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iPad How well do you think "desktop-class" Safari on iPad will work?

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rulymammoth

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2015
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I remember when Steve Jobs was introducing the original iPhone and mentioned that iPhone runs OS X. While that may have been technically true under the hood, the interface was nothing like running OS X on a phone.

So I'm a little bit wary when they "desktop-class" Safari is coming in iOS 13. I don't use my iPad as a laptop replacement and one big reason for that is that some desktop sites still aren't touch friendly. And by not touch friendly, I mean completely unusable. For example, some pages where there's the ability to scroll in a window within a window... those aren't usable on an iPad, or at least not with a lot of precision fingerpointing. Hopeful issues like those are solved. Otherwise, the iPad will continue to remain just a fringe device for me.
 
I’m hoping it means Request Desktop Version will actually work in split screen for 10.5” and 11” iPads. It currently does not.
 
nortonandreev said:
It seems to be always on version of "request desktop version". Also most modern website uses media queries for responsiveness, so this feature doesn't really matter.
Click to expand...

It matters. Google Docs on Safari in iOS12 is so skimped. So if you get the desktop Google Docs, with all the features of what you would get from Chrome on the desktop then that is huge.
 
nortonandreev said:
It seems to be always on version of "request desktop version". Also most modern website uses media queries for responsiveness, so this feature doesn't really matter.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I was thinking to myself when they mentioned that feature that most sites don't target iPads by User Agent, but by media queries. So, this will probably prove to be less helpful than how they hyped it up as being.
 
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rulymammoth said:
I remember when Steve Jobs was introducing the original iPhone and mentioned that iPhone runs OS X. While that may have been technically true under the hood, the interface was nothing like running OS X on a phone.

So I'm a little bit wary when they "desktop-class" Safari is coming in iOS 13. I don't use my iPad as a laptop replacement and one big reason for that is that some desktop sites still aren't touch friendly. And by not touch friendly, I mean completely unusable. For example, some pages where there's the ability to scroll in a window within a window... those aren't usable on an iPad, or at least not with a lot of precision fingerpointing. Hopeful issues like those are solved. Otherwise, the iPad will continue to remain just a fringe device for me.
Click to expand...

Those issues are still there. Even Google isn’t touch friendly now.
 
aakshey said:
The speed is insane.

But Dark Mode is poorly implemented. Doesn’t even work with Safari let alone third party apps.
Click to expand...

First beta people. Apps need to update. Isn’t the safari menus dark? Or do you mean the actual website is still white? If the latter that’s up to the website to implement as well
 
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aakshey said:
The speed is insane.

But Dark Mode is poorly implemented. Doesn’t even work with Safari let alone third party apps.
Click to expand...
LMAO.

You think Dark Mode is going to invert colors on people's websites? LOLOLOL. No.

No 3rd party app is going to be forced to have any such ridiculous thing either.
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rulymammoth said:
How well do you think "desktop-class" Safari on iPad will work?
Click to expand...

Not well. A quick breeze through it on my end indicates it is still Mobile Safari in all the ways that actually matter.
 
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It works remarkably well for all of the Google sites (Analytics, Docs, etc.) - will play around with SquareSpace soon. Any other recommendations?
 
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nortonandreev said:
It seems to be always on version of "request desktop version". Also most modern website uses media queries for responsiveness, so this feature doesn't really matter.
Click to expand...
Good developers use media queries. There are still a lot of weird sites that look blown up on my 12.9” iPad Pro. They detect I’m using an iPad and are like “Let’s lock this viewport to 1024.” It sucks, but is becoming less of an issue over time.
 
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duffyanneal said:
How does this look?

https://imgur.com/WZpoUJE
Click to expand...

Amazing. This is a game changer for Pros who do most of their work on the Web.
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macduke said:
Good developers use media queries. There are still a lot of weird sites that look blown up on my 12.9” iPad Pro. They detect I’m using an iPad and are like “Let’s lock this viewport to 1024.” It sucks, but is becoming less of an issue over time.
Click to expand...

The user agent will probably show as OSX Desktop Safari because there is no way Google Docs serves that version just by forcing request desktop.
 
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So far I've tested Hulu & Netflix, they both allow videos to be played in Safari on new iPadOS. Not even redirecting me to the app. However Prime Videos throws up an error. This is on iPad Pro 10.5. Gonna keep testing sites but so far haven't found any issues and seems to be true desktop Safari, maybe can save on app space now...
 
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haruhiko said:
Some websites just stubbornly give a locked down version to whatever device with a resolution of the iPad/iPhone. It's not the problem of iOS actually.
Click to expand...

It is when iOS' browser identifies itself as an iOS device. All the browser has to do is identify itself as macOS by default then the user can "Request Mobile Site" when needed. Most desktop sites work for touch devices.

A simple toggle in safari settings: Request Desktop Sites by default Yes/No

Other iOS browsers seem to have figured it out (for example Puffin)

Done.
 
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