Media Queries: How to target desktop, tablet, and mobile?

Question

I have been doing some research on media queries and I still don't quite understand how to target devices of certain sizes.

I want to be able to target desktop, tablet and mobile. I know that there will be some discrepancies but it would be nice to have a generic system that can be used to target these devices.

Some examples I have found:

# Mobile
only screen and (min-width: 480px)

# Tablet
only screen and (min-width: 768px) 

# Desktop
only screen and (min-width: 992px)

# Huge
only screen and (min-width: 1280px) 

Or:

# Phone
only screen and (max-width:320px)

# Tablet
only screen and (min-width:321px) and (max-width:768px)

# Desktop
only screen and (min-width:769px)

What should the breakpoints be for each device?

Answer 1

IMO these are the best breakpoints:

@media (min-width:320px)  { /* smartphones, portrait iPhone, portrait 480x320 phones (Android) */ }
@media (min-width:480px)  { /* smartphones, Android phones, landscape iPhone */ }
@media (min-width:600px)  { /* portrait tablets, portrait iPad, e-readers (Nook/Kindle), landscape 800x480 phones (Android) */ }
@media (min-width:801px)  { /* tablet, landscape iPad, lo-res laptops ands desktops */ }
@media (min-width:1025px) { /* big landscape tablets, laptops, and desktops */ }
@media (min-width:1281px) { /* hi-res laptops and desktops */ }

Edit: Refined to work better with 960 grids:

@media (min-width:320px)  { /* smartphones, iPhone, portrait 480x320 phones */ }
@media (min-width:481px)  { /* portrait e-readers (Nook/Kindle), smaller tablets @ 600 or @ 640 wide. */ }
@media (min-width:641px)  { /* portrait tablets, portrait iPad, landscape e-readers, landscape 800x480 or 854x480 phones */ }
@media (min-width:961px)  { /* tablet, landscape iPad, lo-res laptops ands desktops */ }
@media (min-width:1025px) { /* big landscape tablets, laptops, and desktops */ }
@media (min-width:1281px) { /* hi-res laptops and desktops */ }

In practice, many designers convert pixels to ems, largely because ems afford better zooming. At standard zoom 1em === 16px, multiply pixels by 1em/16px to get ems. For example, 320px === 20em.

In response to the comment, min-width is standard in "mobile-first" design, wherein you start by designing for your smallest screens, and then add ever-increasing media queries, working your way onto larger and larger screens.

Regardless of whether you prefer min-, max-, or combinations thereof, be cognizant of the order of your rules, keeping in mind that if multiple rules match the same element, the later rules will override the earlier rules.

Answer 2

Don't target specific devices or sizes!

The general wisdom is not to target specific devices or sizes, but to reframe the term 'breakpoint':

• develop the site for mobile first using percentages or ems, not pixels,
• then try it in a larger viewport and note where it begins to fail,
• redesign the layout and add a CSS media query just to handle the broken parts,
• repeat the process until you reach the next breakpoint.

You can use responsivepx.com to find the 'natural' breakpoints, as in 'breakpoints are dead' by Marc Drummond.

Use natural breakpoints

The 'breakpoints' then become the actual point at which your mobile design begins to 'break' i.e. cease to be usable or visually pleasing. Once you have a good working mobile site, without media queries, you can stop being concerned about specific sizes and simply add media queries that handle successively larger viewports.

If you're not trying to pin design to exact screen size, this approach works by removing the need to target specific devices. The integrity of the design itself at each breakpoint ensures that it will hold up at any size. In other words, if a menu/content section/whatever stops being usable at a certain size, design a breakpoint for that size, not for a specific device size.

See Lyza Gardner's post on behavioral breakpoints, and also Zeldman's post about Ethan Marcotte and how responsive web design evolved from the initial idea.

Use semantic markup

Further, the simpler and more semantic the DOM structure with nav, header, main, section, footer etc. (avoiding abominations like div class="header" with nested inner div tags) the easier it will be to engineer responsiveness, especially avoiding floats by using CSS Grid Layout (Sarah Drasner's grid generator is a great tool for this) and flexbox for arranging and re-ordering according to your RWD design plan.

Answer 3

If you want to target a device then just write min-device-width. For example:

For iPhone

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 480px){}

For tablets

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 768px){}

Here are some good articles:

• How to fit your website for the Apple iPad
• CSS3 Media Queries

Answer 4

1. I have used this site to find the resolution and developed CSS per actual numbers. My numbers vary quite a bit from the above answers, except that the my CSS actually hits the desired devices.

2. Also, have this debugging piece of code right after your media query e.g:

   @media only screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 1281px) { 
     /* for 10 inches tablet screens */
     body::before {
       content: "tablet to some desktop media query (769 > 1281) fired";
       font-weight: bold;
       display: block;
       text-align: center;
       background: rgba(255, 255, 0, 0.9); /* Semi-transparent yellow */
       position: absolute;
       top: 0;
       left: 0;
       right: 0;
       z-index: 99;
     }
   } 
   

   Add this debugging item in every single media query and you will see what query has being applied.

Answer 5

The best breakpoints recommended by Twitter Bootstrap

/* Custom, iPhone Retina */ 
    @media only screen and (min-width : 320px) {
        
    }

    /* Extra Small Devices, Phones */ 
    @media only screen and (min-width : 480px) {

    }

    /* Small Devices, Tablets */
    @media only screen and (min-width : 768px) {

    }

    /* Medium Devices, Desktops */
    @media only screen and (min-width : 992px) {

    }

    /* Large Devices, Wide Screens */
    @media only screen and (min-width : 1200px) {

    }

Source: https://scotch.io/tutorials/default-sizes-for-twitter-bootstraps-media-queries

Answer 6

Media queries for common device breakpoints

/* Smartphones (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Smartphones (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-width : 321px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Smartphones (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (max-width : 320px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) {
/* Styles */
}
/**********
iPad 3
**********/
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Desktops and laptops ----------- */
@media only screen  and (min-width : 1224px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Large screens ----------- */
@media only screen  and (min-width : 1824px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 4 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 5 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 568px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 568px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 6 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 667px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 667px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 6+ ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 736px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 736px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S3 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S4 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S5 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 360px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 360px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

Answer 7

1. Extra small devices (phones, up to 480px)
2. Small devices (tablets, 768px and up)
3. Medium devices (big landscape tablets, laptops, and desktops, 992px and up)
4. Large devices (large desktops, 1200px and up)
5. portrait e-readers (Nook/Kindle), smaller tablets - min-width:481px
6. portrait tablets, portrait iPad, landscape e-readers - min-width:641px
7. tablet, landscape iPad, lo-res laptops - min-width:961px
8. HTC One device-width: 360px device-height: 640px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3
9. Samsung Galaxy S2 device-width: 320px device-height: 534px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5 (min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5), (-o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3/2), (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.5
10. Samsung Galaxy S3 device-width: 320px device-height: 640px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2 (min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2), - Older Firefox browsers (prior to Firefox 16) -
11. Samsung Galaxy S4 device-width: 320px device-height: 640px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3
12. LG Nexus 4 device-width: 384px device-height: 592px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2
13. Asus Nexus 7 device-width: 601px device-height: 906px -webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.331) and (-webkit-max-device-pixel-ratio: 1.332)
14. iPad 1 and 2, iPad Mini device-width: 768px device-height: 1024px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1
15. iPad 3 and 4 device-width: 768px device-height: 1024px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)
16. iPhone 3G device-width: 320px device-height: 480px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 1)
17. iPhone 4 device-width: 320px device-height: 480px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)
18. iPhone 5 device-width: 320px device-height: 568px -webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2)

Answer 8

Nowadays the most common thing is to see retina-screen devices, in other words: devices with high resolutions and a very high pixel density (but usually smaller than 6 inches physical size). That's why you will need retina display specialized media-queries on your CSS. This is the most complete example I could find:

@media only screen and (min-width: 320px) {

  /* Small screen, non-retina */

}

@media
only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 320px),
only screen and (   min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 320px),
only screen and (     -o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2/1)    and (min-width: 320px),
only screen and (        min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 320px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 320px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 2dppx)  and (min-width: 320px) { 

  /* Small screen, retina, stuff to override above media query */

}

@media only screen and (min-width: 700px) {

  /* Medium screen, non-retina */

}

@media
only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 700px),
only screen and (   min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 700px),
only screen and (     -o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2/1)    and (min-width: 700px),
only screen and (        min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 700px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 700px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 2dppx)  and (min-width: 700px) { 

  /* Medium screen, retina, stuff to override above media query */

}

@media only screen and (min-width: 1300px) {

  /* Large screen, non-retina */

}

@media
only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 1300px),
only screen and (   min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 1300px),
only screen and (     -o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2/1)    and (min-width: 1300px),
only screen and (        min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)      and (min-width: 1300px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 192dpi) and (min-width: 1300px),
only screen and (                min-resolution: 2dppx)  and (min-width: 1300px) { 

  /* Large screen, retina, stuff to override above media query */

}

Source: CSS-Tricks Website

Answer 9

It's not a matter of pixels count, it's a matter of actual size (in mm or inches) of characters on the screen, which depends on pixels density. Hence "min-width:" and "max-width:" are useless. A full explanation of this issue is here: what exactly is device pixel ratio?

"@media" queries take into account the pixels count and the device pixel ratio, resulting in a "virtual resolution" which is what you have to actually take into account while designing your page: if your font is 10px fixed-width and the "virtual horizontal resolution" is 300 px, 30 characters will be needed to fill a line.

Answer 10

Since there are many varying screen sizes that always change and most likely will always change the best way to go is to base your break points and media queries on your design.

The easiest way to go about this is to grab your completed desktop design and open it in your web browser. Shrink the screen slowly to make it narrower. Observe to see when the design starts to, "break", or looks horrible and cramped. At this point a break point with a media query would be required.

It's common to create three sets of media queries for desktop, tablet and phone. But if your design looks good on all three, why bother with the complexity of adding three different media queries that are not necessary. Do it on an as-needed basis!

Answer 11

This is only for those who haven't done 'mobile-first' design to their websites yet and looking for a quick temporary solution.

For Mobile Phones

@media (max-width:480px){}

For Tablets

@media (max-width:960px){}

For Laptops/Desktop

@media (min-width:1025px){}

For Hi-Res Laptops

@media (max-width:1280px){}

Answer 12

One extra feature is you can also use-media queries in the media attribute of the <link> tag.

<link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="justForFrint.css" rel="stylesheet" media="print">
<link href="deviceSizeDepending.css" rel="stylesheet" media="(min-width: 40em)">

With this, the browser will download all CSS resources, regardless of the media attribute. The difference is that if the media-query of the media attribute is evaluated to false then that .css file and his content will not be render-blocking.

Therefore, it is recommended to use the media attribute in the <link> tag since it guarantees a better user experience.

Here you can read a Google article about this issue https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/critical-rendering-path/render-blocking-css

Some tools that will help you to automate the separation of your css code in different files according to your media-querys

Webpack https://www.npmjs.com/package/media-query-plugin https://www.npmjs.com/package/media-query-splitting-plugin

PostCSS https://www.npmjs.com/package/postcss-extract-media-query

Answer 13

• Extra small devices ~ Phones (< 768px)
• Small devices ~ Tablets (>= 768px)
• Medium devices ~ Desktops (>= 992px)
• Large devices ~ Desktops (>= 1200px)

Answer 14

I am using following one to do my job.

/* Smartphones (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Smartphones (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-width : 321px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Smartphones (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (max-width : 320px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (portrait and landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (landscape) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPads (portrait) ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) {
/* Styles */
}
/**********
iPad 3
**********/
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width : 768px) and (max-device-width : 1024px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}
/* Desktops and laptops ----------- */
@media only screen  and (min-width : 1224px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* Large screens ----------- */
@media only screen  and (min-width : 1824px) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 4 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio : 2) {
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 5 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 568px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 568px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 6, 7, 8 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 667px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 667px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone 6+, 7+, 8+ ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 736px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 736px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone X ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 812px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-height: 812px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

/* iPhone XS Max, XR ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 896px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 414px) and (max-device-height: 896px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S3 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 2){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S4 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

/* Samsung Galaxy S5 ----------- */
@media only screen and (min-device-width: 360px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : landscape) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 360px) and (max-device-height: 640px) and (orientation : portrait) and (-webkit-device-pixel-ratio: 3){
/* Styles */
}

Answer 15

The behavior does not change on desktop. But on tablets and mobiles, I expand the navbar to cover the big logo image. Note: Use the margin (top and bottom) as much as you need for your logo height.

For my case, 60px top and bottom worked perfectly!

@media (max-width:768px) { 
  .navbar-toggle {
      margin: 60px 0;
  }
}

Check the navbar here.

Answer 16

Best solution for me, detecting if a device is mobile or not:

@media (pointer:none), (pointer:coarse) {
}

Answer 17

$xs : "extra-small";
$s  : "small";
$m  : "medium";
$l  : "large";
$xl : "extra-large";

@mixin respond($breakpoint) {
  @if($breakpoint == $xs)  {
    @media only screen and (min-width: 320px) and (max-width: 479px) { @content; }
  }
  @if($breakpoint == $s)  {
    @media only screen and (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px) { @content; }
  }
  @if($breakpoint == $m)  {
    @media only screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 991px) { @content; }
  }
  @if($breakpoint == $l)  {
    @media only screen and (min-width: 992px) and (max-width: 1199px) { @content; }
  }
  @if($breakpoint == $xl)  {
    @media only screen and (min-width: 1200px) { @content; }
  }
}

you can also add one more for for sceen smaller then 320px like Galaxy fold

Answer 18

@media (max-width: 767px)   {

      .container{width:100%} *{color:green;}-Mobile

    }


    @media (min-width: 768px)  {

     .container{width:100%} *{color:pink  } -Desktop

    }
    @media (min-width: 768px) and (orientation:portrait)  {

       .container{width:100%} *{color:yellow  } -Mobile

    }
    @media (min-width: 1024px)  {

       .container{width:100%} *{color:pink  } -Desktop

    }
    @media (min-width: 1200px)  {

    .container{width:1180px} *{color:pink   } -Desktop

    }