Chrome 22 confuses tablets and desktops

Question

I know a lot of JavaScript libraries are depending on "ontouchstart" to detect if it's on tablet or a desktop.

Here's an example of code I'm talking about:

    var hasTouch = ("ontouchstart" in window);

For now, I had to comment out all the tablet detection code for it to work.

What would be the best way of detecting a tablet vs a desktop?

Thanks!

Related: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8764020/how-can-i-check-for-real-touch-support-on-a-browser — epascarello, Sep 28 '12 at 14:37
Do you have a way to reproduce this? `"ontouchstart" in window` returns `false` for me in Chrome 24 — WildlyInaccurate, Feb 11 '13 at 13:28
That's interesting. I guess they fixed the issue, which is great! — Simon Germain, Feb 11 '13 at 17:54
For what it's worth, Desktops can have touchscreens too. This looks to me like you're testing for the wrong thing. — Aren, Feb 15 '13 at 22:44
Those events should be disabled when there's no touchscreen present. At least, this used to be the behavior. — Simon Germain, Feb 16 '13 at 01:32

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 20 '13 at 16:29

3

To see if its a mobile platform I've used this

var iPadAgent = navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i) != null;
var iPodAgent = navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i) != null;
var AndroidAgent = navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i) != null;
var webOSAgent = navigator.userAgent.match(/webOS/i) != null;

var isMobile = iPadAgent || iPodAgent || AndroidAgent || webOSAgent;

It works pretty well.

answered Feb 20 '13 at 16:29

fcortes

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Well ... there's also Blackberry, for example. This is exactly what's wrong with browser sniffing. – Joachim Sauer Feb 20 '13 at 16:30

Chrome 22 confuses tablets and desktops

1 Answers1