iPadOS 16.4.1 External Monitor Aspect Ratio / Resolution

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iPadOS 16.4.1 External Monitor Aspect Ratio / Resolution

I have a LG ultra wide (WQHD) 35" curved monitor. My 2020 MacBook Pro (M1) displays movies on this monitor beautifully because the ultra wide aspect ratio is the same (or at least very close) as most movies, and the WQHD resolution is very good. Setting the resolution / aspect ratio in OSX is intuitive.

But I also have a 2022 5th generation iPad Air (iPadOS 16.4.1). It will play movies on the ultra wide monitor but the picture is small when mirroring the iPad display, and when I turn off mirroring the ultra wide display shows black bars at the top and bottom and the picture is extremely distorted (stretched horizontally). I don't see anywhere in the iPadOS to set the resolution / aspect ratio.

Am I missing something or will the M1 iPad Air not display properly on a WQHD external monitor?

iPad Air (5th generation)

Posted on May 8, 2023 1:02 AM

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LotusPilot

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May 8, 2023 6:32 AM in response to billkoss

iPadOS has no native controls to set the screen aspect ratio. When mirroring to an external monitor/TV, the iPad will display a mirrored copy of the iPad screen - preserving the iPad screen native aspect ratio; when mirroring, you will see black bars to left/right and/or top/bottom as determined by the external display.

While iPad can support external 16:9 displays, I’ve not seen any documentation that suggests support for WQHD or other ultra-wide displays.

If you see distorted images when using an external display, ensure that the monitor’s own controls are not set to “fit” (i.e. stretch) video to match the display aspect ratio.

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