Detecting a mobile browser

Using Regex (from detectmobilebrowsers.com):

Here's a function that uses an insanely long and comprehensive regex which returns a true or false value depending on whether or not the user is browsing with a mobile.

window.mobileCheck = function() {
  let check = false;
  (function(a){if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))) check = true;})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera);
  return check;
};

For those wishing to include tablets in this test (though arguably, you shouldn't), you can use the following function:

window.mobileAndTabletCheck = function() {
  let check = false;
  (function(a){if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino|android|ipad|playbook|silk/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))) check = true;})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera);
  return check;
};

Using navigator.userAgentData

You may also use navigator.userAgentData.mobile, but userAgentData is still experimental, so it is not recommended for use in production.

const isMobile = navigator.userAgentData.mobile; //resolves true/false

Compatibility chart for userAgentData

The Original Answer

You can do this by simply running through a list of devices and checking if the useragent matches anything like so:

  function detectMob() {
    const toMatch = [
        /Android/i,
        /webOS/i,
        /iPhone/i,
        /iPad/i,
        /iPod/i,
        /BlackBerry/i,
        /Windows Phone/i
    ];
    
    return toMatch.some((toMatchItem) => {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(toMatchItem);
    });
}

However since you believe that this method is unreliable, You could assume that any device that had a resolution of 800x600 or less was a mobile device too, narrowing your target even more (although these days many mobile devices have much greater resolutions than this)

i.e

  function detectMob() {
    return ( ( window.innerWidth <= 800 ) && ( window.innerHeight <= 600 ) );
  }

Reference:

Detecting Browser and Devices with javascript

---

How about:

if (typeof screen.orientation !== 'undefined') { ... }

...since smartphones usually support this property and desktop browsers don't. See in MDN.

EDIT 1: As @Gajus pointed out, window.orientation is now deprecated and shouldn't be used.

EDIT 2: You can use the experimental screen.orientation instead of the deprecated window.orientation. See in MDN.

EDIT 3: Changed from window.orientation to screen.orientation

---

var isMobile = {
    Android: function() {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i);
    },
    BlackBerry: function() {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(/BlackBerry/i);
    },
    iOS: function() {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone|iPad|iPod/i);
    },
    Opera: function() {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(/Opera Mini/i);
    },
    Windows: function() {
        return navigator.userAgent.match(/IEMobile/i) || navigator.userAgent.match(/WPDesktop/i);
    },
    any: function() {
        return (isMobile.Android() || isMobile.BlackBerry() || isMobile.iOS() || isMobile.Opera() || isMobile.Windows());
    }
};

How to use

if( isMobile.any() ) alert('Mobile');

To check to see if the user is on a specific mobile device:

if( isMobile.iOS() ) alert('iOS');

Ref: http://www.abeautifulsite.net/blog/2011/11/detecting-mobile-devices-with-javascript

Enhanced version on github : https://github.com/smali-kazmi/detect-mobile-browser

---

Here is a simple solution from the source of facebook's slingshot

var isMobile = /iPhone|iPad|iPod|Android/i.test(navigator.userAgent);
if (isMobile) {
  /* your code here */
}

---

Came here looking for a simple, clean way to detect "touch screens devices", which I class as mobile and tablets. Did not find a clean choice in the current answers but did work out the following which may also help someone.

var touchDevice = ('ontouchstart' in document.documentElement);

Edit: To support desktops with a touch screen and mobiles at the same time you can use the following:

var touchDevice = (navigator.maxTouchPoints || 'ontouchstart' in document.documentElement);

---

According to MDN's article on Browser detection using the user agent, it is encouraged to avoid this approach if possible and suggest other avenues such as feature detection.

However, if one must use the user agent as a means to detect if the device is mobile, they suggest:

In summary, we recommend looking for the string “Mobi” anywhere in the User Agent to detect a mobile device.

Therefore, this one-liner will suffice:

const isMobileDevice = window.navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().includes("mobi");

[UPDATE]:

As @zenw0lf suggests in the comments, using a Regular Expression would be better:

const isMobileDevice = /Mobi/i.test(window.navigator.userAgent)

---

As many have stated, relying on the moving target of the user agent data is problematic. The same can be said for counting on screen size.

My approach is borrowed from a CSS technique to determine if the interface is touch:

Using only javascript (support by all modern browsers), a media query match can easily infer whether the device is mobile.

function isMobile() {
    var match = window.matchMedia || window.msMatchMedia;
    if(match) {
        var mq = match("(pointer:coarse)");
        return mq.matches;
    }
    return false;
}

---

There's no perfect solution for detecting whether JS code is executed on a mobile browser, but the following two options should work in most cases.

Option 1 : browser sniffing

!function(a){var b=/iPhone/i,c=/iPod/i,d=/iPad/i,e=/(?=.*\bAndroid\b)(?=.*\bMobile\b)/i,f=/Android/i,g=/(?=.*\bAndroid\b)(?=.*\bSD4930UR\b)/i,h=/(?=.*\bAndroid\b)(?=.*\b(?:KFOT|KFTT|KFJWI|KFJWA|KFSOWI|KFTHWI|KFTHWA|KFAPWI|KFAPWA|KFARWI|KFASWI|KFSAWI|KFSAWA)\b)/i,i=/IEMobile/i,j=/(?=.*\bWindows\b)(?=.*\bARM\b)/i,k=/BlackBerry/i,l=/BB10/i,m=/Opera Mini/i,n=/(CriOS|Chrome)(?=.*\bMobile\b)/i,o=/(?=.*\bFirefox\b)(?=.*\bMobile\b)/i,p=new RegExp("(?:Nexus 7|BNTV250|Kindle Fire|Silk|GT-P1000)","i"),q=function(a,b){return a.test(b)},r=function(a){var r=a||navigator.userAgent,s=r.split("[FBAN");return"undefined"!=typeof s[1]&&(r=s[0]),s=r.split("Twitter"),"undefined"!=typeof s[1]&&(r=s[0]),this.apple={phone:q(b,r),ipod:q(c,r),tablet:!q(b,r)&&q(d,r),device:q(b,r)||q(c,r)||q(d,r)},this.amazon={phone:q(g,r),tablet:!q(g,r)&&q(h,r),device:q(g,r)||q(h,r)},this.android={phone:q(g,r)||q(e,r),tablet:!q(g,r)&&!q(e,r)&&(q(h,r)||q(f,r)),device:q(g,r)||q(h,r)||q(e,r)||q(f,r)},this.windows={phone:q(i,r),tablet:q(j,r),device:q(i,r)||q(j,r)},this.other={blackberry:q(k,r),blackberry10:q(l,r),opera:q(m,r),firefox:q(o,r),chrome:q(n,r),device:q(k,r)||q(l,r)||q(m,r)||q(o,r)||q(n,r)},this.seven_inch=q(p,r),this.any=this.apple.device||this.android.device||this.windows.device||this.other.device||this.seven_inch,this.phone=this.apple.phone||this.android.phone||this.windows.phone,this.tablet=this.apple.tablet||this.android.tablet||this.windows.tablet,"undefined"==typeof window?this:void 0},s=function(){var a=new r;return a.Class=r,a};"undefined"!=typeof module&&module.exports&&"undefined"==typeof window?module.exports=r:"undefined"!=typeof module&&module.exports&&"undefined"!=typeof window?module.exports=s():"function"==typeof define&&define.amd?define("isMobile",[],a.isMobile=s()):a.isMobile=s()}(this); alert(isMobile.any ? 'Mobile' : 'Not mobile');

This particular browser sniffing code is that of a library called isMobile.

Option 2 : window.orientation

Test if window.orientation is defined :

var isMobile = window.orientation > -1; alert(isMobile ? 'Mobile' : 'Not mobile');

Note

Not all touchscreen devices are mobile and vice versa. So, if you want to implement something specifically for touchscreen, you shouldn't test if your browser is run on a mobile device but rather whether the devices has touchscreen support :

var hasTouchscreen = 'ontouchstart' in window; alert(hasTouchscreen ? 'has touchscreen' : 'doesn\'t have touchscreen');

---

Here is a userAgent solution that is more efficent than match...

function _isMobile(){
    // if we want a more complete list use this: http://detectmobilebrowsers.com/
    // str.test() is more efficent than str.match()
    // remember str.test is case sensitive
    var isMobile = (/iphone|ipod|android|ie|blackberry|fennec/).test
         (navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase());
    return isMobile;
}

---

Feature detection is much better than trying to figure out which device you are on and very hard to keep up with new devices coming out all the time, a library like Modernizr lets you know if a particular feature is available or not.

---

To add an extra layer of control I use the HTML5 storage to detect if it is using mobile storage or desktop storage. If the browser does not support storage I have an array of mobile browser names and I compare the user agent with the browsers in the array.

It is pretty simple. Here is the function:

// Used to detect whether the users browser is an mobile browser
function isMobile() {
    ///<summary>Detecting whether the browser is a mobile browser or desktop browser</summary>
    ///<returns>A boolean value indicating whether the browser is a mobile browser or not</returns>

    if (sessionStorage.desktop) // desktop storage 
        return false;
    else if (localStorage.mobile) // mobile storage
        return true;

    // alternative
    var mobile = ['iphone','ipad','android','blackberry','nokia','opera mini','windows mobile','windows phone','iemobile']; 
    for (var i in mobile) if (navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf(mobile[i].toLowerCase()) > 0) return true;

    // nothing found.. assume desktop
    return false;
}

---

How about something like this?

if(
    (screen.width <= 640) || 
    (window.matchMedia && 
     window.matchMedia('only screen and (max-width: 640px)').matches
    )
  ){
   // Do the mobile thing
}

---

A really good way of detecting mobile or tablet devices is by looking if the browser can create a touch event.

Plain JavaScript Code:

function isMobile() {
   try{ document.createEvent("TouchEvent"); return true; }
   catch(e){ return false; }
}

if (isMobile()) {
   # do whatever you wanna do!
}

This worked for me really well, but there may be a problem with laptop devices which include a touchscreen display.

I am not sure if a touchscreen Laptop will get detected as a mobile device because I haven't tested it yet.

---

don't use this method as window.orientation is now deprecated!!!

function isMobile() {
  return (typeof window.orientation !== "undefined") || (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('IEMobile') !== -1);
};

---

Feature Detection

const isMobile = localStorage.mobile || window.navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1;

WORKS IN CHROME + SAFARI as of 2022-02-07 :: combining feature detections and trying everything in this thread and other sites. The localStorage.mobile works in Chrome mobile; the latter works in Safari mobile. Does not trigger desktop browsers with or w/o the dev-tools open and/or on a mobile simulator. As of writing this, it triggers a real mobile browser but not desktops.

Please consider

I've also tested this on a Lenovo X1 Yoga (keyboard or tablet-mode) on Win10

localStorage.mobile is undefined no matter what When the laptop is in keyboard mode: window.navigator.maxTouchPoints is 1 → isMobile is false When the keyboard is flipped back and the laptop is in tablet-mode: window.navigator.maxTouchPoints is 10 → isMobile is true

---

Once the element gains focus, you immediately blur it. Bootstrap-datepicker, which is a very popular and well-maintained component with almost 10,000 stars in GitHub, uses this approach:

if (window.navigator.maxTouchPoints || 'ontouchstart' in document) {
    this.input.blur();
}

https://github.com/uxsolutions/bootstrap-datepicker

Thanks to Tigger for assistance.

---

Here is my re-thought solution for the problem. Still not perfect. The only true solution would be if the device manufacturers start to take seriously the "Mobile" and "Tablet" user-agent strings.

window.onload = userAgentDetect;
function userAgentDetect() {
  if(window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Mobile/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPod/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/IEMobile/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Windows Phone/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/BlackBerry/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/webOS/i)) {
    document.body.className += ' mobile';
    alert('True - Mobile - ' + navigator.userAgent);
  } else {
    alert('False - Mobile - ' + navigator.userAgent);
  }
  if(window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Tablet/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 7/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 10/i)
  || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/KFAPWI/i)) {
    document.body.className -= ' mobile';
    document.body.className += ' tablet';
    alert('True - Tablet - ' + navigator.userAgent);
  } else {
    alert('False - Tablet - ' + navigator.userAgent);
  }
}

What happens when the Nexus 7 tablet only have the Android UA string? First, the Mobile become true, than later on the Tablet also become true, but Tablet will delete the Mobile UA string from the body tag.

CSS:

body.tablet { background-color: green; }
body.mobile { background-color: red; }

alert lines added for development. Chrome console can emulate many handheld devices. Test there.

EDIT:

Just don't use this, use feature detection instead. There are so many devices and brands out there that targeting a brand NEVER will be the right solution.

---

Depends on the use case. All mobile devices require a battery. If what you're after is compute power without draining the battery use the Battery Status API:

navigator.getBattery().then(battery => {
  battery.charging ? 'charging' : 'not charging';
});

If what you're looking for is presentational use matchMedia, which returns a Boolean value:

if (window.matchMedia("(min-width: 400px)").matches) {
  /* the viewport is at least 400 pixels wide */
} else {
  /* the viewport is less than 400 pixels wide */
}

Or combine them for an even better user experience on tablet devices.

---

I advise you check out http://wurfl.io/

In a nutshell, if you import a tiny JS file:

<script type='text/javascript' src="//wurfl.io/wurfl.js"></script>

you will be left with a JSON object that looks like:

{
 "complete_device_name":"Google Nexus 7",
 "is_mobile":true,
 "form_factor":"Tablet"
}

(that's assuming you are using a Nexus 7, of course) and you will be able to do things like:

if(WURFL.form_factor == "Tablet"){
    //dostuff();
}

This is what you are looking for.

Disclaimer: I work for the company that offers this free service. Thanks.

---

This is just an es6 port of the accepted answer that I'm using in my project. Note that this also includes tablets.

export const isMobile = () => {
  const vendor = navigator.userAgent || navigator.vendor || window.opera;

  return !!(
    /(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino|android|ipad|playbook|silk/i.test(
      vendor
    ) ||
    /1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf-5|g-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd-(m|p|t)|hei-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs-c|ht(c(-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt-g|qa-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|-[2-7]|i-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h-|oo|p-)|sdk\/|se(c(-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh-|shar|sie(-|m)|sk-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h-|v-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl-|tdg-|tel(i|m)|tim-|t-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m-|m3|m5)|tx-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas-|your|zeto|zte-/i.test(
      vendor.substr(0, 4)
    )
  );
};

---

Here is a less obfuscated version of the answer by Michael Zaporozhets. It also uses a check to build the regular expressions only on the first call. See this answer for the technique used to build the string from an array of regular expressions.

var gRE = null;
var gRE4 = null;

function PlatformIsMobile()
{
    var e;
    
    if ( gRE == null )
    {
        e =
            [
                /(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo/,
                /bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile/,
                /ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox/,
                /netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker/,
                /pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone/,
                /wap|windows ce|xda|xiino|android|ipad|playbook|silk/
            ];
        
        gRE = new RegExp(
            e.map( function( r ) { return r.source } ).join( "|" ), "i"
        );
    }
    
    if ( gRE4 == null )
    {
        e =
            [
                /1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa/,
                /abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)/,
                /aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan/,
                /be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)/,
                /c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw/,
                /da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)/,
                /el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)/,
                /g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)/,
                /haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)/,
                /i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris/,
                /ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)/,
                /le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx/,
                /m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)/,
                /mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]/,
                /n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph/,
                /o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1/,
                /p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g/,
                /qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek/,
                /r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)/,
                /s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)/,
                /sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)/,
                /t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo/,
                /to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst/,
                /v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)/,
                /w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/
            ];
        
        gRE4 = new RegExp(
            e.map( function( r ) { return r.source } ).join( "|" ), "i"
        );
    }
    
    var key = navigator.userAgent || navigator.vendor || window.opera;
    
    return gRE.test( key ) ||
           gRE4.test( key.substr( 0, 4 ) );
}

---

IE10+ solution just using matchMedia:

const isMobile = () => window.matchMedia('(max-width: 700px)').matches

isMobile() returns a boolean

---

The best must be :

var isMobile = (/Mobile/i.test(navigator.userAgent));

But like like Yoav Barnea says...

// Seem legit
var isMobile = ('DeviceOrientationEvent' in window || 'orientation' in window);
// But with my Chrome on windows, DeviceOrientationEvent == fct()
if (/Windows NT|Macintosh|Mac OS X|Linux/i.test(navigator.userAgent)) isMobile = false;
// My android have "linux" too
if (/Mobile/i.test(navigator.userAgent)) isMobile = true;

After this 3 tests, i hope var isMobile is... ok

---

Here is he full function

function isMobile(){
    return (/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino|android|ipad|playbook|silk/i.test(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test((navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera).substr(0,4)))
}

jQuery.noConflict();
jQuery(document).ready(function(){
    if(isMobile()) alert("Mobile"); else alert("Not Mobile");
});

---

what about using "window.screen.width" ?

if (window.screen.width < 800) {
// do something
}

or

if($(window).width() < 800) {
//do something
}

I guess this is the best way because there is a new mobile device every day !

(although I think it's not that supported in old browsers, but give it a try :) )

---

Here's an ECMAScript 6 solution (TypeScript ready)

public isMobile(): boolean {
  let check = false;
  ((a => {
      if (/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a) || /1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0, 4))) check = true;
      }))(navigator.userAgent || navigator.vendor);
  return check;
 }

---

Note that Most newer-gen mobile devices now have resolutions greater than 600x400. ie, an iPhone 6....

Proof of test: ran the most upvoted and most recent posts here, with an optional check once run like so:

(function(a){
    window.isMobile = (/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(a.substr(0,4)))
})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera);

alert("This browser was found to be a % browser.", window.isMobile ? 'mobile' : 'desktop');

Somehow, the following results were returned on the following Browser Apps. Specs: iPhone 6S, iOS 10.3.1.

Safari (latest): Detected it as a mobile.

Chrome (latest): Did not detect it as a mobile.

SO, i then tested the suggestion from Lanti (https://stackoverflow.com/a/31864119/7183483), and it did return the proper results (mobile for all iOS devices, and desktop for my Mac). Therefore, i proceeded to edit it a little since it would fire twice (for both mobile and Tablet). I then noticed when testing on an iPad, that it also returned as a mobile, which makes sense, since the Parameters that Lanti uses check the OS more than anything. Therefore, i simply moved the tablet IF statement inside the mobile check, which would return mobile is the Tablet check was negative, and tablet otherwise. I then added the else clause for the mobile check to return as desktop/laptop, since both qualify, but then noticed that the browser detects CPU and OS brand. So i added what is returned in there as part of else if statement instead. To cap it, I added a cautionary else statement in case nothing was detected. See bellow, will update with a test on a Windows 10 PC soon.

Oh, and i also added a 'debugMode' variable, to easily switch between debug and normal compiling.

Dislaimer: Full credit to Lanti, also that this was not tested on Windows Tablets... which might return desktop/laptop, since the OS is pure Windows. Will check once I find a friend who uses one.

function userAgentDetect() {
    let debugMode = true;
    if(window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Mobile/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPod/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/IEMobile/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Windows Phone/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/BlackBerry/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/webOS/i)) {
        if (window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Tablet/i)
            || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)
            || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 7/i)
            || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 10/i)
            || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/KFAPWI/i)) {
            window.deviceTypeVar = 'tablet';
            if (debugMode === true) {
                alert('Device is a tablet - ' + navigator.userAgent);
            }
        } else {
            if (debugMode === true) {
                alert('Device is a smartphone - ' + navigator.userAgent);
            };
            window.deviceTypeVar = 'smartphone';
        }
    } else if (window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Intel Mac/i)) {
        if (debugMode === true) {
            alert('Device is a desktop or laptop- ' + navigator.userAgent);
        }
        window.deviceTypeVar = 'desktop_or_laptop';
    } else if (window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 7/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/Nexus 10/i)
        || window.navigator.userAgent.match(/KFAPWI/i)) {
        window.deviceTypeVar = 'tablet';
        if (debugMode === true) {
            alert('Device is a tablet - ' + navigator.userAgent);
        }
    } else {
        if (debugMode === true) {
            alert('Device is unknown- ' + navigator.userAgent);
        }
        window.deviceTypeVar = 'Unknown';
    }
}

---

I have faced some scenarios where above answers dint work for me. So i came up with this. Might be helpful to someone.

if(/iPhone|iPad|iPod|Android|webOS|BlackBerry|Windows Phone/i.test(navigator.userAgent)
 || screen.availWidth < 480){
//code for mobile
}

It depends on your use case. If you focus on screen use screen.availWidth, or you can use document.body.clientWidth if you want to render based on document.

---

This is what I use. I know userAgent sniffing is frowned upon, but my need happens to be one of the exclusions!

<script>
var brow = navigator.userAgent;
    if (/mobi/i.test(brow)) {
        alert('Mobile Browser');
        // Do something for mobile
    } else {
        alert('Not on Mobile');
        // Do something for non mobile
    }
</script>

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Ah yes, the age old question...

It really depends on what you want to do in response to the knowledge.

1. Do you want to change UI so it fits nicely on different screen sizes?

Use media queries.

2. Do you want to show/hide things or change functionality based on mouse vs touch?

This answer above will do however there could be cases where a user has both and switches around. In that scenario you can toggle some JS variable and/or add a class to the document body when you detect mouse or touch events

  window.addEventListener("mousemove", function () {
    isTouch = false;
    document.body.classList.add("canHover");
  });
  window.addEventListener("touchstart", function () {
    isTouch = true;
    document.body.classList.remove("canHover");
  });

body.canHover #aButtonOrSomething:hover {
  //css attributes
}

  document
    .getElementById("aButtonOrSomething")
    .addEventListener("mouseover", showTooltip);
  document
    .getElementById("aButtonOrSomething")
    .addEventListener("click", function () {
      if (isTouch) showTooltip();
    });

3. Do you want to do something specific knowing exactly what device they have?

Use the accepted answer.

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