The laptops we were using back in the day were in the screen ratio of 4:3 and this was a time when multitasking was not a thing and nobody watched videos on their Personal Computers.
As users began to multitask by placing windows side by side, the 16:10 screen ratio was introduced to create a more wider display that was more conducive to multiple windows.
A number of PC makers including Apple adopted a new ratio.
When TVs started to transition to 16:9 aspect ratio, which is wider and became a standard, the PC makers followed to adopt it.
Most laptops produced around 2010, migrated to the 16:9 aspect ratio and Full HD.
Since then there have been notable exceptions like Apple whose MacBook runs at 16:10 aspect ratio and Microsoft with its Surface that has adopted a very tall 3:2 aspect ratio.
The problem with the 16:9 ratio aspect is productivity because the display is too short to show enough content.
You can be able to place two windows side by side with the 16:9 ratio aspect but you will be doing more scrolling when going through a word document or a website for source material.
This is where the 16:10 and 3:2 aspect ratio comes in handy since it lets you see more vertical content at once, which is important for web content that tends to be formatted for vertical scrolling.
Microsoft adopted the 3:2 ratio that is the very tall ratio and it comes as no surprise since its focus is on productivity.
The Microsoft devices generally have high resolutions hence you can fit a lot of vertical information into windows side by side.
This means that you can greatly improve productivity workflow.
Apple has been using the 16:10 ratio that gets you more vertical space to work with and the 16:9 video fits better with less distracting letter boxing.
With the 16:10 and 3:2 ratio aspect, you will be able to work better in tablet mode on today’s increasingly common 2 in 1 laptops.
Laptops with these two aspect ratios can have small bezels but maintain more space.
It is not clear how long the 16:9 ratio aspect ratio will last since more manufacturers are going with the 16:10 and 3:2 ratio.
The most notable laptop to switch to 16:9 ratio is Dell which has switched both it 13 inch XPS laptops,the XPS13 2in 1 and the 2020 XPS 13. Manufacturers such as HP which has recently released new versions of excellent Spectre x360 13 and Spectre x360 15.
These versions sport the latest in tiny bezels,up-to-date components and gorgeous designs but their displays while offering a range of options from lower power panels to stunning AMOLED screens, they remain at 16:9 aspect ratio.
If you want a laptop with a 16:10 and 3:2 aspect ratio, your choices are getting better everyday.