Aspect Ratio Confusion

[MarkX]

A few years back I bought my 1st tablet and it was a top of the line Samsung. It had a 16:9 aspect ratio and it was perfect for what I wanted it for - movie watching.

Roll on a few years and the top now the line Samsung tablets have moved to 4:3(like Apple)on the basis that this aspect ratio is generally considered to have the best screen area for multimedia consumption ie reading, apps and browsing the web.

That being said, tablet sales are in decline since we are using our larger screened smartphones more often than not for all our media consumption needs. If that is the case then why aren't phones following the same logic and moving to 4:3?

I get that 18:9 allows for a slimmer(but taller)device but this ratio only benefits those who primarily watch movies on their phones, for everything else it isn't as good. I would imagine the vast majority of us use our phones for surfing the net, playing games and various apps over movie watching. I could be wrong.

What's people's views?

 

[spinedoc77]

IMO it's for the narrower profile, to fit better in the hand. There is also a bit of cheating going on IMO as the more you play with the aspect ratio, the bigger the screen you can put in your spec sheet. Sure you can have a 10" screen with a 32:9 ratio, but it would be largely useless.

I'm with you, I'd rather have a 4:3, or maybe something not as drastic as 18:9. I do appreciate the benefits of one handed use with a slimmer phone, but at the same time it's taller and that introduces it's own set of functional difficulties. I'd rather have a truer screen size that I can use.

 

[Oohara]

I just tested the S8 for the first time, held it next to my iPhone 7 Plus and the S8 display very clearly felt quite a bit smaller, despite it bragging the 5.8" over 5.5" size.

Honestly the S8+ display didn't really feel substantially bigger either...

So now it's totally clear to me that what I want is a screen that's also wider than the 7 Plus screen. Longer doesn't really do it for me.

 

[tbayrgs]

As @spinedoc77 mentioned, it's really for ergonomics. Tablets aren't held in the palm of your hand with fingers and thumb on opposings sizes, so moving to the 4:3 ratio Apple and Samsung use on their tablets, and the 3:2 ratio we are seeing from Microsoft makes more sense.

Using 4:3 for a phone just isn't ideal as the limiting factor really is width. Using these taller displays allows for additional display space while maintaining reasonable 'grip-ability'. The problem I have with this is that there is also a vertical limit where reaching the top or bottom edges of the display with one hand becomes problematic.

Initially, I think 16:9 is the sweetspot but won't make any final judgement until I can get some significant use time on a device using these alternate ratios and how the OEMs make use of the space.

 

[spinedoc77]

I just tested the S8 for the first time, held it next to my iPhone 7 Plus and the S8 display very clearly felt quite a bit smaller, despite it bragging the 5.8" over 5.5" size.

Honestly the S8+ display didn't really feel substantially bigger either...

So now it's totally clear to me that what I want is a screen that's also wider than the 7 Plus screen. Longer doesn't really do it for me.

Yeah that's exactly how I feel. Add to that the (IMO) loss of functional space created by the curves and you have an even more narrow screen. I'd rather see something like the Mi Mix, now THAT is a work of art.

 

[Tsepz]

Isn't 4:3 what we had with the old phones, that is damn near a square?

Here is the closest to a 4:3 phone I know and it would never work well if it got any bigger

16:9 and 18:9 work best for handsets in terms of ergonomics.

 

[spinedoc77]

As @spinedoc77 mentioned, it's really for ergonomics. Tablets aren't held in the palm of your hand with fingers and thumb on opposings sizes, so moving to the 4:3 ratio Apple and Samsung use on their tablets, and the 3:2 ratio we are seeing from Microsoft makes more sense.

Using 4:3 for a phone just isn't ideal as the limiting factor really is width. Using these taller displays allows for additional display space while maintaining reasonable 'grip-ability'. The problem I have with this is that there is also a vertical limit where reaching the top or bottom edges of the display with one hand becomes problematic.

Initially, I think 16:9 is the sweetspot but won't make any final judgement until I can get some significant use time on a device using these alternate ratios and how the OEMs make use of the space.

Yeah but a decision has to be made, to have a truly larger screen or to have better ergonomics. Even if you choose better ergonomics you are still dealing with a taller phone, which comes with its own set of ergonomic difficulties, especially with the brain dead decision to put the fp scanner where it is on the s8.

I agree, I think I can compromise at 16:9. 4:3 while being very nice, is still tough on the hands. The iPhone 7+, for example, has a fair bit of narrowing they can accomplish by eliminating the side bezels. Yeah the more I sit here and look at my 7+ the more I feel 16:9 is the way to go, with edge to edge sides and reducing the top/bottom bezel. Makes me once again disappointed there won't be an ip8 plus.
[doublepost=1491927970][/doublepost]

Isn't 4:3 what we had with the old phones, that is damn near a square?

Here is the closest to a 4:3 phone I know and it would never work well if it got any bigger

16:9 and 18:9 work best for handsets in terms of ergonomics.

Yeah you're absolutely right, looking at that phone it's ridiculous. 16:9 is the way to go IMO. I'd be willing to bet that Apple will stay with 16:9, thus to me the 5.2" screen of the ip8 will be more equivalent to the s8 screen, still smaller but not as small as simply looking at the specs would imply.

Can someone do the math? What screen size would the s8 and s8+ have if they were 16:9. To me that's more reality.

 

[MarkX]

Yeah but a decision has to be made, to have a truly larger screen or to have better ergonomics. Even if you choose better ergonomics you are still dealing with a taller phone, which comes with its own set of ergonomic difficulties, especially with the brain dead decision to put the fp scanner where it is on the s8.

I agree, I think I can compromise at 16:9. 4:3 while being very nice, is still tough on the hands. The iPhone 7+, for example, has a fair bit of narrowing they can accomplish by eliminating the side bezels. Yeah the more I sit here and look at my 7+ the more I feel 16:9 is the way to go, with edge to edge sides and reducing the top/bottom bezel. Makes me once again disappointed there won't be an ip8 plus.
[doublepost=1491927970][/doublepost]

Yeah you're absolutely right, looking at that phone it's ridiculous. 16:9 is the way to go IMO. I'd be willing to bet that Apple will stay with 16:9, thus to me the 5.2" screen of the ip8 will be more equivalent to the s8 screen, still smaller but not as small as simply looking at the specs would imply.

Can someone do the math? What screen size would the s8 and s8+ have if they were 16:9. To me that's more reality.

I don't know about the S8+ but the regular S8's 5.7 18:9 screen is almost identical in size/area to that of the 5.5 16:9 S7 Edge.

 

[Fireblade]

Isn't 4:3 what we had with the old phones, that is damn near a square?

Here is the closest to a 4:3 phone I know and it would never work well if it got any bigger

16:9 and 18:9 work best for handsets in terms of ergonomics.

True that, but there is a big difference between 16:9 and 18:9, as i definitely prefer 16:9.

 

[MarkX]

IMO it's for the narrower profile, to fit better in the hand. There is also a bit of cheating going on IMO as the more you play with the aspect ratio, the bigger the screen you can put in your spec sheet. Sure you can have a 10" screen with a 32:9 ratio, but it would be largely useless.

I'm with you, I'd rather have a 4:3, or maybe something not as drastic as 18:9. I do appreciate the benefits of one handed use with a slimmer phone, but at the same time it's taller and that introduces it's own set of functional difficulties. I'd rather have a truer screen size that I can use.

I generally swap phones every couple of months because I'm a bit of a junkie, I think that may stop soon if 18:9 becomes the norm.

16:9 is the best compromise. I already have to flip my phone to landscape to read the odd web page on my S7 edge, that would become more frequent on the S8.

 

[Tsepz]

I generally swap phones every couple of months because I'm a bit of a junkie, I think that may stop soon if 18:9 becomes the norm.

16:9 is the best compromise. I already have to flip my phone to landscape to read the odd web page on my S7 edge, that would become more frequent on the S8.

Have you used the the S8 in real life? It fits a whole lot more into the Display Vs. the S7 Edge.

I was quite frankly gobsmacked at the fact that the extra bit of length now allows the phone to fit what could be 3 apps in a Display or in a more practical sense would allow you to see your Video, Keyboard and Conversation, this is not really possible in he S7 Edge.

Here is what I saw when trying the S8

 

[MarkX]

I haven't used the S8 but I understand what you're saying. The fact that you can get 3 apps stacked on top of each other is kinda cool but not something I see as a plus.

Like I said in my previous post, the S8's screen is pretty much identical in area coverage to that of the S7 edge so all you are gaining is a different layout with everything being a little more squashed to fit the new aspect ratio.

I've no doubt that Samsung's marketing will pull in customers by the million, coupled with the fact people think new is better it's going to fly off the shelf.

 

[IowaLynn]

... which seems to b e why people who thought they'd want the S8 end up cancelling, and going with S8+. S8 was too narrow for one. And S8+ fits in your hand nicely as well as it really is light, lighter than my iPhone 6S+.

I may just trade in the Huawei Mate 9.

 

[MarkX]

... which seems to b e why people who thought they'd want the S8 end up cancelling, and going with S8+. S8 was too narrow for one. And S8+ fits in your hand nicely as well as it really is light, lighter than my iPhone 6S+.

I may just trade in the Huawei Mate 9.

I had the Mate 9 and thought it was almost the perfect phone only I struggled getting used to the rear fingerprint scanner.

The battery life was phenomenal, I really don't think the S8+ will come close to matching it even with its new 10nm process.

 

[Fireblade]

I had the Mate 9 and thought it was almost the perfect phone only I struggled getting used to the rear fingerprint scanner.

The battery life was phenomenal, I really don't think the S8+ will come close to matching it even with its new 10nm process.

The Mate 9 with different software (OOS from OnePlus for example) would be an instant buy here...

 

[MarkX]

I actually quite liked their software.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I like the taller screen of the S8+. I never browse in landscape mode. I rather have more real estate from top to bottom. Seeing it in person, the aspect ratio didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Tsepz]

I like the taller screen of the S8+. I never browse in landscape mode. I rather have more real estate from top to bottom. Seeing it in person, the aspect ratio didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

Exactly! Same here.

I use my phone in Portrait orientation 90% of the time, and the other 10% is Like only when Watching Videos and Gaming.

In terms of games, their wider aspect ratio can allow fitting fame controls on the extra bit of real estate or fitting more if the game, will b interesting to see the game Devs take on it.

In terms is video we should begin seeing more content following this aspect ratio, as many content creators are beginning to go Mobile First with more people using their mobiles to consume content already.

But anyway, as with anything new, there will always be those who just don't like change, 'tis life.

 

[cracksoup]

They're just making it harder to reach for the top of the device. Not to mention trying to pull down the notification centre (which I literally do all the time). It's already a stretch on my 6S+.

All I want is to keep the 16:9 so that we don't have to go through this period of changing aspect ratio again and slim down the bezels to the S8 level. That way, the next plus model iPhone would be a tad larger than the small iPhone model is today and the small iPhone would have a similar footprint to that of the iPhone 5.

I've come to a point where I really enjoy a large display but I would equally enjoy a phone that's usable with one hand.

 

[Jetcat3]

Just thought of something, Samsung says the S8's diagonal screen usable space is 5.6". With a 18.5:9 aspect ratio the useable screen area is 79.55cm2, the 7 Plus 5.5" 16:9 aspect ratio is 83.33cm2. 5.8" is a little deceiving but it's still AMAZING they cram almost asmuch screen area in the size of an iPhone 7.

 

[cdmoore74]

I just tested the S8 for the first time, held it next to my iPhone 7 Plus and the S8 display very clearly felt quite a bit smaller, despite it bragging the 5.8" over 5.5" size.

Honestly the S8+ display didn't really feel substantially bigger either...

So now it's totally clear to me that what I want is a screen that's also wider than the 7 Plus screen. Longer doesn't really do it for me.

I noticed this as well when matching my 7 Plus to the standard 8. I agree that it's a little misleading and that's why I'm going for the S8+. I don't mind the aspect ratio because maybe it will make 2 apps on screen more enjoyable in the Plus model.
But what's really confusing is that when comparing the S8 and S8+ side by side there was more word wrapping with the smaller model in both web browsers. I thought it would be the same between the 2 due to the same aspect ratio and resolution; sort of like comparing a 20" 1080p monitor to a 27" 1080p with everything appearing smaller on the 20". So my only guess is that the DPI setting is set differently between the 2. Anybody else willing to chime in on this? I was actually wanting the smaller model until I noticed this at Best Buy. That's it hit me that my 5.5" iPhone felt like it had the bigger screen than the regular S8.

 

[spinedoc77]

Anyone compare the word wrapping between the ip7+ and the s8 and s8+?

 

[Jetcat3]

Anyone compare the word wrapping between the ip7+ and the s8 and s8+?

What even is word wrapping?

 

[cracksoup]

I noticed this as well when matching my 7 Plus to the standard 8. I agree that it's a little misleading and that's why I'm going for the S8+. I don't mind the aspect ratio because maybe it will make 2 apps on screen more enjoyable in the Plus model.
But what's really confusing is that when comparing the S8 and S8+ side by side there was more word wrapping with the smaller model in both web browsers. I thought it would be the same between the 2 due to the same aspect ratio and resolution; sort of like comparing a 20" 1080p monitor to a 27" 1080p with everything appearing smaller on the 20". So my only guess is that the DPI setting is set differently between the 2. Anybody else willing to chime in on this? I was actually wanting the smaller model until I noticed this at Best Buy. That's it hit me that my 5.5" iPhone felt like it had the bigger screen than the regular S8.

The 5.8" Samsung phone actually has an almost 0.2" smaller display area than the 7+ because of the narrower body. The S8+ though is 1.5" larger. I don't look at it as progress, but rather just new numbers for Samsung to brag about.

They have a similar fixation towards larger displays like Apple has towards thinness.

 

[mellofello]

I wish they went with the mi mix layout for s8. I would be fine with the wider size.