You would have to change the screen size to something larger than 12.9” to keep the same area while changing the screen ratio to HDTV’s 16:9. The narrower the rectangle, the less area you get for the same diagonal measurement.
I realize that much of the industry is moving to 16:9. For larger screens where apps can be sized any way you like and the screens are also used as entertainment centers, this works well. For smaller screens that typically use one app at a time or need to work on or read documents, something closer to 4:3 works better. Reading a website on a 14.9 device in portrait is ok, even nice in some cases. Reading a website in landscape on the same device feels cramped, especially on ad heavy sites.
When is the last time you browsed a site on your phone in landscape? I do this occasionally when the text on the site is too small for my poor eyes in portrait view. It always feels like I’m trying to read a book with a magnifying glass. Doing the same on a 14:9 tablet isn’t quite as bad, but not great either.
If I spent most, or even a lot of time on my iPad watching video, I might feel the same as you. But I spend most of my time reading (books and manga/comics), browsing the internet, and working on documents. The current aspect ratio is better for those activities.
It’s all compromises. Android and much of the rest of the industry has compromised in favor of video, and to be fair video has become pretty important. Apple is compromising in favor of documents and reading. Old guy that I am, I still like those more than video. If I had a lawn, I’d probably tell you to get off it.
, or even better, wait for the next one that will hopefully fix the black side bars
