By HTML5 drafts, input type=time
creates a control for time of the day input, expected to be implemented using “the user’s preferred presentation”. But this really means using a widget where time presentation follows the rules of the browser’s locale. So independently of the language of the surrounding content, the presentation varies by the language of the browser, the language of the underlying operating system, or the system-wide locale settings (depending on browser). For example, using a Finnish-language version of Chrome, I see the widget as using the standard 24-hour clock. Your mileage will vary.
Thus, input type=time
are based on an idea of localization that takes it all out of the hands of the page author. This is intentional; the problem has been raised in HTML5 discussions several times, with the same outcome: no change. (Except possibly added clarifications to the text, making this behavior described as intended.)
Note that pattern
and placeholder
attributes are not allowed in input type=time
. And placeholder="hrs:mins"
, if it were implemented, would be potentially misleading. It’s quite possible that the user has to type 12.30 (with a period) and not 12:30, when the browser locale uses “.” as a separator in times.
My conclusion is that you should use input type=text
, with pattern
attribute and with some JavaScript that checks the input for correctness on browsers that do not support the pattern
attribute natively.