From our last week poll, it is clear that the idea of notched Android devices will not be welcomed by Android followers. About 87% of our voters said that the notch on an Android phone feels like copied crap while 11% doesn’t seem to care.
Some weeks ago, we ask you your preferred size of a smartphone screen. The response was highly variable but from our poll, a large number of persons prefer smartphones with screen size not less than 5.4-inch and not more than 6.0-inch. However, there is another dimension to view smartphone display and that is on the screen aspect ratio. We have the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio as well as the more recent 18:9 aspect ratio which was popularized by South Korean manufacturing giants Samsung and LG.
The aspect ratio of a phone is not to be confused with its screen size. While the screen size is the diagonal relationship between the sides of the display rectangle, the aspect ratio is the ratio of the display length and width. 18:9 aspect ratio makes our phones long and thin while 16:9 aspect ratios make them short and squat. For instance, my Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is a 5.7-inch smartphone with a 16:9 aspect ratio. If it were to use an 18:9 aspect ratio, it would have been a 6.3-inch phone (thanks Charlie for the mathematics). Similarly, a 6-inch phone with 18:9 aspect ratio is like a 5.4-inch device with 16:9 screen.
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These two displays obviously have some advantages. Most of the videos online are made in 16:9 aspect ratio formats. Thus when using a 16:9 phone, the video will be a perfect fit but on an 18:9 device, you’re going to end up with black bars at the sides of the screen or have to zoom in cutting off parts of the footage. What are the benefits of 18:9 displays? Probably, the biggest benefit of the new aspect ratio is the fact that your phone can have a large screen (diagonally) and since it creates more height and less width, it’s easier to hold. In addition, most apps and web pages require a vertical view which means that you will see more details with an 18:9 display. Many thanks to the extra height.
Presently, I use both the LG G6 and Mi Note 2 which uses the same processor. The former is a considerably smaller phone but they both have the same 5.7-inch display. This is because the smaller sized LG G6 comes with 18:9 aspect ratio while the larger Mi Note 2 rocks an 16:9. Somehow, I’m in love with my Mi Note 2. I am a movie freak and I got tired of struggling with videos on my G6. I’m, sure there are a lot of guys who think differently.
So what do you think about smartphone aspect ratio? 18:9 or 16:9? Let us have your votes in the polls below and if there is anything you need to add, let us know in the comments
Me prefer 18:9 ratio cos of handling, it is compact to hands
Very good display with excellent sunlight readability, is what I prefer.
18:9 6″ is like 5.5″ 16:9 inch. That means that some people that are complaining about size the most of them was ok only with a 5″ ratio.
18:9 is ridiculou aspect ratio and 19:9 is even worse. A 6″ 19:9 is like a 5.2 16:9.
If somenone work with a phone is 99% vertically and for that need wider screen.
I hope all this nonsense to stop soon with that aspect ratio after the foldable smartphones come to market.
18:9 and 19:9 are both just marketing gimmick to make customers think that getting larger screen. Many tech people say that this ratio is more profitable for the display manufacturers and nothing more.
While some could argue that the 18:9 aspect ratio screens are made to make compact phones with bigger displays, the existence of the ZUK Edge shows that the same can be achieved without changing the normal aspect ratio, but, of course, manufacturers know better than us what we should get.