How to Get Rid of Black Bars on Your iPhone External Display

You plug your iPhone into a monitor expecting a big beautiful screen. Instead you get a small portrait-sized window floating in a sea of black. The monitor is fine. The cable is fine. The problem is how iOS handles external display output by default.

The good news is that this is fixable. You do not need a new phone, a new monitor, or any hardware upgrade. You just need the right app.

Why the Black Bars Happen

iPhone screens have an aspect ratio of roughly 19.5:9, tall and narrow. External monitors are typically 16:9 or wider. When iOS mirrors the iPhone screen to a 16:9 monitor, it scales the image up as much as it can while keeping the proportions intact. The leftover space on the sides or the top and bottom fills with black.

Standard apps, including Safari, have no way to tell iOS to render specifically for an external display in landscape orientation. The output is always a version of the iPhone's own screen, just bigger. That means the black bars are baked into the default behaviour.

Can Apple fix this in a future iOS update?

In theory yes. iOS has a framework called UIScene that could allow apps to render directly to an external display at its native resolution. Some iPad apps already use this. Apple has been slowly expanding external display support but has not opened it to iPhones in a way that removes the black bars from browser or general-purpose use.

The Fix: External Display Browser

External Display Browser renders its browser UI directly for the external display's dimensions. It outputs in landscape at whatever resolution your monitor reports. The iPhone screen just shows your address bar and controls. The monitor gets the full browser, edge to edge.

• No black bars on any side of the external monitor
• Full landscape layout at the display's native resolution
• Works with monitors, TVs, portable displays and projectors
• Automatic detection when you plug in a display

External Display Browser

Full screen on any external monitor, TV or portable display. On the App Store.

Download on the App Store

What You Need

• Any iPhone supporting video output (iPhone 5 or later)
• A Lightning to HDMI adapter (for iPhone 5 through 14)
• A USB-C to HDMI or USB-C to USB-C cable/hub (for iPhone 15 and later)
• A monitor, TV or portable display with an HDMI input
• External Display Browser from the App Store

Getting Set Up

Does This Work with TVs Too?

Yes. Any TV with an HDMI port works the same way. Connect your iPhone via HDMI and open External Display Browser. The TV displays a full-screen landscape browser with zero black bars. This works on living room TVs, hotel room TVs, and anything else with HDMI input.

What about wireless connections?

AirPlay and other wireless screen mirroring methods still mirror the iPhone screen, which means the black bars come back. The no-black-bars experience only happens over a wired HDMI connection because that is how the app can output directly to the external display rather than mirroring.

Once the Black Bars Are Gone, What Can You Do?

• Watch YouTube and streaming services in true full screen
• Browse any website with the full monitor width available
• Join video calls with camera and mic on the big screen
• Use a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for desktop-class browsing
• Download files and open PDFs as browser tabs
• Float a window over your content for multitasking

The app turns the external monitor into a genuine second screen instead of just a bigger mirror of your phone.