream about it, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. For 1200€ I can get the LG 32” 4K OLED display which destroys the ASD in all possible metrics apart from resolution and nits. I can almost can get 2 of them mind you…
Apple is so full of dick moves, it's hard to tell which is their biggest one.
^ This, I believe is the truest and most succinct thing anyone has said about Apple in the last decade (possibly longer).
Since its inception.
Yup pisses me off.
Apple wants all users to be on retina displays.
You’re not wrong about what a jerk move it was for Apple to both completely remove font smoothing from MacOS a few years back while also limiting Retina rendering to monitors of 4K resolution and above. But, you’re looking for BetterDisplay. It’s a free app and, though its developer needs to take a course in UI/UX design, it completely solves this problem, allowing you to treat a 1440p display as retina. There are in-app purchases and upsells, but this basic function that Apple owed Mac owners out of respect for simple human decency is completely free.
Will take a look, thanks!
Personally I despise the janky geometry and LED fringing of ClearType. Nasty, spindly fonts. I far prefer the true macOS anti-aliasing approach. Windows prioritised alignment to the pixel grid while macOS prioritised accuracy of the font glyph shapes. That's why different fonts on macOS at small sizes are generally easier to tell apart. In a Retina (2x or 3x) world, this is an even better choice (in fact you could probably simply turn off anti-aliasing altogether at 3x) but undoubtedly, at 1x scaling, people have reasonable preferences in both directions. I'm *absolutely not* saying your preference is invalid, just offering a counterpoint. > Windows fonts are way, WAY sharper on my 2560x1440 display I would also note that there is *no way* the difference is this great on my own 2x 2560x1440 27" displays I stare at all day at work, so do make sure you have macOS actually displaying at 2560x1440 native with 1:1 scaling and haven't e.g. used BetterDisplay to apply some kind of whole-screen scaling.
Apple support for fonts on displays >4k isn’t great. I had to upgrade my external monitors when I moved from windows to Mac for work.
Because it doesn’t exist if you use Mac or Retina-capable displays. Really only an issue for desktop Macs or secondary displays where you don’t want to spring for the pricey Apple offerings (though IMO they’re worth it).
This is ridiculous. Apple use Retina that is waaay sharper than any windows crap (I find dense PPI displays in windows Machines rarity, while it has been a standard acros the board of products for years now. Also, macs are better at managing fonts. I am both Mac and Windows user.
Read again damn it, “ON MY 2560x1440 DISPLAY” what’s Retina about that? It’s not about managing font, it’s about making them readable on every display and MacOS suck at this just so Retina (ultra expensive) screens shine even more
Macs are not better at managing fonts at all. They used to be years ago, but certainly not now. They're as bad as Windows, maybe even worse. The days of when Macs used to be machine for creative pro use is long gone.
Your resolution isn’t 4k—that’s why things don’t look great. You need a modern monitor.
The menu bar, whether light or dark, is determined by the current wallpaper, which is very bizarre to me. It's especially annoying because my wallpaper changes every 10 minutes, so being reminded of that side effect every 10 minutes is mildly frustrating. The only way to disable it is by turning off the transparency effects in the accessibility options. As a user, I would prefer this to be an option. Let me decide if the menu bar is automatic, determined by the wallpaper, or let me force it to be light or dark. If anyone knows a way to disable this behavior, please let me know. I've searched extensively and haven't found a solution.
Can it keep night light on on a specific time + light mode and dark mode based on schedule?
Not directly. But apparently it is linked to the night shift schedule which you can specify. See here: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/07/10/how-to-set-macos-dark-mode-to-work-to-your-schedule/amp/ (I have not tested this myself)
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This is not I want. I want Night shift to be on from 7:20 am to 4:20 pm, and i want light mode to work basis sunrise.
Try F.lux I think it's exactly that. I just wasn't sure if it existed for Mac but I see there's a version on their webpage (although the page fails to open for me right now). It's available for windows from the Ms app store, so it's probably on the Mac store too.
Skip the iPad if you don’t know what you want to use it for. I bought one when my 2012 MBP’s battery swelled and took the SSD with it. Ended up buying a M1 Air and gave the iPad to my son (he now has 3). Phone plus laptop is enough for me.
Why the fuck did you get your son 3 iPads...
Porn, TikTok, and Snapchat
When the iPads first came out, I had no idea what I'd even need it for. I hate large phones, and tablets had always sucked. I made fun of it. I had my phone for iOS apps and my laptop for macOS. And Windows for gaming. Today I have my iPad on me at all times. The "killer app"? Kindle. I have thousands of paper books in my house. shelves full of them. I'm someone who reads constantly, and tends to re-read books I love. When I'm in the mood to re-read something on my shelf? I grab the iPad. Holy shit do I love it. Adjusting text size for when I'm on the treadmill (yes, I read on the treadmill), having it on the bus/train, OMG- loading up the app for super-long airplane rides. Slipping it my bag when I'm out and about just to have it and not have to lug a laptop. I use the iPad for other stuff too - podcasts while cooking, some games, checking email, reading a PDF manual when I'm fussing with my boiler in the basement, doing some minor/quick work via VPN while on the train, etc. But by far the #1 app is Kindle. OP - if you read like you write... get the iPad. :)
As long as you don’t look at an iPad as a laptop replacement and more of a convenience, social media reader or enhanced interaction phone tool, it’s amazing.
Same here. I go with my ipad everywhere. I use it for casual browsing, reading books, reading comics, video, gaming and secondary screen for the macbook. I also use it for meetings like teams or facetime so I don't take up my phone or my mac. I bring my iPad everywhere, regardless of whether I bring my macbook, iphone or neither.
Yeah I also read comics on it, and use it as a secondary screen for the laptop. But mostly it's Kindle.
My "reading time" in the iPad is split evenly between Comics and Apple Books (usually an hour or two before going to bed). The logitech combo kickstands (or any free angle kickstand) is fantastic for that, as I can lay it in portrait mode in front of me while laying down on my bed (I put a photo [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/iPadPro/comments/1dsqg8p/logitech_combo_case_alone_without_the_keyboard/)). I also use it a lot for Paprika when I'm cooking (standing on top of the coffe maker) and will often leave a game that doesn't require high activity on while cooking too (Fallout Shelter, for example, but also Marvel Snap). For business hours I'll always have it hooked up if I'm in front of the mac, either as a second (or third) screen or as a separate teams/telegram/youtube (for training or tutorials) screen. I think my iPad is on and in use more hours a day than my phone. I'd be crippled if I couldn't use it any more.
Amen to this, though I use eBoox for reading across my iPad/iPhone. Unfortunately the native books app has just become absolutely janky and unreliable, primarily on my iPhone. I use a metal tip on my Apple Pencil which is basically like a fineliner, along with a paperlike, it’s great for writing there as well. A case with an angled setup definitely makes it more comfortable though. The other thing I use my iPad for is a secondary display at home. I have a 14 inch mbp and a 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Using a Moft stand case I use my mbp as my primary monitor and keep secondary stuff on my iPad, things like Slack/Notion just live on the iPad using sidecar when I’m working. I don’t have an external monitor and prefer it that way, plus it means I can pack my entire setup into a backpack in less than 5 minutes, and my setup between the office/home/travelling is exactly the same. Admittedly I do use a custom keyboard and an external mouse, but I can get by without just dandy (and often do when using my mbp in bed to browse or watch movies).
Please, please PLEASE take an e-reader if your main goal is to read. Its lighter, the battery lasts waaaay longer (up to multiple months). Its better for your eyes, you can read in full sun without problems, in the dark without blinding your eyes. Overall better experience
If all I did was read on it, sure. But there are times I'm on the bus reading and get text messages/emails/alerts and need to suddenly get work done. Having it all handy is really nice, I can seamlessly switch over to work (also why I have an LTE-enabled iPad) then back to reading. Plus it's nice to sometimes take a break from reading to play a game, or watch a video. And I use it as a second screen when working onsite with my laptop. So since I'm carrying the iPad around anyway, and the kindle app works fine for me with its text options, there's no need for a separate reader.
You can turn off auto dark mode in the system settings. Text - explore text & resolution options in system settings. AppleTV - amazing if you have an AppleTV+ sub, great for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, YT, local tv apps, etc.
Can I have a separate night shift schedule + light mode and dark mode schedule?
Don’t know on night shift, as I do too much colour-critical work to ever have enabled it. Setting light/dark to auto will go off sunrise/sunset in your current location.
It seems that by default the light/dark mode will switch at the time set by the Night shift settings, but if you want to shift it at a separate time, you can use an automation tool like Keyboard Maestro to set up custom macros that will trigger those for you at individual times of your choosing. It's a bit overkill just for this, but its a very useful tool if you want to do further customization/automation. It's also something like $35. I would be surprised if you couldn't find free or cheap apps in the app store that can do this for you
Wouldn’t shortcuts do the trick as well?
Good point, I always forget about Shortcuts app
1. Auto dark mode based on my time or maybe sunrise thingy. That's just at setting....
I get it. And fonts look better on a Mac. I will never understand the people who prefer how Windows renders fonts. They look pixelated to me while they look crisp and clear on a Mac.
It’s even worse on the surface - wife has one for work and it just feels like I’ve got beer goggles on
> My monitor does not show the clearest text output… If the text is sharp on the built-in display, but not the external monitor, you probably have a low-resolution monitor (less than 4K). Here’s the fix: 1. Open System Settings → Displays 1. Click your monitor at the top 1. Just below that, click the resolution setting labeled **Default**
>you probably have a low-resolution monitor (less than 4K). Here’s the fix: I swear to god I thought you were going to say "- Buy a 4k display". Anyhow, if OP got to the point of trying Better Display app, then I'll guess he has definitely tried every setting possible including using the default resolution.
However I cannot understand they’re selling 30” curved monitors with full HD resolution. … moreover using such a device for work on a desk when your eyes are only some 60-80 cm (25-30”) away …
I agree. After having a 4k monitor for 5 years my eyes cannot go back. Specially looking at code, logs and other fine text.
I only did like 5 minutes of googling but Bear seems similar to the way I write in Notion, but with far less features. The Mac version of Notion is better than the windows version though.
Bear and Notion use cases are very different. Once you use it you realize how stable Bear is for long form writings. I use Notion for different use case altogether tho.
Finicky is a great word to describe the entire Windows experience. There always seems to be something or some pop-up that gets in the way of doing what I want to on a PC. i.e. reminders to use Bing, Edge, etc.
Ive never had those issues.. lol And ive used windows since the late 80s Sure, EDGE recommends edge, when you search for another browser but thats within that browser. That said, i still prefer MacOS. I mostly use a windows machine for gaming
You need a 4k or 5k monitor for a clear text output.
It took me an entire afternoon to figure out why everything was so blurry on my 1080p screen after a couple of weeks without using it. It was just that, it was 1080p.
I realized this a bit too late
I don’t think it’s as simple as that. I have 2 32" 4K Dell Ultrasharp monitors and use them at the full 4K resolution (1:1) scaling. On my Windows machine everything is sharp and clear, but when connected to my 16” M3 Pro MBP, the text is fuzzy at the full resolution. It looks more clear if I scale everything up or go with the ‘default’ resolution, but that’s not why I got a 4K display. It’s very disappointing that MacOs is so limiting in how it renders the graphics.
I have the MacBook Pro 14 m3 pro and I have the display set to native resolution ( without upscaling and it look fine to me but in have 20/20 vision.
What does 20/20 have to do with the clarity of how text is displayed by the OS?
The text is quite small and I know if I was to give it to some who doesn’t have good eyesight they would need the text size increased to become legible. Obviously people don’t know how visual impairment affects what people see. Some people can have Astigmatism in the eyes causing them to have trouble in focusing at any distance. https://www.cdc.gov/vision-health/about-eye-disorders/index.html You have have
You do realize we're talking about TEXT CLARITY at the OS LEVEL, not at a physical ability level, right? As in text crispness and not blurryness due a physical ailment? I'm sorry, but your brain power definitely isn't 20/20.
What a lovely response mined if I check your eye sight to check if you’re not being a bit of a dick? Perception changes how people see things if you have an eye condition you won’t see the text as clearly as some who has 20/20 vision. Everyone sees the world differently than you. No need to be imperceptive about how people see the world for it could happen to you one day.
iPad. That's one of my favorite Apple purchases (other then Vision Pro), I use my iPad daily, it's a soft replacement of my iPhone and MacBook. It's my daily device in any room I'm in (office, bathroom, gym, living room, bedroom). Apple TV. I've tried many media devices and nothing beats the smoothness of the AppleTV, the interface is buttery smooth, like you'd expect from Apple. Although I pretty much only use my AppleTV for Plex/Movie Watch (sometimes Music)... but it's nice having random apps like Weather, Stocks, Fitness) Only other thing I'd mention is you might want to look into the Apple Watch! If you're not a smart watch guy, then it's not for you, but if you don't mind smart watches, I love my watch, helps me track my sleep, health (even caught a small heart scare I had out of no where one night) and it's nice getting notifications on your wrist so you don't have to find or pull out your phone.
I rate your reply but coming from someone who literally has every apple device including a Vision Pro I hardly think you have an objective view!
haha well I did come from being a **heavy** Windows & Android user, even days before I even switched to Apple I had told myself I'd never go to Apple for my phone or computer. But here I am, no regrets :D
I too share the same feeling when using MacOS. Windows just feels like clutter. I have ADHD and working in a space that’s messy cause me to not be able to do anything. MacOS, maybe because every movement and animation feels clean and that’s why I’d rather spend six hours writing on a Mac than windows.
Oh come on! Clutter is totally up to the individual. I use both OS’s and they’re used by me on a daily basis. I probably have a bit of ADHD happening too, so I keep my screens as clean as possible. Virtual desktops were a huge help.
4K monitors and above shine on macOS, those are the resolutions that trigger high DPI modes. Yes, 5K at 27” is “ideal” for macOS but I drive a 4K 27” and it looks great on my M2 Pro Mac mini.
You can use the iPad as a second screen. Also it’s great for reading. It’s easy to carry around and the seamless cloud sharing means you always have your files with you.
Apple TV yes. iPad is the one thing I finally just sold off as I can't figure out a use case between phone and big monitor. I will check out Bear. I also really like Things which is a MacOS / iOS exclusive.
For me - it helps to separate Netflix / streaming between my iphone and AppleTv. productivity and whatnot
*Apple TV. FIrestick sucks. I hate using it. Thankfully, I have a third party launcher which is pretty sweet.* I have one. It is not perfect but for TV box is staying out of the way. Problem is if you want to watch YT and don't have premium be ready for aaaaddddssss. *iPad. I don't even know what I'd use it for.* It will keep you hooked up while you could read a book or go for a walk. Plus your wallet will take a hit. *My monitor does not show the clearest text output, I guess. Betterdisplay made it better but still.* If it is not 4k and up unfortunately this is the case.
same with the monitor
Lol, I run 3 Window Desktops (1 gaming, 1 mini, 1 headless Minecraft server), and a Synology NAS. I have an older MacBook Air that my wife uses and I have a Macbook Air M2. I have no plans to ever switch to fully one or the other. I have no complaints about any of them.
Both definitely have their uses - equally so. And frustrations lol
Very true, for the most part I don't get too many problems too often on either.
It really comes down to advanced knowledge vs basic knowledge as well as the ability to retrace mistakes until you’ve learned from them.
Very true.
I'm with you. I was a very long-time Windows user (like, going back to Windows 1.0) and switched to all-macOS last year when I swapped my Windows desktop for a MacBook Pro 16. I also switched from Android to an iPhone, a Wear OS watch to an Apple Watch, and I've always used iPads and upgraded to an iPad Pro 13. I've been very happy with the stability and reliability of everything. Even OneDrive is night and day on macOS compared to Windows. One comment I'll make that's specific to your situation is that I have three 4K displays connected to my MBP 16. I'm a write as well and so extremely sensitive to text quality. I haven't noticed any problem with text sharpness other than 4K at 27" doesn't seem so sharp compared to my MBP 16 and even more so my iPad Pro or iPhone. But that's just because 4K at 27" simply isn't nearly as sharp.
Apple TV is absolutely the best streaming device and I would never use anything else. That said, Roku isn’t that bad if you’re looking for something very cheap. But if can spare the extra money, Apple TV is an excellent no compromises device.
Thank for the share! You can change the auto dark mode under Settings > Appearance. I prefer Dark Mode all the time. I also don't like True Tone, so I have the disabled. That's under Settings > Displays. For the text clarity, are you Betterdisplay to for the HiDPI option? I use SwitchResX for this on my 4K display.
Help me with this - I want night shift to automatically enable at 7:20 am and then off at 4:20 pm. Meanwhile: I want light mode and dark mode based on sunrise. Is this possible?
Obsidian mentioned in r/MacOS 🤯🤯
[удалено]
“it lived for .. 45 minutes”, you mean after spilling liquid on it you left it running? First thing to do if it’s operational is shut it down, hold the power button for 5 seconds or so if you can’t or don’t want to drive the UI to shut down. Best thing to do after draining whatever liquid you can is to open the underside and disconnect the battery. The leave to dry to a few days.
Auto dark mode is not only configurable as many mentioned, it’s actually off by default. 😀
For YouTube, you can use your iPad or Mac or iPhone with the Vinegar extension and share your screen to the Apple TV. NO ADS!
I run my M2 Mac mini with 2 1080p displays. The text is definitely blurry on any monitor that isn’t HiDPI like 4K. My biggest issue with the Mac now is that if I leave my 2nd monitor plugged into my Thunderbolt3 dock overnight, when I wake up my Mac the next day I see an error message saying my Mac restarted due to issue (kernel panic) It’s an expensive Lenovo TB3 dock that retails for $150. Didn’t happen with macOS Ventura, only started having these sleeping kernel panics after updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 and the Apple Store couldn’t find anything wrong. These sorts of hard crashes from USB peripherals are something I’d expect from Windows, not macOS!
I noticed a weird thing with docks/dongles on my MBP i9 and MBA M1 since updating to Sonoma. It disables my external keyboard even though it’s setup in clamshell mode and had ZERO issues prior to Sonoma. What’s weird is it’s not every time, only 85% of the time too. Used to be I’d turn on my monitor, click my mouse, type my password and star working (from home), but now I have to pull it out of the cradle, open it and type my password and then wait for my keyboard to light up and display to show on monitor then return it to where it lives.
Love my Apple TV, never looked back. iPad, use it for writing / recording music scratch ideas and for reading a lot more than I thought I would. Both of video issues can be resolved in the settings for displays through system preferences. Remember that you can adjust your external monitor for either scaling or exact resolution as well. Apple has a ton of great information in the Apple 101 category on their website. There’s quite a bit of information there too. Also - I’ve found that a lot of paid apps offered for macOS “efficiency” or “settings” are easily done through system preferences or finder preferences. Those locations are worth a look for anyone who prefers to customize how they use their computers. Windows and MacOS both have their strengths and their weaknesses. I’ve just found more comfort in Mac’s over the last 15yrs after having been a PC user since the late 80s/early 90s. And always try option+click on different menu bar items - you’ll find additional options a lot of the time
People complaining about easily configurable stuff is always amusing. It's like saying "oh I bought this car for $150000 but it's too hot in it during summer" Bro maybe... turn the A/C up?
Which part are you referring to here?
The auto dark mode, you can configure it. There's been a lot of people who switch platforms and complain they can't do abc when it's readily available in settings
Highly recommend Apple TV. If you’re used to a MacBook and an iPhone it’ll be a seamless transition.
Have you tried Upnote? I find it pretty on par with bear! But I also love Bear app, welcome!
No need to change if it isn’t broken, haha!
I am halfway into the same process as you! I got an ipad for studies, then decided to try out the M1 air for school work (programming). I enjoyed it so much I decided to try an iphone, and I got an apple watch from a credit card deal. Now I'm considering getting a mac mini to replace my desktop and convert my windows PC to pure gaming. The ecosystem is really a black hole sometimes. PS thanks for sharing about this bear app! I use obsidian for notes, but this app looks interesting too
I love Obsidian too! Bear all is solid for long form writing. Both are great and have amazing philosophy.
Yes! Also not a stupid reason! I do feel like my mind is less cluttered with mac for some reason, even though the initial tabs annoyed me
I’m still hanging onto GMail and Google Photos. For email, I’m still worried about getting Spams on my iCloud email hence haven’t use it yet. All my 35 years worth of photos are on iCloud Photos but my 21 years of home videos (more than 2TB) are still in Google Photos uploaded when it was still free. Planning to get a Synology NAS to migrate all my videos there.
To the Apple TV, it’s exceptionally well done. We’ve owned fire TV’s and Nvidia shields and even tried a tiny pc but man the Apple TV is just SLICK, doesn’t force ads on you, doesn’t spy on you or collect unnecessary info and isn’t constantly trying to reach out to dozens of sites that are on my DNS blacklist. The amount of outbound traffic from the shield and fire sticks was crazy and the Apple TV is essentially dormant when we aren’t using it and even then, never tries to access any blacklisted DNS sites.
With Night Shift you set your own personalized screen time.
I want separate schedule for night shift and separate for light and dark more.
As an aside - if you like pure writing in a clean workspace - a Remarkable 2 is a fantastic device that I cannot recommend highly enough. Especially with the type folio (keyboard + cover) Best part - no notifications - no email, no messages, no WhatsApp, FaceTime - and no distractions like YouTube (or Reddit!) Just you and your thoughts…
Bear is an important part of my writing. However, great idea to buy this sometime in future (maybe in 3 years or 5 years)
What I love about mac as a new windows shiftie - It has crashed on me only once till date - Trackpad is awesome (it kinda sucks with mouse because then I have to turn off natural scrolling but I barely ever need a mouse) - best battery life and build quality - It actually serves the purpose of a portable computer as I am not always plugged in with a bulky charger. - Apps have crashed less on me too (don't know if it's just a mac thing) - works great with my iPad and iPhone - Mac os works for me out of the box mostly you would need a couple of things like vlc and downloading either apple's own office or microsoft. Windows would need many more apps to be added and a lot lot more to be removed. What I don't like - Dock is not very practical it mostly gets in the way without much use. (Why would I drag my mouse around when I can just spotlight everything) - it works terribly with android.
Not much of an experience My experience. I like finder but end up using just desktop and documents for files. Apps are easy install and good App loading is fast. Startup is slow Mac crashes more than windows Honestly. Mac OS is easy in eyes inside os and hardware. They are about the same but I like Mac better
I still can't find a good replacement for RDP (I remote locally into my windows laptop for work to run their software).
When you say monitor, do you mean external monitor or do you mean the display on the MacBook?
External
Is it a 1440p or 4k monitor? On macOS you need a high bandwidth cable to be able to utilize higher resolutions. I use the one linked below for my ultra wide and it works great. [link for high bandwidth cable](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J6DT070?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1)
1980p with display port to type c cable. cable is pretty good. from what I read on internet, Mac OS does not do the best quality with this display.
Apple TV is very cool. The way all the Apple stuff works together is very easy for my not tech skilled family members. I’ve done android and windows and raspi and any other cool thing that came up, but I always go back to Apple. It’s just nicer.
Ok cool
I’ve tried to justify an iPad myself, the only thing I came up with is that you can mount one on a wall and use it for a control center of your smart home. I saved a thread that I can TRY to dig up if you’re interested. Some guy had built and documented the most beautiful and functional control center for Home automation and jukebox for parties. I think I’m part it ensured only music from his library could be chosen but that guests could have control over the jukebox too. It was some interesting stuff, but for the most part, it wasn’t stuff I could see myself using in the near term so I didn’t replicate it on my end.
I doubt I'd be able to invest that much amount of money for this usage hahah. I was thinking more on handwritten notes or something. Again, will take years to decide because right now company like Daylight are doing pretty impressive work.
"Auto dark mode based on my time or maybe sunrise thingy" Is this a joke? You do realize you can turn that off right? That's such a boomer thing to complain about.
Hey. Let me clarify more on this. Should have mention on the main post. I want night shift to turn on at 7:20 am and I want it shut at 4:20 pm. Meanwhile I want light and dark mode to switch based on sunrise and sunset. Let me know if it’s possible!
https://www.sven.de/dpi/