How can I tell if Windows 8 users have a tablet or PC

Question

We have had some complaints from users who are using Windows 8. I'd like to use Google Analytics to review the behavior of users depending on whether they are using Windows 8 on a tablet or Windows 8 on a PC.

How can I tell them apart?

Answer 1

How can I tell if Windows 8 users have a tablet or PC?

Google Analytics has a filter for Tablet (click "Mobile Device" and look at the second row), which will help determine whether Windows 8 users are using a tablet or PC.

To compare these two segments, go to:

Standard Reports -> Audience -> Mobile -> Devices

Then:

1.) Click the down arrow just above the Explorer tab

2.) Click the Create New Segment button

3.) Click Technology

4.) For Operating System select Windows

5.) For Operating System Version select 8

6.) Scroll down to Mobile (Including Tablet) and check No

7.) Specify the segment name at the top (above Demographics) as "Windows 8 Desktop Users" and click Save.

Next, to view Windows 8 tablet users:

8.) Repeat steps 1-6, but check Yes in step 6.

9.) Then under Advanced -> Conditions, click on the Ad Content button and select: Visitors -> Tablet and chose Yes.

10.) Specify the segment name as "Windows 8 Tablet Users" and click Save.

While viewing these segments, you can can click the Add to Dashboard button to add them to your Dashboard for quicker access.

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Side note: For Internet Explorer user-agents for tablets, you should likely include those for ARM-based Windows RT models too, which do not contain the string "Touch" in them, but are touch-enabled. Also "Touch" can apply to all-in-one PC's that are touch-enabled too (not just tablets).

Answer 2

You should be able to filter out the traffic source by filtering through using the user agent.

Desktops and Laptops will use any of the following:

32-bit Internet Explorer 10 on 32-bit Windows 8:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; Trident/6.0)

32-bit Internet Explorer 10 on 64-bit Windows 8:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; WOW64; Trident/6.0)

64-bit Internet Explorer 10 on 64-bit Windows 8:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; Win64; x64; Trident/6.0)

While the Tablets will use something like this:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; Trident/6.0; Touch)

The important thing to notice with the above user agent is the Touch and Windows NT 6.2 as Windows NT 6.2 is Windows8 and anything with Touch on the end is to indicate a touch screen device that would mean a mobile or tablet. But other than that there's no other way of finding out other than that which I've stated.