First, I’m happy that our Librem 5 don’t have some disgusting design like curved screen, screen notch, punching holes on screen… But one thing is, I feel the screen is too wide(or long).
I think when “wide screen” concept first came out, it’s because human eyes aspect ratio is wider than 4:3, but for such a device like a phone, which is usually watched vertically, wide screen is actually going the opposite direction, not mentioning they are just getting longer and longer, from 3:4 to 10:16 to 9:16, now 1:2… So we are waiting for 9:21? That weird 21:9 is too wide even for normal desktop PC.
Anyone agree with me and want a phone with 3:4 screen?
I prefer 16:9
Physical size is important too though i.e. as a separate consideration from aspect ratio. (That is to say, you can make it square just by notionally lopping off half the screen.)
Is it a big deal for me? No. I will take 2:1, 16:9, 4:3, whatever comes - but 2:1 is what they’ve said, so that ought to come.
All I know for sure is that I really REALLY hate the tall-and-skinny videos that are now the norm. Why can’t idiots turn their phones sideways when filming?
A tall-and-skinny phone is easier to hold in a human hand. Old-school phones had something like the 9:21 aspect ratio you ridicule.
People have come to believe that ultra-wide screens are more cinematic, although scientific studies back in the 1930s and '40s settled on 4:3 as an optimal ratio for movie theater screens.
Everyone seems to want their phone’s screen to cover the entire front surface, so screen ratio will be almost identical to phone ratio.
The 3:4 phone you want would be okay by me, but I might need a handle securely attached to the back, cuz I kinda have small hands.
Landscapes are looking better with wide screen. And also Documents (like Wikipedia or 2x PDFs) fit better on wide screen. Portraits are looking better in 4:3, but how often do you want to see a portait on PC?
And on mobile phone there are 2 thinkgs why 1:2 or something similar is so much better.
- It is much easier to hold and to navigate via thrumb.
- You have long lists like address book that fits better in vertical format.
So most things you want to do with smartphone in a quick way, you will have it easier in 1:2 instead of 2:1. But for the rest of cases you can swap it easily. I dont see any reason why it should be made in another way. 3:4 would be very bad to use in every case i can think about. I also would Prefer 9:16, but 1:2 isnt that far away (9:18).
And btw 21:9 is for most people to wide, but some wants it for gaming or working (like a friend who is musican and has long time lines).
already discussed here on the Purism forums. go on ! i dare you to use the search function in the upper-right corner !