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
applesith
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
LastLine
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
GenesisST
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
wikus
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
Undecided
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
benpatient
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)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
Read Full Article • 108 comments
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
Read Full Article • 57 comments
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple Expected to Unveil Five All-New Products This Year

Wednesday January 21, 2026 10:54 am PST by
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses. Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product. Smart Home Hub Apple home hub (concept) Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
Liquid Glass App Store Feature

App Store and Apple TV Experiencing Outage

Tuesday January 20, 2026 4:36 pm PST by
Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple also says some users may be seeing intermittent issues with Apple TV. The Apple TV Channels feature is down too, and users may be unable to access some...
Read Full Article • 42 comments
airtag prime day 2

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Wednesday January 21, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27. The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
Read Full Article • 132 comments