It can, sort of, with two or more screens in portrait mode. Two 9:16 screens gives 18:16 (f.i. 4320x3840). But most screens are too tall then.
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mini paired with Hauwei's new 4.5K 3:2 monitor = iMac killer?
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Because it is a pretty crappy aspect ratio. The fact that the vast majority of monitors use it doesn't make it any better.
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What a lame answer.
The point of reviews is to point out the particular pros and cons of products. Do you expect >90% of all display reviews to point out the „crappy aspect ratio“?
Yes. Because it is crap. I'm sitting in front of a 16:10 4K monitor BTW.
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Really?
What monitor?
I'm a massive 16:10 fan - I didn't realize we had 4k options at 16:10!
IBM T220/T221 LCD monitors - Wikipedia
Yes it's old but it's pretty much the only game in town.
To use your wording, that would be crappy. A border down the middle means that is not one screen. It would be awful to try and work with a gap down the middle that gave an offset.
That is a) only your personal opinion and b) completely besides the point. Because even if it were crap, why would a reviewer point it out if it isn‘t specific to the product reviewed?
And I‘m sitting in front of a 21:9 5K2K display. As if that meant anything. Because even if you may not like it and I may not like it, but the industry has consolidated to 16:9 displays and the vast, vast majority of customers doesn‘t mind.
Of course. I never implied otherwise.
Well, I do. Which is why I'm happily sticking to 16:10 or 3:2.
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I didn't mind the white bezel on my 16:10 24" iMac from 2006, but then I got a black bezel on my next iMac and realised how much better it was. Is it a case of the customer doesn't mind because it is the best option? Or is it a case of the customer doesn't mind because it is the only option? Or is it a case of the customer doesn't mind because it is they don't have experience of other options? I doubt it is the first of those.
I've had a play on a 3:2 ratio laptop (Huawei MateBook X Pro) and that screen blew away any other laptop screen I have experienced for usability, Apple included. I've seen the 3:2 28" Microsoft Surface Studio that is a higher res version of the screen in the Huawei this thread is about (4500x3000 against 3840x2520) and the screen space was amazing. Hopefully Apple (and other manufacturers) can see the potential benefits from those screen sizes (not all other aspects are as good, particularly no macOS) and offer more options, not just the me-too 16:9. We do much more than watch movies on computers.
FWIW, Apple's 15" PowerBook used 3:2 screens. First 1152x768 (2001), then 1280x854 (2002), eventually 1440x960 (2005).
I‘m using an 12.9 iPad Pro for my mobile computing … 4:3 ratio. (Together with the magic keyboard, of course.)
I used 4:3 screens (800x600, 1024x768, ...) all my life until somebody decided PCs should have the same screens as TVs, so 16:9. Looking at it, I use the center and drop a few windows left and right for when I need it. But it's really not wide enough to do that, or to put 2 windows side to side and keep them readable. So I've been wondering what to do. Going wider is just not an option when you also want to do music production like me. Take for example a 5k2k monitor like the MSI Prestige. The screen is about 85cm wide. Now on each side, add a 3U 19" rack and the monitors on top. That makes the complete setup 2 meters wide. It's nice if you have a big room to yourself, but in my household, that just won't work.
I'm considering 2 24" screens (55cm wide, 30 high) either on top of each other or side-to-side in portrait. That saves me 25-30cm in width. Advantage of landscape is it works well with software like Logic, where the mixer and the tracks use lots of horizontal space. Disadvantage is obviously when doing office work or browsing, where I'll need to put the second window on top of the other one, with huge swaths of unused space left and right on both.
I'm considering 2 24" screens (55cm wide, 30 high) either on top of each other or side-to-side in portrait. That saves me 25-30cm in width. Advantage of landscape is it works well with software like Logic, where the mixer and the tracks use lots of horizontal space. Disadvantage is obviously when doing office work or browsing, where I'll need to put the second window on top of the other one, with huge swaths of unused space left and right on both.
Thanks for the tip but I know the monitor and it should urgently be updated to 4k. 1920x1920 is so 20th century. It'd be nice to have it a bit larger, like 30", at 4k. Perhaps the Huawei would be nice to use vertically as well.
Edit: I just noticed the Huawei can't be turned into a vertical position. And it seems fixed to its stand, so no VESA. So a vertical Huawei setup doesn't seem possible
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Oooh amazing I shall take a look!If you're in the UK there's also this monitor. It's what I have right now. Ignore the random brand, the panel itself is top notch. A 10 bit IPS (not VA) panel with excellent colour accuracy. 24 inch 185 dpi. I reviewed it earlier on these forums. Still 16:9 though.
electriQ 24" 4K UHD Gaming Monitor - Laptops Direct
Buy electriQ 24" 4K UHD Gaming Monitor from LaptopsDirectwww.laptopsdirect.co.uk
I'm still such a picky person, so as colleagues were receiving Dell 4k monitors, I held out as even the slight matte coating means it kinda rainbows - I'm probably way too picky 😁
It makes sense with the Ultrafines, they were the only ones I have seen recently (apart from Apple displays) that I was happy with the screens of - I really don't get the lack of glossy, especially with manufacturers like Dell making glossy laptop displays, but not monitors.
3:2 is a great size, I definitely prefer square-er displays
Glossy is only good if you like working in a darkened environment. I prefer a moderately bright room, near an open window. I also don't have the luxury of positioning my desk so that all light sources are behind the monitor.
There is a quote here from someone using the Dell 8K. Considering he paid $5000 for it he's probably pickier than any of us!
"What I didn’t expect is that the UP3218K is a glossy display, as opposed to a matte display. Depending on the brightness and colors, you might see reflections. With my preferred brightness of 50%, I can clearly see reflections when displaying darker colors, e.g. on a black terminal emulator background, or even in my grey Emacs theme.
While one can mentally ignore the reflections after a little while, I still consider the glossyness a mild annoyance. I hope as 8K displays become more prevalent, display vendors will offer matte 8K displays as well."
michael.stapelberg.ch
I still think you are speaking from experience using older monitors. I'm typing this in front of a P2421D. It's nothing special but it is fairly modern, and the matte coating is perfectly fine. I definitely don't feel it's grainy or see rainbow shimmer.
There is a quote here from someone using the Dell 8K. Considering he paid $5000 for it he's probably pickier than any of us!
"What I didn’t expect is that the UP3218K is a glossy display, as opposed to a matte display. Depending on the brightness and colors, you might see reflections. With my preferred brightness of 50%, I can clearly see reflections when displaying darker colors, e.g. on a black terminal emulator background, or even in my grey Emacs theme.
While one can mentally ignore the reflections after a little while, I still consider the glossyness a mild annoyance. I hope as 8K displays become more prevalent, display vendors will offer matte 8K displays as well."
Dell 8K4K monitor (Dell UP3218K) (2017) - Michael Stapelberg
Background Ever since I first used a MacBook Pro with Retina display back in 2013, I’ve been madly in love with hi-DPI displays. I had seen the device before, and marvelled at brilliant font quality with which scientific papers would be rendered.
I used to have an HP monitor where the matte coating really annoyed me. It made the image looked really grainy, and some rainbow effects. I found other matte monitors to be almost as bad, or even worse. I have just got an HP Z27k G3 for a bargain price, even though I was worried about the anti-glare screen. It isn't a problem at all. The image is sharp, and no rainbow effects. The only thing wrong with the monitor is the 16:9 ratio, but I'll put up with it for the price.
I managed to glimpse from a youtube review that the Mateview automatically gives the following scaled HiDPI modes when connected to a Mac:
3840x2560 (native)
3008x2005
2560x1707*
2304x1536
2048x1365
1920x1280 (doubled)
I think I'm right that the 2560x1707 mode would give you "normal sized" UI items, as it's equivalent to 110 ppi (but sharper as it's 5120x3414 scaled). So basically, you're getting an iMac 27 inch-like work area but with several hundred extra vertical lines.
Not sure if the Macbook he's using is M1 or pre-M1.
3840x2560 (native)
3008x2005
2560x1707*
2304x1536
2048x1365
1920x1280 (doubled)
I think I'm right that the 2560x1707 mode would give you "normal sized" UI items, as it's equivalent to 110 ppi (but sharper as it's 5120x3414 scaled). So basically, you're getting an iMac 27 inch-like work area but with several hundred extra vertical lines.
Not sure if the Macbook he's using is M1 or pre-M1.
I would. And I’ve been an iMac customer since the Bondi Blue gumdrop.
The most obvious benefits being that you can plug in other devices (computers, consoles,…) to the screen in parallell to your Mini, and of course you can upgrade the original mini driving it when something nice comes along.
I’ve never had a desk so pristine that a cable connection would qualify as adding clutter. Hell, it would probably be hidden entirely by the real clutter on my desk. 😀
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There's still a big difference between adding one more cable, vs adding lots of extra little boxes to add webcam, microphone, etc. It's one reason why I'm considering iMac 24” + an extra 24” 4K screen over a Mac mini with this Huawei monitor. It's a cool screen, but there's just so much to add to make it a full work-from-home solution.
The Hauwei has dual noise-cancelling microphones built in. The only difference to the iMac is the webcam, for which the cable normally goes behind the monitor, not on your desk. Any modern webcam with a Sony Starvis sensor will beat the iMac's integrated webcam, especially in low light.
Yup.
I do get the attraction to the cleanliness of the iMac look though. Privately, I’ve bought iMacs for myself for a long time so yes, I find the concept, and their screens, really attractive.
On the other hand, I just plop them down on my desk where ..stuff.. tends to sediment. In the "show off your iMac" thread, it was as if many posters didn’t even have a desk before they got the iMac, they had bought something suitable for erecting a shrine to Apple design in a reserved space in their home. Not a desk you actually do anything by, rather an exhibition display stand. Or, and that is where it gets uncomfortable for me, their entire homes actually are like that. Pristine. Untouched.
A space where a single cable adds unacceptable clutter.