page_title: Fonts on Macintosh
section_title: Subpixel rendering
hierarchical_section_title: Fonts on Macintosh / Font technology / Subpixel rendering
caption_attribution_description: A sample of text rendered by the Quartz engine in Mac OS X, using traditional and subpixel rendering. Expanded version, with explanations.
context_page_description: Apple's Macintosh computer supports a wide variety of fonts. This support was one of the features that initially distinguished it from other systems.
context_section_description: OS X/macOS uses subpixel rendering. Version 10.2 introduced subpixel rendering of type and Quartz vector graphics. This feature is enabled using the System Preferences panel "General" (10.2) or "Appearance" (10.3), by setting the font smoothing style to "Medium — best for Flat Panel". OS X 10.4 introduced an "Automatic" setting which transparently chooses either "Medium" or "Standard," depending on the type of main display. The quality of the rendering compared to Microsoft's ClearType and FreeType is contested, and is largely a matter of reader preference. However, Apple's approach differs from that of ClearType and FreeType in that TrueType hinting instructions are discarded for all but the smallest type sizes. This results in more consistency of rendering on Mac OS at the expense of allowing type designers a level of fine tuning through hints.
caption: A sample of text rendered by the Quartz engine in macOS, using traditional and subpixel rendering. Expanded version, with explanations.
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