Landscape filmstrip rail-shrink query is height-only, not orientation- or device-aware #32

Closed
opened 2026-09-12 02:13:14 -04:00 by jared · 0 comments
Owner

Severity: low · Type: ux · Confidence: medium

Location: src/grid/SpotlightLandscapeLayout.module.css:47-59

Problem

The rule is gated purely on @media (max-height: 400px) with a comment asserting "Desktop landscape (height > 400px) is unaffected." That assumption only holds if every desktop context is taller than 400px. The brief's own concern (cinny's PiP can be ~320px wide on desktop) cuts the other way here too: a short-but-not-necessarily-phone window (a resized desktop browser, a floating/PiP call widget, a tablet in a split-screen layout) that happens to be ≤400px tall — regardless of width — will also get the 132px rail shrink, and there's no accompanying pointer/hover or aspect-ratio check to disambiguate "phone landscape" from "any short window."

How to trigger

Resize any desktop browser window (or a floating call widget) to ≤400px tall while wide; the spotlight filmstrip shrinks even though the device is a mouse/keyboard desktop, not a phone.

Suggested fix

Not necessarily wrong (a short window arguably benefits from the same shrink), but if the intent is phone-specific, combine with a width ceiling or (pointer: coarse) to avoid unintentionally reflowing a resized desktop/PiP window; otherwise, document that this is deliberately viewport-shape-based rather than device-based.


Filed from the September 2026 audit (branch lotus).

**Severity:** low · **Type:** ux · **Confidence:** medium **Location:** `src/grid/SpotlightLandscapeLayout.module.css:47-59` ### Problem The rule is gated purely on `@media (max-height: 400px)` with a comment asserting "Desktop landscape (height > 400px) is unaffected." That assumption only holds if every desktop context is taller than 400px. The brief's own concern (cinny's PiP can be ~320px wide on desktop) cuts the other way here too: a short-but-not-necessarily-phone window (a resized desktop browser, a floating/PiP call widget, a tablet in a split-screen layout) that happens to be ≤400px tall — regardless of width — will also get the 132px rail shrink, and there's no accompanying `pointer`/`hover` or aspect-ratio check to disambiguate "phone landscape" from "any short window." ### How to trigger Resize any desktop browser window (or a floating call widget) to ≤400px tall while wide; the spotlight filmstrip shrinks even though the device is a mouse/keyboard desktop, not a phone. ### Suggested fix Not necessarily wrong (a short window arguably benefits from the same shrink), but if the intent is phone-specific, combine with a width ceiling or `(pointer: coarse)` to avoid unintentionally reflowing a resized desktop/PiP window; otherwise, document that this is deliberately viewport-shape-based rather than device-based. --- _Filed from the September 2026 audit (branch `lotus`)._
jared added this to the EC fork audit 2026-09 · Medium & Low milestone 2026-09-12 02:13:14 -04:00
jared added the priority: lowuxarea: mobile-ui labels 2026-09-12 02:13:14 -04:00
jared self-assigned this 2026-09-12 02:13:14 -04:00
jared closed this issue 2026-09-13 01:22:58 -04:00
Sign in to join this conversation.
1 Participants
Notifications
Due Date
No due date set.
Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: LotusGuild/element-call#32