Regardless of which aspect ratio is better, most android tablets have switched from 16:9 to 4:3 so why would the iPad switch away from the more popular format.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Any good reason the iPAD still uses a 4:3 resolution?
- Thread starter Perene
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Other than hooky streaming services/torrents and SD cards, how do you mean?
I only ask because I’ve never felt restricted on the iPad in this regard. Well, other than in the first year or so of the iPad I suppose.
I've used 16:9 tablets and it was a terrible experience:
I like to use a tablet in portrait mode which is a nightmare with a wide-screen tablet and 3:2, while better, is still not as good as 4:3
IMO 4:3 is the perfect ratio for a tablet and I for one hope Apple never change it!
I like to use a tablet in portrait mode which is a nightmare with a wide-screen tablet and 3:2, while better, is still not as good as 4:3
IMO 4:3 is the perfect ratio for a tablet and I for one hope Apple never change it!
There are a few:
- Transferring high quality movie files is still a pain due to slow USB 2 transfer speeds. This is particularly glaring for e.g. Blu-ray movies over 8GB in size.
- For people who like to
- watch some shows that aren't readily available (obscure / foreign language TV series) and / or
- watch while commuting where reception is poor e.g. on a train / road trip
- watch some shows that aren't readily available (obscure / foreign language TV series) and / or
- Another convenience is with codecs - e.g. side loading a codec to play Dolby Digital on Android devices with MX Player Pro.
The overall experience of using an iPad still greatly overrides any of these considerations for me, but if your primary use case is just watching videos, I can see compelling arguments for an Android tablet.
Fair enough. I tend to stick to mkvs no larger than 4gb a file and have always bought max capacity iPads. Meaning, I tend to do a huge transfer to Infuse from my immense archive via lightning cable occasionally.
Never bothered much with streaming, the places I watch video (while ostensibly at work) don’t have wifi. Cellular signal is okay, but I don’t want to have rely on it, or watch low quality video.
Last edited:
Is this how a 16:9 iPAD would look like? I'll admit it doesn't look good for portrait, yet considering I always use landscape, maybe they should release the two versions to see which one would have a good feedback. I don't understand how this can be a problem, considering every release has multiple versions available.
Is 16:9 to the more popular format? Just because more manufacturers sell in 16:9 doesn't make it more popular.
Because if we are talking just pure tablets I think iPad is still the biggest draw card.
Personally I can cope with black bands when I'm watching Netflix to have a more practical not taking space when using notability and the Apple Pencil.
Because you do not rotate the orientation of your laptop, try doing that and see how awkward the ratio is.
[doublepost=1502508339][/doublepost]
It would be a HUGE problem - because iOS and every single app would have to be reworked in to at least two different versions. Try telling 100,000 developers they need to rewrite all their apps and try getting millions of iPad users to sort out which apps can and cannot work, it would be worse than Android where there are dozens of combinations of OS's and screen formats not all of which work together. The 'multiple versions' of iPad that exist now are in memory capacity and colors, nothing developers need to worry about.
I remember the switch from iPhone 4S (3:2) to 5 (16:9). I think it wasn't until the iPhone 6 was released (ergo, new resolution to optimize for) before some of my apps got updated for 16:9.
At least from 5s to 6, the apps were just blown up but maintained the same aspect ratio.
No I'm saying that 4:3 is becoming more popular. I've used 16:9 android tablets and they are rubbish for anything but watching videos. The iPad is decent for watching videos and great at everything else.
Last edited:
Totally agree. I feel anyone waiting for a 16:9 iPad are wasting their time and would advise them to look elsewhere.
16:9 is a lousy ratio for almost everything bar gaming and video, including laptops. I remember when I bought my first MacBook in 2006, one of the attractions was the 16:10 display when almost everyone else had moved to 16:9, mostly for marketing reasons it seemed to me. In the pre widescreen era, laptops and monitors had more verticality considering the footprint and were more useful for it. For modern (I’m talking mid 00s onward) laptops, 16:10 was a good compromise.
Less of an issue with computer monitors as 27” and up still offers ample space and footprint is not an issue.
In my experience, video viewing is the only use where 16:9 is beneficial, and only if assuming the device is otherwise generally used in portrait orientation (e.g., iPhone).
I feel that just about everything else in landscape is benefited by 4:3, especially web browsing and productivity apps, particularly when considering Split View, etc.
Oh, and I don’t watch videos. So I guess my opinion is slanted.
I feel that just about everything else in landscape is benefited by 4:3, especially web browsing and productivity apps, particularly when considering Split View, etc.
Oh, and I don’t watch videos. So I guess my opinion is slanted.
Not having the latest iteration, I'm not sure if ipad split view has seriously changed the equation, but when I use my ipad for browsing the web, I always use portrait mode. There's simply more to read. ditto for PDFs.
Of course, other apps are more comfortable to use in landscape mode. A squarer aspect ratio helps make both orientations seem useful.
Do what seems right for the moment.
Of course, other apps are more comfortable to use in landscape mode. A squarer aspect ratio helps make both orientations seem useful.
Do what seems right for the moment.
16:9 portrait works for the iPhone because it's small. I think up to around 7-8 inch diagonal, 16:9 works quite nicely. Beyond that, something a bit more squarish is better.
I’ve used a Nexus 7, which is 16:9, and it hurts the general use such as web browsing a lot. Pretty much you have to use the thing in portrait to be enjoyable, otherwise you have to feel cramped, especially for typing.
I use my iPad almost everyday to watch videos and have no problem with the black bars, unless it’s like a 2:39 ratio, but that’s pretty rare with stuff on Netflix/Hulu.
I use my iPad almost everyday to watch videos and have no problem with the black bars, unless it’s like a 2:39 ratio, but that’s pretty rare with stuff on Netflix/Hulu.
Iirc, it's 16:10 rather than 16:9. At that size though, it feels more natural to use the Nexus 7 in portrait. Kinda like a big phablet. I used mine almost exclusively in portrait mode except for videos and some games so pretty much same way I used my phone.
I had both the first and second generation nexus 7 and I thought that the aspect ratio was spot on. It was very comfortable to hold in portrait for browsing etc and in landscape for watching videos. I think it worked so well because it was only 7 inches. On a bigger device the aspect ratio wouldn't work.
IMO the Nexus 7 2013 was and still is the best android tablet ever. It was the closest you could get to retina before the iPad mini 2, and ergonomically is a joy to use.
Sadly no other android tablet so far seems to have come close to it.
Sadly no other android tablet so far seems to have come close to it.
I never had a nexus 7 but I held it and used it on several occasions and I thought it was a very special size. The screen was as large as a screen could be while still being able to comfortably palm the device in one hand. It felt like the perfect size for a small tablet--something I'd want to read with for hours. After that I always wished iPad mini was that size, at least the width (in portrait). At that size, I would have found pretty much any aspect ratio acceptable. I agree with others, as a device gets larger, 4:3 feels more comfortable.
Yep. Quite honestly, I would've liked a 7" phablet. I have the Nexus 7 2013 LTE and often wished I could use it natively as a phone (with headset). Not including phone functionality on cellular-capable tablets seems such an arbitrary restriction considering they get assigned phone numbers anyway and the hardware can easily handle those functions.
Ah ok. Maybe I just didn’t use it enough to really appreciate the size. Seems like a lot of people like the size. I use my devices 90% of the time in landscape so maybe that’s why.