Proper method to detect device model (iPhone/iPod

Question

Is this the proper way to detect which device a user is running?

NSString *currentModel = [[UIDevice currentDevice] model];
if ([currentModel isEqualToString:@"iPhone"]) {
    // The user is running on iPhone so allow Call, Camera, etc.
} else {
    // The user is running on a different device (iPod / iPad / iPhone Simulator) disallow Call.
}

Answer 1

It is not a general solution but Apple in many cases provides API calls to check wether specific feature is supported or not. Examples could be:

• +isSourceTypeAvailable: and +availableMediaTypesForSourceType: in UIImagePickerController allowing you to check if camera is available for the current device.

• +canSendMail in MFMailComposeViewController to check if device is configured to send mail.

• -canOpenURL in UIApplication class to check if URL can be opened. For example it can be used to check if it is possible to make a phone call:

  if (![[UIApplication sharedApplication] canOpenURL:
                                   [NSURL URLWithString:@"tel://"]])
      //We cannot make a call - hide call button here
  

If such API calls are available for your purpose I would use them rather then rely on hardcoded string identifiers.

Answer 2

I'm not sure I'd want to generalize that much (ie, there may eventually be an iPod with a camera, and I don't know that the iPhone will ALWAYS be called "iPhone"), but yes, this is the accepted way.