Google Pushes App Developers To Adopt 18:9 Displays

With both the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 adopting 18:9 aspect ratios, it looks like the future of smartphones will be in widescreen.

However, unless developers get on board with the trend, this reconfiguration could cause issues – from ugly black bars filling the empty space to outright breakages. After all, if developers aren’t building their apps to recognize and make use of the display space offered by a 18:9 aspect ratio, there’s little value in vendor like Samsung and LG even building phones featuring it.

Accordingly, Google has already begun to act to alleviate any growing pains.

Writing on the Android developer blog page, Neto Marin, Developer Advocate for Google Play, says that “in order to take full advantage of the larger display formats on these devices, you should consider increasing your app’s maximum supported aspect ratio.”

Marin says that “as more super widescreen Android devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the LG G6, become available, you’ll have more opportunities to display more content and create more engaging experiences with your app.”