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New OS X Mavericks update said to provide ‘pixel doubling’ for 4K Retina display support

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If you’re one of the few lucky ducks that have enough pocket change for a fancy 4K monitor and you’re an OS X user, you’re in luck.

According to multiple reports, the beta version of the next update for Mac OS X Mavericks, dubbed 10.9.3, was released to developers, and contains within it options to scale display resolution up via “pixel doubling,” thus enabling 4K resolution. This means that you can hook up the latest MacBook Pro with Retina, which tops out with a resolution of 2880×1800 on the 15-inch model and 2560×1600 on the 13-inch, to an external 4K display without having to fear that images will look blurry. The sharpness and brilliance you enjoy on your MacBook Pro with Retina would be maintained on the external display. 

On top of that, it appears as if you’ll also be able to hook your MacBook Pro with Retina up to a 4K-resolution monitor while running it with a 60Hz refresh rate. At this point, the maximum supported refresh rate for 4K monitors on OS X Mavericks tops out at 30Hz. Using 4K at 30Hz makes certain animations stutter, which can be incredibly annoying and essentially makes for an unusable experience.

It’s currently unclear when the full version of OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 will be released to the public, as an official release date has not been revealed. However, considering that the update is in beta mode, it’s likely not that far off from seeing the full light of day.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

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Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
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