Skip to main content

Will you benefit from the Apple TV’s new 21:9 aspect ratio?

Apple TV WWDC
Apple

Apple this week released the latest developer beta of tvOS 18.2, the software that powers the company’s Apple TV 4K streaming media devices. As previewed during the WWDC 2024 keynote, the new software includes support for 21:9 and several other aspect ratios that are wider than 16:9, which has become the dominant shape for modern TVs.

Why does that matter?

Recommended Videos

Most of us have experienced letterboxing or pillarboxing — that’s when a set of horizontal or vertical black bars frame the content on our TVs. It happens when there’s a mismatch between the aspect ratio of a movie or show and the aspect ratio of your screen.

A lot of modern content, especially shows and movies developed for streaming services like Netflix, Max, Paramount+, or Apple TV+, is shot in 16:9, so letterboxing that content on 16:9 TVs isn’t necessary. On the Apple TV 4K, even the user interface is formatted for this ratio, which keeps things looking good.

However, some folks own projector screens or widescreen monitors with non-16:9 aspect ratios. For these people, all Apple TV 4K content ends up with those pesky black bars because the device’s signal is formatted for 16:9. When tvOS 18.2 arrives for everyone in December, the software should automatically detect the ratio of your display, and reformat itself to match.

tvOS 18.2 Aspect Ratio settings.
Sigmund Judge / X via FlatpanelsHD.com

If that detection fails, a new Aspect Ratio settings menu will let you manually select the appropriate one for your setup. Available ratios are 16:9, 21:9, 2.37:1, 2.39:1, 2.40:1, DCI 4K, and 32:9.

It will be the first time that someone who owns a 21:9 projector, or who uses an anamorphic lens to achieve a ratio like 2.39:1, can get the Apple TV 4K to produce a perfectly proportioned and fullscreen image.

So how many people will benefit from the new settings? “It really won’t affect very many,” said Jeff Gosselin, chief experience officer at Cloud 9 AV, a Toronto-based custom home theater installer. “Any new theaters we have done in the past 15 years have all used 16:9 screens. For any ultrawide projection systems, this will be an enhanced viewing experience.”

Pillarboxing will still likely occur when watching 16:9 content on such a screen, but when 21:9 content is available, it should play in fullscreen, with no black bars.

Presumably, app developers — like the services mentioned above — will have to update their apps to ensure that their content displays correctly under the new aspect ratio settings. But eventually, this will become the norm.

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Express VPN joins the growing ranks of VPNs on Apple TV
The app listing for ExpressVPN on Apple TV.

One of the bigger features added to tvOS 17, at least on paper, was the ability for Apple TV to run a VPN application. That’s a big deal because folks don’t tunnel their entire home network traffic through a virtual private network, both because they’re probably normal human beings who don’t attempt such things and because routers don’t always make that an easy thing to do.

And the news today is that ExpressVPN — one of the bigger players in the space — is now available for Apple TV. It joins a growing cadre of tvOS-capable VPN apps, which at the time of this writing includes VPNify, X-VPN, IPVanish, PureVPN, hide.me, LeapVPN, US VPN, and Anycast, for starters.

Read more
Should you install beta updates for Apple TV 4K?
Apple TV beta software options as seen on a TV.

This is sort of one of those things that you see pop up from time to time whenever Apple unleashes an onslaught of new beta software. And it's worth discussing. Should you, proud owner of an Apple TV (or the newer Apple TV 4K, which is still our pick for the best streaming hardware you can buy), simply sit back and let production-level tvOS updates hit your box as Steve Jobs intended? Or should you live on the edge and take your chances with beta updates?

It's a fair question. I'm a sucker for updates. But there's a little bit to think about here.
What is a beta update?
For us mere mortals (as in someone who doesn't work at Apple), there are three software tracks from which you can choose on Apple TV. There's the regular software that everybody gets, which we'll call "Production." Because that's what it is. There are two types of betas. There's "Developer," and there's "Public."

Read more
Apple TV’s tvOS 17.2 beta adds a sidebar to the TV app
The new sidebar visible in the TV app on Apple TV in the tvOS 17.2 developer beta.

The new sidebar is visible in the TV app on Apple TV in the tvOS 17.2 developer beta. Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

One of the messier pieces of the Apple TV experience on Apple TV 4K hardware has long been Apple's TV app. It's where Apple has attempted to aggregate all the things you can watch on your Apple TV, from Apple TV+ to any number of installed applications. (Another seriously messy piece is the myriad things Apple has named "Apple TV." But that's another problem for another time.)

Read more