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Tableau 2020.2: Updated device designer lists

Tableau 2020.2 finally updated the device designer lists with modern phone and tablet sizes, so your mobile layouts can keep pace.

Tim Ngwena •6 May 2020 •1 min read •2 min watch •257

Part ofWhat's new in Tableau 2020.2

Watch on YouTube

Tableau 2020.2 refreshed the device preview lists to include modern phone and tablet screen sizes, reducing the need to manually reference pixel widths and heights
You can access device-specific design by selecting the phone or tablet layout and hitting device preview in Tableau Desktop
The Superstore Sales sample workbook is a good place to follow along and experiment with mobile layouts
I sometimes disable automatic mobile device layouts because they can interfere with views not intended for mobile viewing

0:00In Tableau 2020.2 Tableau have updated a

0:03device specific designer devices, if that

0:06makes sense,

0:07in Tableau Desktop. So basically when you

0:09're designing for mobile on Tableau Desktop,

0:12you have this drop down list of devices

0:13that you can pick from. Essentially that

0:16list has

0:16been updated. So let me show you how that

0:18works. I'm going to open up Superstore

0:20Sales,

0:21the sample workbook that comes with the

0:22installation of Tableau. You can click that

0:25and just follow along. And you've got this

0:28device specific area here. You can actually

0:31see if I

0:31click on phone, I can actually get a

0:33specific device preview. So what I can do

0:36is I can very,

0:37you know, basically if I just go to one of

0:39these and I hit device preview, you'll see

0:41that I have phones and I have different

0:43devices. And essentially what they've done

0:46is they've

0:46actually updated this list. So we actually

0:49have some modern screen sizes here that's

0:51specific

0:52to modern phones, if that makes sense. So

0:55this has been updated and it now makes it

0:57much,

0:57much easier to sort of model what's going

0:59on. Before we had some slightly older

1:01devices

1:01and you used to have to sort of reference

1:04what these sizes were. Same with tablets as

1:06well.

1:07If I go over to this tablet icon, you can

1:09see here that I can see all the iPad pros,

1:12some of the more recent models and also

1:14some of the older ones. It turns out that,

1:16you know,

1:17the new sizes actually fit certain

1:19proportions. So it generally works the same

1:21way. So it's not

1:22as critical in terms of paying attention to

1:24the pixel widths and heights. But

1:26ultimately this

1:27list has been updated and it's a welcome

1:29update just to keep our sort of mobile

1:31device designs

1:33appropriate. Check out my other videos on

1:35this topic. I actually sometimes disable

1:38mobile device

1:39designs which are automatic because it can

1:41get in the way of a view when they are

1:44viewed on a

1:44mobile phone. And that isn't the intended

1:46purpose, if that makes sense. So you can

1:49just save users

1:50a little bit of view, exhale and make it

1:52easier to understand. Okay, if you found

1:54this video useful,

1:55hit the like button, hit subscribe.

1:58Otherwise, I'll catch you in the next video

2:01.

Rollup

Tableau 2020.2 refreshed the device preview lists used when designing mobile layouts, adding modern phone and tablet screen sizes so you no longer need to manually track pixel dimensions.

Applies when designing dashboards for phone or tablet layouts in Tableau Desktop. Demonstrated using the Superstore Sales sample workbook, which you can open to follow along.

The Breakdown

Find the device-specific design area 0:21

When editing a phone or tablet layout in Tableau Desktop, there's a device-specific area where you can select a device and hit device preview to see how your dashboard renders on it.
Phone list now includes modern sizes 0:42

Clicking through the phone device options shows an updated list with modern screen sizes, replacing the older, less current devices that used to be the only options.
Tablet list updated too 1:01

The tablet preview list has been refreshed in the same way, including recent iPad Pro models alongside older ones, so you have a wider and more current range to design against.
Less need to track pixel dimensions manually 1:22

Because the new sizes fit consistent proportions, you don't need to pay as much attention to exact pixel widths and heights when picking a device to preview against.
Consider disabling automatic mobile layouts 1:41

As a separate tip, I sometimes turn off automatic mobile device layouts because they can interfere with views that weren't designed with mobile viewing in mind, so disabling them can make the experience cleaner for users.

Use It When

Reach for the device preview list whenever you're building or checking a phone or tablet layout and want a realistic, current screen size to design against rather than guessing pixel dimensions.

How this Rollup was made provenance & method

A Rollup is drafted by AI from the video's transcript, then reviewed and edited by Tim. Everything used to produce this one is listed below — the model, the exact prompt, and the source video — so the process is transparent and reproducible.

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Prompt: The exact Rollup prompt (v2) — the full system prompt, unedited.
Source video: Watch on YouTube
Drafted: 5 July 2026 at 09:38
Reviewed & edited: 5 July 2026 at 09:41 · by Tim Ngwena

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