The aspect ratios you'll typically see on laptops are 16:9, 3:2, 16:10 (which, for whatever reason, is called 16:10 rather than 8:5), and (occasionally) 4:3. From a report: After enduring years of cramped, 'widescreen' laptop displays, it looks like we're finally starting to say goodbye to the 16:9 aspect ratio. With the new MacBooks expected to be released before the end of the year, it shouldn’t be much longer until we solve this mystery.One of the biggest trends coming out of this year's CES wasn't something people will necessarily notice at first glance unless they look closely. Still, I think a little more vertical space is always a good thing on a laptop. I guess Apple just has to think different. It’s also an overall unusual aspect ratio that doesn’t fit any of several common photography, film, or broadcast formats format ( 14:9 AKA 1.56:1 is the closest, but even that’s rather unusual).

Yes, the aspect ratios are only off by the tiniest fraction, but it’s weird to see when the current MacBooks match 100% perfectly. The new 16-inch model would appear to have a ratio of 1.55:1 and the 14-inch one would be 1.54:1. To make the comparison a little simpler, some basic math tells us a 16:10 display has a ratio of 1.6:1, while a 3:2 display is 1.5:1. Even weirder, the two aspect ratios don’t perfectly match each other.

What’s strange is that these aspect ratios are clearly taller than 16:10, but they don’t quite match 3:2 either. Taller aspect ratios have come into vogue because, well, they’re just better for almost anything that’s not video - on a laptop starved for vertical space, at least. If these resolutions aren’t a fluke, they suggest Apple is going even taller this time, closer to the 3:2 ratio used by Surface devices (which is also the most common photography aspect ratio). Apple has used a 16:10 aspect ratio for almost all of its laptops for many years now, slightly ahead of the current trend for taller aspect ratios than the usual 16:9. Then again, considering how many 4k laptops are on the market (that’s 3840 x 2160, for a 16:9 display), perhaps Apple didn’t want to get left behind, even if there’s likely to be a minimal visible benefit.īut what’s perhaps even more interesting about these numbers is the aspect ratios they suggest.

Aspect ratio apple computer monitors