The seventh beta of macOS Monterey, released earlier this week, includes a pair of new entries in a list of display resolutions for the System Information app, potentially revealing the resolutions of the upcoming "M1X" 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
As discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, the two new display resolutions are listed as "3456 x 2234 Retina" and "3024 x 1964 Retina" and do not correspond to resolutions of the built-in displays on any current or previous Apple products. Based on the resolutions themselves and their relationships to each other, it seems likely that these new resolutions are for the upcoming MacBook Pro.
The current 16-inch MacBook Pro has a native display resolution of 3072 x 1920, while the current 13-inch MacBook Pro's native resolution is 2560 x 1600, giving both machines a pixel density of 226–227 pixels per inch.
If these new resolutions are indeed for the upcoming MacBook Pro models, they would represent an increase in pixel density to around 250 pixels per inch, which notably would allow for native 2x Retina as the default setting for these new machines for the sharpest possible image.
While users have several display resolution options to choose from, current MacBook Pro models feature scaled default resolutions that fall between the native display resolution and a 2x Retina display.
For example, the current 16-inch MacBook Pro with a native resolution of 3072 x 1920 would correspond to a 1536 x 960 display at true 2x Retina quality, but content on such a display with a 16-inch diagonal appears uncomfortably large for most users, so Apple ships the machines at a default scaled resolution that "looks like" 1792 x 1120.
With the apparent increased pixel density on these upcoming MacBook Pro models, a true 2x Retina setting would fall right in the sweet spot for most users, with the 16-inch model yielding a "looks like" resolution of 1728 x 1117 and the 14-inch model coming in at an apparent 1512 x 982.
Apple is rumored to be introducing the redesigned MacBook Pro models before the end of the year, likely at another media event in October or November.
