How to Set Your MacBook Screen Resolution to 16:9

MacBooks don’t use a 16:9 aspect ratio, including my daily driver, the MacBook Air M4.

Most modern MacBook displays are 16:10, which is great for productivity. But sometimes you just need 16:9 for certain tasks.

There are many such cases, for example:

• Recording tutorials
• Testing how something looks on standard monitors
• Matching an external display output
• Or simply preferring the classic 16:9 layout

I record a lot of videos, especially screencasts, for my YouTube channel. YouTube itself recommends videos in a 16:9 resolution, such as 1920×1080 or 1280×720.

So naturally, if I want to record my MacBook in full screen, the logical thing to do is set it to a 16:9 resolution.

Sadly, macOS doesn’t have a built-in feature to change your screen to 16:9. But luckily, there’s still a way to do it — and here’s exactly how I did it.

Not in the mood for reading? Watch the video instead.

Step 1: Download BetterDisplay

To make this work, we’ll use an app called BetterDisplay.

1. Go to the official BetterDisplay website
2. Click Download
3. Open the DMG
4. Drag the app into Applications
5. Launch it

macOS might ask for permission — just click Open.

Step 2: Create a Virtual 16:9 Screen

Once the BetterDisplay app is opened and running:

1. Click the BetterDisplay icon in the menu bar
2. Click Displays and Virtual Screens to reveal more options
3. Click the Create New Virtual Screen button

4. Choose the default 16:9 - HD/4K/5K/6K from the pre-configured settings
5. Click the Create Virtual Screen button

6. A new display configuration will appear — then tick Connect this virtual screen

Now we’ve created a 16:9 display. But we’re not done yet.

Step 3: Mirror Your Built-in Display

We’ve already connected the 16:9 virtual screen from BetterDisplay, but the screen is still showing 16:10. That’s because a newly connected display defaults to being an extended display.

To switch your main screen to 16:9, we need to mirror it. Here’s how:

1. Open System Settings
2. Click Displays in the sidebar
3. Select the Built-in Display from the display list
4. Change the Use as value to Mirror for Virtual 16:9

As soon as you select that option, your MacBook screen switches to a 16:9 resolution.

You’ll notice black bars or adjusted scaling depending on your setup — that’s completely normal.

Step 4: Adjust the Resolution Size

If the screen feels too big or too small, you can tweak it.

1. Go to the menu bar
2. Click the BetterDisplay icon
3. Expand the Virtual 16:9 screen
4. Drag the Resolution slider left or right, depending on your preferred resolution

In my case, I match it closely to my MacBook Air’s native width (1440×810) so it feels natural and sharp.

Video

Final Thoughts

macOS doesn’t natively let you change your built-in display to a different aspect ratio like 16:9.

But with BetterDisplay, it only takes a few clicks.

Once set up, switching between normal and 16:9 is quick and painless.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading, and see you next time 👋