diff --git a/src/common/YoutubeVideoEmbed.tsx b/src/common/YoutubeVideoEmbed.tsx
index d9fec8c29..08c535523 100644
--- a/src/common/YoutubeVideoEmbed.tsx
+++ b/src/common/YoutubeVideoEmbed.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
  */
-import { styled } from "styled-system/jsx";
+import { AspectRatio } from "styled-system/jsx";
 
 export interface YoutubeVideo {
   alt: string;
@@ -18,20 +18,20 @@ interface YoutubeVideoProps {
 const YoutubeVideoEmbed = ({ alt, youtubeId }: YoutubeVideoProps) => {
   return (
     <figure>
-      <styled.iframe
-        aspectRatio="16 / 9"
-        width="100%"
-        // Avoid youtube cookie. rel=0 should limit related videos to our channel.
-        // Once we have translated videos we can try e.g. cc_lang_pref=fr
-        // but we'll need to check our codes match theirs.
-        title={alt}
-        src={`https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/${
-          youtubeId ? encodeURIComponent(youtubeId.trim()) : ""
-        }?rel=0&cc_load_policy=1`}
-        allow="encrypted-media"
-        frameBorder="0"
-        allowFullScreen
-      />
+      <AspectRatio ratio={16 / 9}>
+        <iframe
+          // Avoid youtube cookie. rel=0 should limit related videos to our channel.
+          // Once we have translated videos we can try e.g. cc_lang_pref=fr
+          // but we'll need to check our codes match theirs.
+          title={alt}
+          src={`https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/${
+            youtubeId ? encodeURIComponent(youtubeId.trim()) : ""
+          }?rel=0&cc_load_policy=1`}
+          allow="encrypted-media"
+          frameBorder="0"
+          allowFullScreen
+        />
+      </AspectRatio>
     </figure>
   );
 };
diff --git a/src/common/documentation-styles.ts b/src/common/documentation-styles.ts
index 04c161c25..b11e869b9 100644
--- a/src/common/documentation-styles.ts
+++ b/src/common/documentation-styles.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,26 @@
  */
 import { css } from "styled-system/css";
 
+// Follows the pattern used by the AspectRatio component which uses a
+// percentage-padding spacer rather than the aspect-ratio property, which is
+// not supported in Safari 14. Only apply when --aspect-ratio-padding is set or
+// the wrapper collapses to zero height.
+export const runtimeAspectRatioClass = css({
+  position: "relative",
+  _before: {
+    content: '""',
+    display: "block",
+    height: 0,
+    paddingBottom: "var(--aspect-ratio-padding)",
+  },
+  "& > *": {
+    position: "absolute",
+    inset: 0,
+    width: "100%",
+    height: "100%",
+  },
+});
+
 // A class rather than a style object: Panda can only statically extract
 // styles written literally at the definition site, not objects spread into
 // a css prop elsewhere.
diff --git a/src/common/imageUrlBuilder.ts b/src/common/imageUrlBuilder.ts
index 21ca7331d..e02992b84 100644
--- a/src/common/imageUrlBuilder.ts
+++ b/src/common/imageUrlBuilder.ts
@@ -17,12 +17,18 @@ export const imageUrlBuilder = unconfiguredImageUrlBuilder()
   .dpr(window.devicePixelRatio ?? 1)
   .quality(defaultQuality);
 
-export const getAspectRatio = (imageRef: string): string | undefined => {
+/**
+ * Percentage padding-bottom matching the image's aspect ratio, read from the
+ * dimensions embedded in a Sanity image reference. Used to reserve an image's
+ * height before it loads via a padding spacer rather than the aspect-ratio
+ * property, which Safari 14 does not support.
+ */
+export const getAspectRatioPadding = (imageRef: string): string | undefined => {
   const dimensionsArr = imageRef.match(/\d+x\d+/g);
   if (!dimensionsArr) {
     return undefined;
   }
   const dimensions = dimensionsArr.join().split("x");
   const [width, height] = dimensions.map((n: string) => Number(n));
-  return (width / height).toString();
+  return `${(height / width) * 100}%`;
 };
diff --git a/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.test.tsx b/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.test.tsx
index 953f253de..9bb0fa2f2 100644
--- a/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.test.tsx
+++ b/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.test.tsx
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ describe("DocumentationContent", () => {
     ];
     const view = render(<DocumentationContent blocks={content} />);
     expect(view.container.innerHTML).toMatchInlineSnapshot(
-      `"<div class="d_flex flex-d_column gap_3 mt_3"><img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/project/dataset/9fccaf51a164fedc98662188593de19bfb9be8ad-435x512.png?w=300&amp;q=80&amp;fit=max&amp;auto=format" alt="micro:bit showing X axis going across the front, Y axis going down and up, Z axis going back to front" class="max-w_100% w_300px bdr_lg bd_solid_1px bd-c_gray.300"></div>"`
+      `"<div class="d_flex flex-d_column gap_3 mt_3"><div class="w_300px max-w_100% pos_relative before:content_&quot;&quot; before:d_block before:h_0 before:pb_var(--aspect-ratio-padding) [&amp;_>_*]:pos_absolute [&amp;_>_*]:inset_0 [&amp;_>_*]:w_100% [&amp;_>_*]:h_100%" style="--aspect-ratio-padding: 117.70114942528735%;"><img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/project/dataset/9fccaf51a164fedc98662188593de19bfb9be8ad-435x512.png?w=300&amp;q=80&amp;fit=max&amp;auto=format" alt="micro:bit showing X axis going across the front, Y axis going down and up, Z axis going back to front" class="max-w_100% bdr_lg bd_solid_1px bd-c_gray.300"></div></div>"`
     );
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.tsx b/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.tsx
index d24cc7089..df5984499 100644
--- a/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.tsx
+++ b/src/documentation/common/DocumentationContent.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@ import BlockContent from "@sanity/block-content-to-react";
 import React, { ReactNode, useContext, useMemo } from "react";
 import { RiExternalLinkLine } from "react-icons/ri";
 import { Box, Stack } from "styled-system/jsx";
-import { getAspectRatio, imageUrlBuilder } from "../../common/imageUrlBuilder";
+import { runtimeAspectRatioClass } from "../../common/documentation-styles";
+import {
+  getAspectRatioPadding,
+  imageUrlBuilder,
+} from "../../common/imageUrlBuilder";
 import { PortableText, SimpleImage } from "../../common/sanity";
 import { useRouterState } from "../../router-hooks";
 import {
@@ -200,23 +204,29 @@ const serializers = {
       <ContextualCodeEmbed code={main} />
     ),
     simpleImage: (props: SerializerNodeProps<SimpleImage>) => {
+      const padding = getAspectRatioPadding(props.node.asset._ref);
       return (
-        <ImageWithFallback
-          src={imageUrlBuilder
-            .image(props.node.asset)
-            .width(300)
-            .fit("max")
-            .url()}
-          ignoreFallback={navigator.onLine}
-          fallback={<OfflineImageFallback width={300} />}
-          alt={props.node.alt}
+        <Box
           width="300px"
-          borderRadius="lg"
-          border="solid 1px"
-          borderColor="gray.300"
+          maxWidth="100%"
+          className={padding ? runtimeAspectRatioClass : undefined}
           // Runtime value derived from the image reference.
-          style={{ aspectRatio: getAspectRatio(props.node.asset._ref) }}
-        />
+          style={{ "--aspect-ratio-padding": padding } as React.CSSProperties}
+        >
+          <ImageWithFallback
+            src={imageUrlBuilder
+              .image(props.node.asset)
+              .width(300)
+              .fit("max")
+              .url()}
+            ignoreFallback={navigator.onLine}
+            fallback={<OfflineImageFallback width={300} />}
+            alt={props.node.alt}
+            borderRadius="lg"
+            border="solid 1px"
+            borderColor="gray.300"
+          />
+        </Box>
       );
     },
   },
diff --git a/src/documentation/ideas/IdeasDocumentation.tsx b/src/documentation/ideas/IdeasDocumentation.tsx
index acd855d4d..44a3045e0 100644
--- a/src/documentation/ideas/IdeasDocumentation.tsx
+++ b/src/documentation/ideas/IdeasDocumentation.tsx
@@ -4,13 +4,19 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
  */
 import { Link, Text } from "@microbit/ui";
-import { ReactNode, useCallback, useRef } from "react";
+import { CSSProperties, ReactNode, useCallback, useRef } from "react";
 import { FormattedMessage, useIntl } from "react-intl";
-import { Grid, Stack } from "styled-system/jsx";
+import { Box, Grid, Stack } from "styled-system/jsx";
 import AreaHeading from "../../common/AreaHeading";
-import { docStylesClass } from "../../common/documentation-styles";
+import {
+  docStylesClass,
+  runtimeAspectRatioClass,
+} from "../../common/documentation-styles";
 import HeadedScrollablePanel from "../../common/HeadedScrollablePanel";
-import { getAspectRatio, imageUrlBuilder } from "../../common/imageUrlBuilder";
+import {
+  getAspectRatioPadding,
+  imageUrlBuilder,
+} from "../../common/imageUrlBuilder";
 import { useResizeObserverContentRect } from "../../common/use-resize-observer";
 import { Anchor, useRouterTabSlug } from "../../router-hooks";
 import { useAnimationDirection } from "../common/documentation-animation-hooks";
@@ -75,6 +81,10 @@ const ActiveLevel = ({
   const numCols =
     !contentWidth || contentWidth > 1100 ? 3 : contentWidth > 550 ? 2 : 1;
   if (activeIdea) {
+    // Runtime value derived from the image reference.
+    const imagePadding = activeIdea.image
+      ? getAspectRatioPadding(activeIdea.image.asset._ref)
+      : undefined;
     return (
       <HeadedScrollablePanel
         key={activeIdea.slug.current}
@@ -99,21 +109,27 @@ const ActiveLevel = ({
             className={docStylesClass}
           >
             {activeIdea.image && (
-              <ImageWithFallback
-                src={imageUrlBuilder
-                  .image(activeIdea.image.asset)
-                  .fit("max")
-                  .url()}
-                ignoreFallback={navigator.onLine}
-                fallback={<OfflineImageFallback width={600} />}
-                alt=""
-                borderTopRadius="lg"
+              <Box
                 width="600px"
-                // Runtime value derived from the image reference.
-                style={{
-                  aspectRatio: getAspectRatio(activeIdea.image.asset._ref),
-                }}
-              />
+                maxWidth="100%"
+                className={imagePadding ? runtimeAspectRatioClass : undefined}
+                style={
+                  {
+                    "--aspect-ratio-padding": imagePadding,
+                  } as CSSProperties
+                }
+              >
+                <ImageWithFallback
+                  src={imageUrlBuilder
+                    .image(activeIdea.image.asset)
+                    .fit("max")
+                    .url()}
+                  ignoreFallback={navigator.onLine}
+                  fallback={<OfflineImageFallback width={600} />}
+                  alt=""
+                  borderTopRadius="lg"
+                />
+              </Box>
             )}
 
             <DocumentationContextProvider
diff --git a/src/simulator/Simulator.tsx b/src/simulator/Simulator.tsx
index 36677d462..4efc48dc1 100644
--- a/src/simulator/Simulator.tsx
+++ b/src/simulator/Simulator.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { usePrevious } from "@microbit/ui";
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { IntlShape, useIntl } from "react-intl";
 import { token } from "styled-system/tokens";
-import { Box, Flex, styled, VStack } from "styled-system/jsx";
+import { AspectRatio, Box, Flex, VStack } from "styled-system/jsx";
 import HideSplitViewButton from "../common/SplitView/HideSplitViewButton";
 import { topBarHeight } from "../deployment/misc";
 import { DeviceContextProvider } from "../device/device-hooks";
@@ -122,18 +122,18 @@ const Simulator = ({
             // Runtime value from the layout.
             style={{ minWidth: minWidth }}
           >
-            <styled.iframe
-              aspectRatio="191.27 / 155.77"
-              width="100%"
-              ref={ref}
-              src={url}
-              title={simulatorTitle}
-              name={simulatorTitle}
-              frameBorder="no"
-              scrolling="no"
-              allow="autoplay;microphone"
-              sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin"
-            />
+            <AspectRatio ratio={191.27 / 155.77}>
+              <iframe
+                ref={ref}
+                src={url}
+                title={simulatorTitle}
+                name={simulatorTitle}
+                frameBorder="no"
+                scrolling="no"
+                allow="autoplay;microphone"
+                sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin"
+              />
+            </AspectRatio>
             <SimulatorActionBar
               aria-label={intl.formatMessage({ id: "simulator-actions" })}
               css={{ overflow: "hidden" }}
diff --git a/src/workbench/AboutDialog/AboutDialog.tsx b/src/workbench/AboutDialog/AboutDialog.tsx
index e7c992d23..8a8a59318 100644
--- a/src/workbench/AboutDialog/AboutDialog.tsx
+++ b/src/workbench/AboutDialog/AboutDialog.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,15 @@ import {
 import { ReactNode, useCallback, useState } from "react";
 import { RiFileCopy2Line, RiGithubFill } from "react-icons/ri";
 import { FormattedMessage, useIntl } from "react-intl";
-import { Box, Flex, Grid, HStack, styled, VStack } from "styled-system/jsx";
+import {
+  AspectRatio,
+  Box,
+  Flex,
+  Grid,
+  HStack,
+  styled,
+  VStack,
+} from "styled-system/jsx";
 import ExpandCollapseIcon from "../../common/ExpandCollapseIcon";
 import { useDeployment } from "../../deployment";
 import { microPythonConfig } from "../../micropython/micropython";
@@ -125,18 +133,17 @@ const AboutDialog = ({ isOpen, onClose, finalFocusRef }: AboutDialogProps) => {
           </Text>
           <Grid columns={{ base: 1, md: 2 }} gap="5" width="100%">
             <Box>
-              <Box
+              <AspectRatio
                 ml="auto"
                 mr="auto"
                 maxWidth={{ base: "303px", md: "unset" }}
-                css={{ aspectRatio: "690 / 562" }}
+                ratio={690 / 562}
               >
                 <Image
                   src={microbitHeartImage}
                   alt={intl.formatMessage({ id: "microbit-hearts-alt" })}
-                  css={{ width: "100%", height: "100%", objectFit: "contain" }}
                 />
-              </Box>
+              </AspectRatio>
             </Box>
             <VStack alignItems="center" justifyContent="center" gap="4">
               <styled.table css={{ fontSize: "sm" }}>
@@ -256,13 +263,12 @@ const MicroPythonSection = () => {
   const intl = useIntl();
   return (
     <VStack gap="4" mt="8" pl="5" pr="5">
-      <Box width="100%" css={{ aspectRatio: "1035 / 423" }}>
+      <AspectRatio width="100%" ratio={1035 / 423}>
         <Image
           src={comicImage}
           alt={intl.formatMessage({ id: "about-comic" })}
-          css={{ width: "100%", height: "100%", objectFit: "contain" }}
         />
-      </Box>
+      </AspectRatio>
       <Grid columns={{ base: 1, lg: 2 }} gap="4" textAlign="center">
         <Text fontSize="md">
           <FormattedMessage