4 ms·

I would say that there are at least two good reasons. A4 is not a relevant standard in the biggest market (USA) and A4 proportions are objectively not great for

I would say that there are at least two good reasons. A4 is not a relevant standard in the biggest market (USA) and A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated).

niklasrde 3y ago
Seeing that this product is not targeted at the US and might never even make it there, I'm not sure that's relevant. A4 documents will either be cut off or squished into a smaller space to fit all, so the proportions of the screen are also not really relevant when that's the proportions of the document.
mkl 3y ago
> A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated). This statement is purely subjective. It is false in general and there's nothing objective about it. I've read thousands of pages of A4 with no problems, and in fact I'd say it's great.
- red_trumpet 3y ago
  Almost no books are published in A4 format, even in Europe. I think that has a reason.
  - mkl 3y ago
    No one mentioned books, but standard paperback book sizes are actually even more elongated than A4 (but smaller). A4 is used a lot in academia for papers, theses, lecture notes, etc., and that's mainly what I've read in that size.
    - red_trumpet 3y ago
      It's not about the aspect ratio, but the total line length measured in characters. If you pay attention you will realize that most published papers either have two columns or large margins, like the standard LaTeX article layout.
      - mkl 3y ago
        Do you really think I've read thousands of pages without paying attention? There is a lot of material in a single column without overly-wide margins. This subthread is about aspect ratio. dfadsadsf claimed "A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated)".
jebarker 3y ago
> A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated). I spent the first 30 years of my life in the UK and US letter paper always looked too squat when I encountered it at work. I've spent the past 11 years living in the US. I recently dug out some old papers on A4 and they looked weirdly elongated. It's surprising how strong the perceived weirdness of paper dimensions could be and and how easily it was changed. Seems like it's totally subjective and we could probably be comfortable reading in many proportions.
- WillAdams 3y ago
  My favorite proportion, enforced by various bits of TeX documentation set up to be printed on either side of the pond, is 210mm wide (A4 width), but 11" high (letter-sized height). It's a workable compromise which ensures that all versions of a document have the same pagination/index.
  - swores 3y ago
    I'm curious if there's a reason, or just accidental quirk of your comment, that you gave one dimension in mm and the other in inches?
    - TylerE 3y ago
      Because that’s what the standards are specified as?
      - swores 3y ago
        Ah thanks, hadn't stopped and thought about "letter-sized" being an American standard. I still think it's odd to not translate one or the other if describing a 2D size, though.
        WillAdams 3y ago
        I wasn't using my Mac where I have a Service which will do dimension calculations/unit conversions on the fly. Type: 11*25.4 select it and choose Safari | Services | Calculate and Replace (or hit command #) 279.4
Sporktacular 3y ago
They could settle for the max width and height of both to have a single product for all markets.

I would say that there are at least two good reasons. A4 is not a relevant standard in the biggest market (USA) and A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated).

niklasrde 3y ago

Seeing that this product is not targeted at the US and might never even make it there, I'm not sure that's relevant. A4 documents will either be cut off or squished into a smaller space to fit all, so the proportions of the screen are also not really relevant when that's the proportions of the document.

mkl 3y ago

> A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated). This statement is purely subjective. It is false in general and there's nothing objective about it. I've read thousands of pages of A4 with no problems, and in fact I'd say it's great.

red_trumpet 3y ago
Almost no books are published in A4 format, even in Europe. I think that has a reason.
- mkl 3y ago
  No one mentioned books, but standard paperback book sizes are actually even more elongated than A4 (but smaller). A4 is used a lot in academia for papers, theses, lecture notes, etc., and that's mainly what I've read in that size.
  - red_trumpet 3y ago
    It's not about the aspect ratio, but the total line length measured in characters. If you pay attention you will realize that most published papers either have two columns or large margins, like the standard LaTeX article layout.
    - mkl 3y ago
      Do you really think I've read thousands of pages without paying attention? There is a lot of material in a single column without overly-wide margins. This subthread is about aspect ratio. dfadsadsf claimed "A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated)".

jebarker 3y ago

> A4 proportions are objectively not great for reading (too elongated). I spent the first 30 years of my life in the UK and US letter paper always looked too squat when I encountered it at work. I've spent the past 11 years living in the US. I recently dug out some old papers on A4 and they looked weirdly elongated. It's surprising how strong the perceived weirdness of paper dimensions could be and and how easily it was changed. Seems like it's totally subjective and we could probably be comfortable reading in many proportions.

WillAdams 3y ago
My favorite proportion, enforced by various bits of TeX documentation set up to be printed on either side of the pond, is 210mm wide (A4 width), but 11" high (letter-sized height). It's a workable compromise which ensures that all versions of a document have the same pagination/index.
- swores 3y ago
  I'm curious if there's a reason, or just accidental quirk of your comment, that you gave one dimension in mm and the other in inches?
  - TylerE 3y ago
    Because that’s what the standards are specified as?
    - swores 3y ago
      Ah thanks, hadn't stopped and thought about "letter-sized" being an American standard. I still think it's odd to not translate one or the other if describing a 2D size, though.
      - WillAdams 3y ago
        I wasn't using my Mac where I have a Service which will do dimension calculations/unit conversions on the fly. Type: 11*25.4 select it and choose Safari | Services | Calculate and Replace (or hit command #) 279.4

Sporktacular 3y ago

They could settle for the max width and height of both to have a single product for all markets.