Here, you will see a drop-down menu for changing the size of text, apps, and other items. Consider the following screenshot, which shows a 4K UHD screen set at its native resolution with the Windows 10 Settings app maximized. However, there are still millions of Windows applications that simply don’t display well on today’s best displays when they’re running at their native resolutions. Newer applications are more aware of high-resolution displays, and some developers have caught up with the times and have adjusted their older applications. The first major problem with Windows 10 high-DPI displays is that the vast majority of Windows applications weren’t written for such high resolutions. Since then, manufacturers have shipped displays with significantly higher ppi, causing a few problems along the way. Microsoft originally defined “high-DPI” as a display with between 120 and 144 ppi, and it started supporting high-DPI displays in Windows 7. The more physical pixels installed in a screen, the more dots the GPU can “print” (or render) in both directions. On displays, this translates to the measurement of an image on the screen. The term dots per inch, or DPI, is typically associated with printers and how many dots they can print both horizontally and vertically within an inch. That makes them extremely hard to see and use. However, they require a higher physical pixel count, and when you cram all those pixels into a small display, on-screen items not properly scaled to support that high resolution can become very small. There’s no question that high resolutions are great. These PCs have a very high pixels-per-inch (ppi) count packed into a screen with a 3:2 ratio versus the more common widescreen 16:9 ratio. Other manufacturers use custom resolutions, as highlighted by Microsoft’s Surface line.

Some PCs, such as the HP Spectre x360 15, only offer 4K UHD screens. Though full HD (1920 x 1080) and higher displays are much more common today, 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) displays are now the new high-resolution norm.

Here’s how to adjust high-DPI scaling in Windows 10 to get the best visuals you can squeeze out of your PC. Still, Windows 10 is catching up now that 4K has become the new high-resolution norm. However, there is one thing that MacOS has always done better: Take advantage of high-resolution displays. The other side appreciates the elegance of MacOS and the close integration between Apple’s software and hardware. One side prefers the look and feel of Windows and the breadth of the Windows PC ecosystem.

Windows 10 and MacOS both have their devoted fans.

Change individual icon size windows 10