Let me share something with you — the screen area of 14-inch laptops actually varies from one device to another.
Sounds counterintuitive, right? How can the area differ if both screens are 14 inches?
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To understand how this is possible, we need to understand what aspect ratio means.
Aspect ratio is the ratio of height to width, regardless of the units of measurement used.
The most common aspect ratio for screens is 16:9, meaning that for every 16 units of width there are 9 units of height — whether those units are inches, centimeters, or anything else.
Recently, there has been a growing shift toward screens with a 4:3 aspect ratio, replacing the 16:9 that has been the standard in recent years.
The reason is that a 4:3 display is taller, which adds more usable workspace without increasing the width of the laptop.
In the tablet world, the iPad Pro is a long-standing example of a 4:3 aspect ratio display — one that delivers extra screen real estate but also slightly reduces battery life.
This is why when you watch video on an iPad, black letterbox bars appear above and below the image: the video itself is designed for 16:9 screens and therefore doesn't fill the full height of the display.
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The math is a bit dry, but calculating the screen area of two 14-inch displays — one at 16:9 and one at 4:3 — shows that the 4:3 screen is approximately 12.6% larger.
Another aspect ratio gaining traction in laptop displays is 16:10.
It provides 5.71% more screen area compared to 16:9, when comparing 14-inch screens.
So the next time you buy a laptop or a monitor, pay attention to its actual screen area — not just its size in inches.
Pictured: a great ASUS laptop featuring a 14-inch 3K OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio.