Safari on iOS needs ability to always load site in desktop mode

[Rogifan]

There are a number of websites I frequent in Safair that definitely need to be desktop mode. Twitter is one. I would love to see an option within the action sheet to always load as desktop site. But it needs to be on a per website basis. The mobile version of some websites sucks but there are others where the desktop version is just not suitable for a mobile device. Is this something Apple could do? if yes they really need to do it.

 

[C DM]

It's likely that they can do it. Whether or not they would want to is probably a different question (whether its because they don't think enough of the userbase would find it useful, or perhaps that enough of the userbase might inadvertently get stuck on a desktop version and not realize how to get out of it, or perhaps because they believe that iOS devices, at least the smaller ones, are mobile first and this mobile is always the default, etc.).

 

[lagwagon]

Desktop vs Mobile sites are a dying thing. Most websites new or old have been updated to support Responsive or Adaptive Web Design. Eliminating the need for specific types. Websites display dynamically based on screen/resolution size.

For the few dinosaur websites that haven't updated their pages for this you have the option to reload in desktop. But it won't be long until everything is just Responsive or Adaptive.

 

[stulaw11]

Yeh with Google results requiring "mobile," and if a site isn't optimized it is going to go far lower in the search results and lose traffic.

 

[Rogifan]

Desktop vs Mobile sites are a dying thing. Most websites new or old have been updated to support Responsive or Adaptive Web Design. Eliminating the need for specific types. Websites display dynamically based on screen/resolution size.

For the few dinosaur websites that haven't updated their pages for this you have the option to reload in desktop. But it won't be long until everything is just Responsive or Adaptive.

Tell that to Twitter. Their mobile site is a joke.

 

[bushido]

Tell that to Twitter. Their mobile site is a joke.

thats cuz they want u to use the app

 

[M. Gustave]

This definitely needs to be easier than it currently is, or have an always-on option. In iOS 9.2.1 it takes four taps/gestures to load a desktop site, which is simply ridiculous.

Apple is out in front on so many things, but then inexplicably they love holding on to this legacy stuff, like mobile web pages and the 100MB data cap for App Store downloads.

 

[C DM]

This definitely needs to be easier than it currently is, or have an always-on option. In iOS 9.2.1 it takes four taps/gestures to load a desktop site, which is simply ridiculous.

Apple is out in front on so many things, but then inexplicably they love holding on to this legacy stuff, like mobile web pages and the 100MB data cap for App Store downloads.

Apple aren't the ones providing mobile pages, the owners of those pages are.

 

[lagwagon]

This definitely needs to be easier than it currently is, or have an always-on option. In iOS 9.2.1 it takes four taps/gestures to load a desktop site, which is simply ridiculous.

Apple is out in front on so many things, but then inexplicably they love holding on to this legacy stuff, like mobile web pages and the 100MB data cap for App Store downloads.

4 taps/gestures? Simply long press on the reload icon in the top right corner and you get the option to reload in "desktop". How is that 4 taps/gestures?

 

[ZEEN0j]

Not a fix but a easier way to access the desktop version is to hold the refresh button on the url bar.

Edit: ninja'd

 

[BrianBaughn]

4 taps/gestures? Simply long press on the reload icon in the top right corner and you get the option to reload in "desktop". How is that 4 taps/gestures?

Hey I just read that here.

It's iOS 9 only, I suppose.

 

[M. Gustave]

4 taps/gestures? Simply long press on the reload icon in the top right corner and you get the option to reload in "desktop". How is that 4 taps/gestures?

Clearly I didn't know about this easter egg feature. Thanks for posting it.

And the 4 taps is when you go through the share or send menu, or whatever it's called. But I suspect you knew that already.

 

[MikhailT]

Clearly I didn't know about this easter egg feature. Thanks for posting it.

And the 4 taps is when you go through the share or send menu, or whatever it's called. But I suspect you knew that already.

It's still two taps, tap on share and tap on request desktop page.

 

[M. Gustave]

It's still two taps, tap on share and tap on request desktop page.

1. Tap to expose the Share icon. It's not always visible if you've scrolled down a page.
2. Tap Share icon.
3. Swipe right to scroll to the Request Desktop icon.
4. Tap Request Desktop icon.

That's FOUR "taps/gestures", which is what I said. By contrast, Chrome requires only two taps at all times.

[doublepost=1453684397][/doublepost]

Apple aren't the ones providing mobile pages, the owners of those pages are.

LOL. Yes, I actually understand how the internet works, which of course has nothing whatsoever to do with what we're talking about.

 

[lagwagon]

Clearly I didn't know about this easter egg feature. Thanks for posting it.

And the 4 taps is when you go through the share or send menu, or whatever it's called. But I suspect you knew that already.

It was added with iOS 9.

1. Tap to expose the Share icon. It's not always visible if you've scrolled down a page.
2. Tap Share icon.
3. Swipe right to scroll to the Request Desktop icon.
4. Tap Request Desktop icon.

That's FOUR "taps/gestures", which is what I said. By contrast, Chrome requires only two taps at all times.

Not that it matters too much because there is the easier way of long pressing the reload icon to get the desktop option ever since iOS 9. But this tip might be helpful elsewhere. You can rearrange the order of which the options in the Share Sheet appear. An example for #3 that I've bolded. You can make the desktop option first in the list of you wanted to. Swipe over to "more ..." And you can rearrange from there.

 

[BSben]

There are a number of websites I frequent in Safair that definitely need to be desktop mode. Twitter is one. I would love to see an option within the action sheet to always load as desktop site. But it needs to be on a per website basis. The mobile version of some websites sucks but there are others where the desktop version is just not suitable for a mobile device. Is this something Apple could do? if yes they really need to do it.

I completely agree, most of the time I prefer the desktop version of websites on my iOS devices, and it is annoying having to request it every single time.

 

[C DM]

1. Tap to expose the Share icon. It's not always visible if you've scrolled down a page.
2. Tap Share icon.
3. Swipe right to scroll to the Request Desktop icon.
4. Tap Request Desktop icon.

That's FOUR "taps/gestures", which is what I said. By contrast, Chrome requires only two taps at all times.

[doublepost=1453684397][/doublepost]

LOL. Yes, I actually understand how the internet works, which of course has nothing whatsoever to do with what we're talking about.

Except it seems that we are talking about mobile web pages that are apparently outdated. So wouldn't it be on the page providers either to update them to the latest standards or not offer the outdated pages (and thus have the browsers offer the only desktop version that is there)?