Detect if device is iOS
JavascriptIosBrowserBrowser Feature-DetectionJavascript Problem Overview
I'm wondering if it's possible to detect whether a browser is running on iOS, similar to how you can feature detect with Modernizr (although this is obviously device detection rather than feature detection).
Normally I would favour feature detection instead, but I need to find out whether a device is iOS because of the way they handle videos as per this question https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8972726/youtube-api-not-working-with-ipad-iphone-non-flash-device
Javascript Solutions
Solution 1 - Javascript
Detecting iOS
With iOS 13 iPad both User agent and platform strings are changed and differentiating between iPad and MacOS seems possible, so all answers below needs to take that into account now.
This might be the shortest alternative that also covers iOS 13:
function iOS() {
return [
'iPad Simulator',
'iPhone Simulator',
'iPod Simulator',
'iPad',
'iPhone',
'iPod'
].includes(navigator.platform)
// iPad on iOS 13 detection
|| (navigator.userAgent.includes("Mac") && "ontouchend" in document)
}
iOS
will be either true
or false
Worse option: User agent sniffing
User Agent sniffing is more dangerous and problems appear often.
On iPad iOS 13, the user agent is identical with that of a MacOS 13 computer, but if you ignore iPads this might work still for a while:
var iOS = !window.MSStream && /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.userAgent); // fails on iPad iOS 13
The !window.MSStream
is to not incorrectly detect IE11, see here and here.
Note: Both navigator.userAgent
and navigator.platform
can be faked by the user or a browser extension.
Browser extensions to change userAgent or platform exist because websites use too heavy-handed detection and often disable some features even if the user's browser would otherwise be able to use that feature.
To de-escalate this conflict with users it's recommended to detect specifically for each case the exact features that your website needs. Then when the user gets a browser with the needed feature it will already work without additional code changes.
Detecting iOS version
The most common way of detecting the iOS version is by parsing it from the User Agent string. But there is also feature detection inference*;
We know for a fact that history API
was introduced in iOS4 - matchMedia API
in iOS5 - webAudio API
in iOS6 - WebSpeech API
in iOS7 and so on.
Note: The following code is not reliable and will break if any of these HTML5 features is deprecated in a newer iOS version. You have been warned!
function iOSversion() {
if (iOS) { // <-- Use the one here above
if (window.indexedDB) { return 'iOS 8 and up'; }
if (window.SpeechSynthesisUtterance) { return 'iOS 7'; }
if (window.webkitAudioContext) { return 'iOS 6'; }
if (window.matchMedia) { return 'iOS 5'; }
if (window.history && 'pushState' in window.history) { return 'iOS 4'; }
return 'iOS 3 or earlier';
}
return 'Not an iOS device';
}
Solution 2 - Javascript
After iOS 13 you should detect iOS devices like this, since iPad will not be detected as iOS devices by old ways (due to new "desktop" options, enabled by default):
let isIOS = /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.platform)
|| (navigator.platform === 'MacIntel' && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1)
The first condition for iOS < 13 or iPhone or iPad with disabled Desktop mode, the second condition for iPadOS 13 in the default configuration, since it position itself like Macintosh Intel, but actually is the only Macintosh with multi-touch.
Rather a hack than a real solution, but work reliably for me
P.S. As being said earlier, you probably should add IE checkup
let isIOS = (/iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.platform) ||
(navigator.platform === 'MacIntel' && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1)) &&
!window.MSStream
Solution 3 - Javascript
This sets the variable _iOSDevice
to true or false
_iOSDevice = !!navigator.platform.match(/iPhone|iPod|iPad/);
Solution 4 - Javascript
None of the previous answers here work for all major browsers on all versions of iOS, including iOS 13. Here is a solution that works for Safari, Chrome and Firefox for all iOS versions:
var isIOS = (function () {
var iosQuirkPresent = function () {
var audio = new Audio();
audio.volume = 0.5;
return audio.volume === 1; // volume cannot be changed from "1" on iOS 12 and below
};
var isIOS = /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.userAgent);
var isAppleDevice = navigator.userAgent.includes('Macintosh');
var isTouchScreen = navigator.maxTouchPoints >= 1; // true for iOS 13 (and hopefully beyond)
return isIOS || (isAppleDevice && (isTouchScreen || iosQuirkPresent()));
})();
Note that this code snippet was written with priority on readability, not conciseness or performance.
Explanation:
-
If the user agent contains any of "iPod|iPhone|iPad" then clearly the device is iOS. Otherwise, continue...
-
Any other user agent that does not contain "Macintosh" is not an Apple device and therefore cannot be iOS. Otherwise, it is an Apple device, so continue...
-
If
maxTouchPoints
has a value of1
or greater then the Apple device has a touch screen and therefore must be iOS since there are no Macs with touch screens (kudos to kikiwora for mentioningmaxTouchPoints
). Note thatmaxTouchPoints
isundefined
for iOS 12 and below, so we need a different solution for that scenario... -
iOS 12 and below has a quirk that does not exist in Mac OS. The quirk is that the
volume
property of anAudio
element cannot be successfully set to any value other than1
. This is because Apple does not allow volume changes on theAudio
element for iOS devices, but does for Mac OS. That quirk can be used as the final fallback method for distinguishing an iOS device from a Mac OS device.
Solution 5 - Javascript
If you are using Modernizr, you can add a custom test for it.
It doesn't matter which detection mode you decide to use (userAgent, navigator.vendor or navigator.platform), you can always wrap it up for a easier use later.
//Add Modernizr test
Modernizr.addTest('isios', function() {
return navigator.userAgent.match(/(iPad|iPhone|iPod)/g);
});
//usage
if (Modernizr.isios) {
//this adds ios class to body
Modernizr.prefixed('ios');
} else {
//this adds notios class to body
Modernizr.prefixed('notios');
}
Solution 6 - Javascript
A simplified, easy to extend version.
var iOS = ['iPad', 'iPhone', 'iPod'].indexOf(navigator.platform) >= 0;
Solution 7 - Javascript
UPDATE: My original answer doesn't cover iPad in desktop mode (the default changes to desktop mode in upcoming iPadOS 13 and higher).
That's fine for my usecases, if it's not for you, use this update:
// iPhone and iPad including iPadOS 13+ regardless of desktop mode settings
iOSiPadOS = /^iP/.test(navigator.platform) ||
/^Mac/.test(navigator.platform) && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 4;
- This should be safe as long as
- desktop Macs don't support touch events at all
- or not more than 4 touch points (current iOS devices support 5 touch points)
- It's fast because the regexp
^
first checks the starting position of the platform string and stops if there is no "iP" (faster than searching the long UA string until the end anyway) - It's safer than
navigator.userAgent
check asnavigator.platform
is much less likely faked - Detects iPhone / iPad Simulator
ORIGINAL ANSWER:
Wow, a lot of longish tricky code here. Keep it simple, please!
This one is IMHO fast, save, and working well:
iOS = /^iP/.test(navigator.platform);
// or, if you prefer it verbose:
iOS = /^(iPhone|iPad|iPod)/.test(navigator.platform);
Solution 8 - Javascript
It's probably worth answering that iPads running iOS 13 will have navigator.platform
set to MacIntel
, which means you'll need to find another way to detect iPadOS devices.
Solution 9 - Javascript
Detecting iOS (both <12, and 13+)
Community wiki, as edit queue says it is full and all other answers are currently outdated or incomplete.
const iOS_1to12 = /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.platform);
const iOS13_iPad = (navigator.platform === 'MacIntel' && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1));
const iOS1to12quirk = function() {
var audio = new Audio(); // temporary Audio object
audio.volume = 0.5; // has no effect on iOS <= 12
return audio.volume === 1;
};
const isIOS = !window.MSStream && (iOS_1to12 || iOS13_iPad || iOS1to12quirk());
Solution 10 - Javascript
I wrote this a couple years ago but i believe it still works:
if(navigator.vendor != null && navigator.vendor.match(/Apple Computer, Inc./) && navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/iPod/i)))
{
alert("Ipod or Iphone");
}
else if (navigator.vendor != null && navigator.vendor.match(/Apple Computer, Inc./) && navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i))
{
alert("Ipad");
}
else if (navigator.vendor != null && navigator.vendor.match(/Apple Computer, Inc./) && navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Safari') != -1)
{
alert("Safari");
}
else if (navigator.vendor == null || navigator.vendor != null)
{
alert("Not Apple Based Browser");
}
Solution 11 - Javascript
Wherever possible when adding Modernizr tests you should add a test for a feature, rather than a device or operating system. There's nothing wrong with adding ten tests all testing for iPhone if that's what it takes. Some things just can't be feature detected.
Modernizr.addTest('inpagevideo', function ()
{
return navigator.userAgent.match(/(iPhone|iPod)/g) ? false : true;
});
For instance on the iPhone (not the iPad) video cannot be played inline on a webpage, it opens up full screen. So I created a test 'no-inpage-video'
You can then use this in css (Modernizr adds a class .no-inpagevideo
to the <html>
tag if the test fails)
.no-inpagevideo video.product-video
{
display: none;
}
This will hide the video on iPhone (what I'm actually doing in this case is showing an alternative image with an onclick to play the video - I just don't want the default video player and play button to show).
Solution 12 - Javascript
The user-agents on iOS devices say iPhone or iPad in them. I just filter based on those keywords.
Solution 13 - Javascript
There is no need to test navigator.userAgent
or navigator.platform
:
const isIOS = typeof navigator.standalone === 'boolean';
navigator.standalone
is only set on iOS Safari. See MDN, Safari HTML Reference.
Solution 14 - Javascript
If you're using React, There is great library for this kind of issues: REACT-UGENT. (Built with ua-parser-js.)
https://github.com/medipass/react-ugent
Available browsers are:
chrome, chromium, edge, firefox, ie, lynx, safari, opera
Available OS are:
android, blackberry, chromium os, debian, ios, linux, mac os, ubuntu, unix, windows
Available devices are:
console, computer, mobile, tablet, smarttv, wearable, embedded
Easy to use as:
<Ugent browser="safari" os="ios">
<div>
This text only shows on Safari on iOS.
</div>
</Ugent>
If you're not using React, basically, you can use - ua-parser-js
Solution 15 - Javascript
Slightly update the first answer using a more functional approach.
const isIOS = [
'iPad Simulator',
'iPhone Simulator',
'iPod Simulator',
'iPad',
'iPhone',
'iPod',
].indexOf(navigator.platform) !== -1;
Solution 16 - Javascript
You can also use includes
const isApple = ['iPhone', 'iPad', 'iPod', 'iPad Simulator', 'iPhone Simulator', 'iPod Simulator',].includes(navigator.platform)
Solution 17 - Javascript
Because navigator.platform
is deprecated and it is better to not use it anymore, I want to add an other solution.
You can filter on MacOS systems by checking the navigator.vendor
.
When the outcome is Apple Computer, Inc.
, you know it is MacOS.
Solution 18 - Javascript
In my case the user agent was not good enought since in the Ipad the user agent was the same as in Mac OS, therefore I had to do a nasty trick:
var mql = window.matchMedia("(orientation: landscape)");
/**
* If we are in landscape but the height is bigger than width
*/
if(mql.matches && window.screen.height > window.screen.width) {
// IOS
} else {
// Mac OS
}
Solution 19 - Javascript
var isiOSSafari = (navigator.userAgent.match(/like Mac OS X/i)) ? true: false;
Solution 20 - Javascript
In order to detect the iOS version, one has to destructure the user agent with a Javascript code like this:
var res = navigator.userAgent.match(/; CPU.*OS (\d_\d)/);
if(res) {
var strVer = res[res.length-1];
strVer = strVer.replace("_", ".");
version = strVer * 1;
}