🍎Display settings on MacOS

This page goes over how to adjust your display settings on MacOS computers.

M1 and M2 Macs like the 13" Macbook Air and Macbook Pro can only output to one external monitor and have a max resolution of 3840x2160. They will only work with the Looking Glass Portrait or Looking Glass 16". Only the M1/M2 Pro, Max, and Ultra variants support multiple monitors.

For Looking Glass software to work as best as possible your Looking Glass display must be set to the proper resolution. MacOS in particular tends to scale monitors to optimize for things like text size. While this works great for 2D displays, it can cause some trouble with holographic displays.

Follow the recommendations below to adjust your display settings on MacOS.

Display Adapters

If your Mac computer only has USB-C output you'll need a display adapter to connect the HDMI or DisplayPort cable to your Looking Glass. For Looking Glass Portrait, we usually recommend adapters from Anker.

If you need a different display adapter ensure that it supports at minimum 4K@30hz for use with the Looking Glass Portrait and Looking Glass 16".

A display adapter that doesn't support 4K @ 30hz will not work with your Looking Glass.

Display Scaling

Looking Glass displays are meant to be used as an external monitor. In Display Settings under System Preferences, ensure that your Looking Glass is set to be used as an Extended Display.

Looking Glass displays must be set in accordance with the following display resolutions in order for Looking Glass software to work properly.

Device	Display Resolution
Looking Glass Portrait	1536x2048
Looking Glass 16"	3840x2160
Looking Glass 32" or 65"	7680×4320

Display scaling on MacOS Ventura

Don't see your Looking Glass in display settings? Ensure you have the display cable and USB cable plugged in properly and that Looking Glass display is powered on and running in desktop mode.

On MacOS Ventura, the display scaling functionality is hidden by default. To expose this functionality, first select your Looking Glass display, then hold down the option key and click the More Space option. This will bring up a drop down where you can select the display resolution. Choose the resolution that matches your display from the table above.

Display scaling on MacOS Big Sur

Don't see your Looking Glass in display settings? Make sure you have the display cable and USB cable hooked up to your Mac, and that Looking Glass display is powered on and in desktop mode.

On MacOS Big Sur you should have the option to set the resolution manually via a drop down menu. Ensure that your Looking Glass display matches the resolution listed in the table below.