BetterDisplay for Mac
Unlock your displays on your Mac.
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BetterDisplay overview
BetterDisplay (formerly BetterDummy) is a truly wonderful tool! It let's you convert your displays to fully scalable screens, allows brightness control, provides XDR/HDR upscaling (extra brightness beyond 100% on compatible displays), full dimming to black, helps you create and manage virtual displays (dummies) for your Mac, create Picture in Picture windows of your displays and gives you a host of other features to manage your display's settings easily from the menu bar.
Features:
- Convert your internal and natively connected external displays to smoothly-scaled HiDPI displays on Apple Silicon - now even without mirroring a dummy (displays with notch, HDR, HDCP, high refresh rate fully supported)! (Pro)
- Reach the full brightness potential of your XDR or HDR display! (Pro)
- Change the display's brightness, volume and colors via software and hardware (DDC) control via sliders and native or custom keyboard shortcuts!
- Create custom HiDPI resolutions for real displays manually and redefine certain system display parameters!
- Create any number of dummies (virtual screens) with varying aspect ratios.
- Use headless Macs (servers) with any resolution and HiDPI mode for remote access.
- Create Picture in Picture window for any real or dummy displays. (Pro)
- Redirect your display's contents (real or dummy) to an other screen via streaming. (Pro)
- If you are using a big TV up close, use the bottom half of your TV as a wide screen display (off-center streaming). (Pro)
- Scale Sidecar resolutions. (Pro)
- Portrait SideCar support. (Pro)
- Better quality zooming (System Preferences»Accessibility»Zoom) or High Quality screenshots even on 1080p displays
- Easily change the resolution of your real and dummy displays via a slider (or submenu) from the menubar.
- Quickly accessible refresh rate and screen rotation menu.
- Simplify creating mirrored sets. (Pro)
- Easily move around displays relative to each other using the app menu.
- Quickly designate a display to be main display.
- Associate dummies with displays for auto connect/disconnect.
- Keyboard shortcuts for basic operations.
- Advanced keyboard shortcuts support. (Pro)
- Custom dummies (resolution, orientation, naming). (Pro)
- Create a dummy optimized for a real display. (Pro)
What’s new in version 4.1.1
Enhancements
- Added option to deprioritize hardware brightness control (instead of fully disabling it) (#4850)
- Do not animate the app menu icon with Tahoe-style OSD on displays with a notch when the icon is faded out (in full screen) (#4847)
- Show the OSD at the top-center when the menu bar is not visible (macOS Tahoe 26.2+ only) (#4846)
- Implement OSD close button (introduced in macOS 26.1) (#4835)
- Added Bottom-Center OSD location (#4682)
- Added proper OSD for non-scale-based volume up/down/toggle on pre-Tahoe macOS versions (#4831)
- Added ambient light sensor lux reading for the built-in display (#4727)
- Added CLI feature to query the ambient light sensor (#4788)
- Show an appropriate warning when another controller takes precedence (#4794)
- Do not animate app menu sliders on reveal by default (macOS Tahoe 26) (#4761)
- Added UI + backend to add/remove additional built-in control options for displays (#4741)
- Added option to prevent overlays from affecting screenshots and screen recordings (#4703)
- Improve menu alignment and presentation consistency (#4651)
- Added bounce animation to custom simple OSD icon on activity (#4649)
- Prevent disconnecting the built-in display when starting in Safe Mode with external display configured to disconnect it (#4694)
- Reorganize Image Adjustments menu + make it scrollable along with the Device Control menu (#4648)
- Added support for basic step-based volume and mute-toggle keyboard control for supported integration options (#4642)
- Show which controller (DDC, integration, Tizen, native, etc.) supports volume control under the Volume Control… sheet (#4641)
- Added basic CLI support for sending remote commands to LG, Samsung, and Philips Smart TVs (#4709)
- Display Group Layout Protection — Define Main Display (#4168)
- Added percentage display to the volume OSD when a native audio device is being controlled (#4667)
- LG webOS TV control (#4801)
- Added auto-reconnect to LG webOS controllers if the connection fails (#4844)
- Added volume and image-setting subscription and polling options for LG webOS TVs to sync settings with the device (#4834)
- Added picture controls (backlight/OLED pixel brightness, contrast, color) for LG webOS TVs (#4823)
- Added feature to enter LG webOS TV service menus and unlock full service menu (#4820)
- Added LG webOS TV power control on sleep/wake and soft-connect/disconnect (#4818)
- Added full-range and up/down/toggle volume control methods for LG webOS TVs (#4813)
- Added PIN-based pairing method for LG webOS (alongside prompt-based) for added security (#4814)
- Added virtual remote control for LG webOS TVs (#4812)
- Added Philips Android TV control (using Philips API v6) (#4771)
- Added virtual remote control for Philips Android TVs (#4791)
- Added full-range and up/down/toggle volume control methods for Philips Android TVs (#4792)
- Added Philips Android TV power control on sleep/wake and soft-connect/disconnect (#4790)
- Added built-in support for Yamaha AVR (used as digital audio output) (#4707)
- Periodic volume/mute updates for Yamaha AVRs (#4757)
- Added power control on sleep/wake for Yamaha AVRs (#4756)
- Added auto-power-on + input switching on volume change for Yamaha AVRs (#4755)
- Added zone selection to Yamaha AVR control (#4754)
- Samsung control via WebSocket (#3871)
- Added Samsung TV power control on sleep/wake and soft-connect/disconnect (#4686)
- Added full virtual remote control for Samsung Smart TVs (#4645)
- Added WOL power control for Samsung Smart TVs (#4643)
- Added feature to enter Samsung TV hospitality, service, and advanced service menus (#4640)
- Added basic Samsung Smart TV volume control (volume up/down/mute toggle) (#4639)
- Added optional OSD shadow (#4885) v4.1.1
- Improved compatibility with macoOS 26.1 and 26.2 v4.1.1
Fixed
- OSD may disappear after switching Spaces and entering/exiting full-screen (macOS 26 Tahoe) (#4827)
- Sidecar connection does not work in clamshell mode (only disconnect) from the app menu (#4841)
- Menu customizer picker and input-switcher keyboard shortcut configurator have visual issues (#4829)
- App menu background rendering artifacts and flickering when the menu is not key window (latest macOS 26 Tahoe) (#4822)
- Heavy resource use on frequent audio-device change messages (#4770)
- When changing display order via ordering string, menu header corners are not updated while open (#4767)
- Menubar does not display on full-screen apps when the Settings window is open on a desktop (#4743)
- Built-in display repeatedly connects/disconnects when configured to turn off on external connection and the external display is AirPlay, Sidecar, or DisplayLink (#4665)
- If a virtual screen is streamed to a real screen, brightness control affects both, and OSD may duplicate in some scenarios (#4660)
- Samsung TV control device IP address field does not accept hostname instead of IP address (#4884) v4.1.1
- Paddle license input fields don't have a border using light theme on macOS Tahoe (#4882) v4.1.1
Included Localizations
This version includes the following localizations.
- British English ( @PuzzledUser)
- Chinese, Simplified ( @BingoKingo, @shindgewongxj, @hshsilver, @jacktechstudio)
- Chinese, Traditional ( @old-cookie, @moriLiu)
- Dutch ( @dvanzoerlandt)
- French ( @Kcraft059, @MonolitheMedia)
- German ( @mickimnet, @dotWee, @niklasbogensperger, @sm-moshi)
- Hungarian ( @sup3rb3ar)
- Italian ( @MapleLeaf14)
- Japanese ( @SakiPapa)
- Korean ( @hw0603, @chihuahua-experience)
- Norwegian Bokmål ( @elislays08)
- Portuguese, Brazil ( @gpnunes75, @giulianopires)
- Romanian ( @mikevic18, @cristianritco)
- Slovenian ( @DrRoglaa)
- Spanish ( @stonkol, @cfuentea, @maximsenterprise)
- Swedish ( @yeager)
- Turkish ( @MazlumSerbest, @ibrayd, @afkeceli)
- Ukrainian ( @JulyIghor)
- Vietnamese ( @andrwmai, @HaiBliss)
BetterDisplay for Mac
Free
In English
Version 4.1.1
What users say about BetterDisplay
Features: 5.0
Makes using a non-apple (Dell) monitor with my Mac Mini Pro a breeze. Allow for super sharp imagery and text and imagery at any resolution setting. So much better that apple defaults for non-integer magnification levels.
Other user ratings:
Value | 5.0
Ease of use | 5.0
Reliability | 5.0
Customer support | 5.0
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(16 Reviews of BetterDisplay)
Comments
User Ratings
Oct 18 2025
Version: 4.0.4
App is crushing after update to the latest MacOs. I am using Benq MA270U monitor. Action to change resolution is ending with black screen and MacOs restart is needed. With previous MacOs version everything was OK and I was enjoying the app. 😕
Jul 23 2025
Version: 3.5.6
PLEASE HELP!! Dell monitor stopped working/broke permanently after installing Better Display
Hi folks! Is there someone who could help me solve a self-made mess? I'd be so appreciative and grateful!!
I was experimenting with the Better Display app on my MacBook Pro, featuring M2 silicon, and somehow my Dell monitor started working in much better ways than expected. It even allowed me to control the monitor's accessories, such as brightness and volume features, directly from my Mac, which was previously not possible. I was so excited and happy that I got greedy and wanted more, so I continued exploring new settings to further enhance my experience. At some point, I became familiar with adjusting the monitor’s display EDID settings. Then, to prevent the Mac from applying True Tone and Night Shift colour schemes to the external monitor, I started playing with other settings. In the process, I ended up changing the setting to "using the external monitor as a television instead of a computer screen." When I realized that this was not what I wanted, because I was just experimenting with the settings, I tried to revert the changes I had made to the settings. However, at that point, I messed up something in the process. Now, my external display/monitor is no longer working. I've spent hours trying to fix this, but I've given up completely. My external monitor is sitting useless, and I'm stuck on a MacBook screen. I'll be happy to share all the details/steps I've taken so far to fix and address the issues that have failed.
May 3 2024
Version: 2.3.2
I use this to quickly switch my monitor input to another connected Mac or PS5. Saves me navigating the convoluted monitor menus.
Dec 26 2023
Version: 2.1.3
Just installed the app on my mac mini. Brightness controls work great. Sound controls aren't working, although the on-screen sound bars are moving.
