Whether you’re coding, playing Quake III Arena, or watching full screen TV, 4:3 has always been the best aspect ratio. Nothing has ever been designed for a 3:2 ratio.
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4:3 is poorly proportioned for a laptop.
The Framework Laptop 13 is designed just wide enough for a normal keyboard and just long enough for a normal keyboard with a decently sized trackpad underneath. Those are the factors that the laptop’s dimensions are based on, and they align well with a 13.5" 3:2 display.
If Framework were to use a 12.5" 4:3 display (the largest they could fit without making the laptop larger and less portable) it would be the same height but 1.23" narrower resulting in substantial side bezels and 11% less usable area (which is useful for working on two documents side by side).
Similarly the Framework Laptop 16 is designed just wide enough for a normal keyboard+trackpad and just long enough for a normal keyboard with a decently sized trackpad underneath and some fan vents above. Those are the factors that the laptop’s dimensions are based on, and they align well with a 16" 16:10 display. They might be able to achieve 16.3" 3:2 with a smaller chin but achieving 4:3 would definitely require the same compromises as I listed for the laptop 13.
4:3 displays on laptops either require significant wasted space on the left/right of the display or significant wasted space above/below the keyboard or trackpad.
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A 4:3 display would also require framework to design a whole new laptop while maintaining upgrades for the framework laptop 13 and 16.
4:3 doesn’t seem to be a very popular form factor except on tablets and projectors so we likely won’t be seeing a 4:3 laptop anytime soon.
If you really want a 4:3 display, you’ll have to buy it separately.
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I try to never criticize someone’s preferences but I also want to put my preference out there. I definitely like 3:2 over 16:10 and especially 16:9 (which is shitty for everything but movie watching). I find 3:2 a really good balance for taller documents/windows while still conducive to side-by-side windows. I don’t think I’d need or like an even taller screen, though. 3:2 for the FW win, I think.
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Okay everyone has their own personal preference. But I would go out of my way to never touch a 4:3 laptop ever again. I do side by side windows. Widescreen all the way.
4:3 is perfect (I have many CRTs but no working laptops in the ratio), but 3:2 and 16:10 are pretty good and more people like them, so I can cope
But I 100% agree with the premise. Much better suggestion than a trackpoint, but my feelings about it make me understand the trackpoint people in a whole new way. This is my trackpoint
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heh. Still using a 4:3 1600x1200 screen here (15 year old) using a DVI-D connector.
That was the best screen ratio I ever used. Sadly, the backlight starts to fade on that one.
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12.5 inches? Ye gods, no! It should be 15 inches minimum. That’s what all the great 4:3 laptops (Dell Inspiron 8000-series, Alienware Area 51m, Toughbook CF-51 etc.) were.
Then make it larger and less portable.
Wrong. They’ve never suffered wasted space.
A 4:3 display would also require framework to design a whole new laptop while maintaining upgrades for the framework laptop 13 and 16.
Yes, I’m aware of that.
4:3 doesn’t seem to be a very popular form factor
For who? It’s unpopular among manufacturers because they idiotically and incorrectly assume that people don’t use their computers for anything other than watching widescreen movies. Among USERS, however, it is quite popular.
The one case where they don’t suffer from wasted space is large laptops that are proportioned in a way that results in them not having room for a numpad (which around ~50% of customers of large laptops do want) and have issues fitting in many bags (due to depth).
Or you could do something creative like put the numpad below the keyboard, to the right side of the touchpad. Or you could just not worry about this “wasted space” nonsense because space isn’t a precious resource on big laptops to begin with.
4:3 isn’t even popular among (sadly!) cameras, let alone laptops (luckily)
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