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I wish Dell had gotten away from the 16:9 screen aspect ratio which is great for watching movies, but not so great for other stuff, to 3:2 which is much better

I wish Dell had gotten away from the 16:9 screen aspect ratio which is great for watching movies, but not so great for other stuff, to 3:2 which is much better for productivity work. When I was looking for a laptop last year, I also looked at the Matebook X Pro which had the 3:2 aspect ratio, and it had a lot more usable screen real estate. I ended up going with the XPS 13, but I miss the 3:2 ratio.

dijit 7y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong but the last I heard from the XPS line was that they're 16:10, and while not 3:2 it is much more usable productively; and a super compelling draw for me. https://www.anandtech.com/show/14426/when-ice-matters-dell-announces-xps-13-2in1-with-ice-lakeu https://www.anandtech.com/show/14426/when-ice-matters-dell-a...
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
  That is a link to the XPS 2-in-1 which is different from the XPS 13. I believe the XPS 13 has the 16:9
  - dijit 7y ago
    They're very similar, and the TFA itself says that it's 16:10.
- baybal2 7y ago
  I kinda don't like 3:2 as it is "neither meat, neither fish" Software adapted for 16:9 ration with huge side toolbars get near no usable work space (photoshop, gimp) and you don't get so much space for documents as proper 4:3 or 16:9 turned vertical And god forbid you break the screen, nothing but the original panel will fit as all 3:2 panels are custom order
  - derekp7 7y ago
    3:2 is great for tablets or convertibles. For me, 16:9 vertical (9:16?) is way to narrow for most web sites. Whereas 3:2 is the sweet spot that works in either orientation fairly well. The other thing I like about it is when watching pre-hi-def TV shows, the black bars on the sides aren't really that bad, and widescreen content isn't as bad as on 4:3.
totalperspectiv 7y ago
I have a matebook, and can confirm that the screen ratio is a dream. So is the rest of the laptop really. You can find them refurbished sometimes for 800-1000, with some serious specs. I've been using it with Windows 10 Pro + WSL, which has been perfect for hobby projects and playing some games / media consumption.

dijit 7y ago

Correct me if I'm wrong but the last I heard from the XPS line was that they're 16:10, and while not 3:2 it is much more usable productively; and a super compelling draw for me. https://www.anandtech.com/show/14426/when-ice-matters-dell-announces-xps-13-2in1-with-ice-lakeu https://www.anandtech.com/show/14426/when-ice-matters-dell-a...

RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
That is a link to the XPS 2-in-1 which is different from the XPS 13. I believe the XPS 13 has the 16:9
- dijit 7y ago
  They're very similar, and the TFA itself says that it's 16:10.
baybal2 7y ago
I kinda don't like 3:2 as it is "neither meat, neither fish" Software adapted for 16:9 ration with huge side toolbars get near no usable work space (photoshop, gimp) and you don't get so much space for documents as proper 4:3 or 16:9 turned vertical And god forbid you break the screen, nothing but the original panel will fit as all 3:2 panels are custom order
- derekp7 7y ago
  3:2 is great for tablets or convertibles. For me, 16:9 vertical (9:16?) is way to narrow for most web sites. Whereas 3:2 is the sweet spot that works in either orientation fairly well. The other thing I like about it is when watching pre-hi-def TV shows, the black bars on the sides aren't really that bad, and widescreen content isn't as bad as on 4:3.

totalperspectiv 7y ago

I have a matebook, and can confirm that the screen ratio is a dream. So is the rest of the laptop really. You can find them refurbished sometimes for 800-1000, with some serious specs. I've been using it with Windows 10 Pro + WSL, which has been perfect for hobby projects and playing some games / media consumption.