I also get annoyed when I get bumped to the "mobile" "experience" even when I'm on a smartphone. With reactive design, "request desktop site" generally doesn't work, either.
I really, REALLY prefer desktop mode for almost everything, relying on pinch to zoom.
> With reactive design, "request desktop site" generally doesn't work, either.
It shouldn't, because with proper reactive design therre are no "mobile" and "desktop" versions but only one version that adapts to the viewport size. If you want a larger viewport that should be solved at the browser level by providing the website with a larger viewport. Seems firefox behaves this way while chrome does something weird that increases the viewport a bit but then still "intelligently" scales some text.
Well what if you don’t WANT the interface to change between viewports? We used to use Desktop-style interfaces on 1024x768 displays, or even 640x480. Now we just get a one-dimensional mobile interface when the viewport is smaller than whatever arbitrary threshold is fashionable among designers. It’s incredibly annoying to have interfaces become downgraded (ie hyper-simplified) regardless of what the user requests just because they haven’t kept up with the resolution upgrade treadmill. Pinch and zoom (in BOTH directions) is such a powerful UI tool from the user’s perspective but its usefulness has become completely neutered by insistence on “reactive” design ripping control away from the user.
I really, REALLY prefer desktop mode for almost everything, relying on pinch to zoom.