The Devices report
Matomo offers a collection of Devices reports to analyse which types of devices your visitors use to access your site. These reports can be useful for establishing things like whether a user is on their mobile or a desktop computer, which brands they use and how modern the devices are.
How to analyse Devices reports in Matomo
You can access these reports by opening the Visitors section of Matomo in the main menu and then clicking on Devices. For each of the reports on this page, you can hover your mouse over the individual rows to reveal a relative percentage of your overall visitors. Hovering on a row will also reveal two icons which you can click for more functionality:
Open the segmented visits log – This loads a visits log for users within your chosen dimension. Learn more about visits log reports here. 
Open Row Evolution – Loads a popup window that enables you to analyse the specific metric over time. Learn more about row evolution charts here.
Additionally, hovering your mouse over any part of the table will also reveal the standard table options along the bottom of the report. There are five main reports accessible from the Devices section and these are detailed further below.
Device type report
Knowing which type of devices your visitors are using to access your website or platform is fundamental for optimising your user experience (UX). At the most basic level, comparing Desktop vs Smartphone usage lets you know whether people are accessing your content or platform on smaller or large devices. However, it also often provides context. Mobile users may be accessing your content while on the go, or multitasking, whereas desktop users may be more focused.
Device model report
Knowing the specific model of devices your visitors use can help inform your development strategy. For example, if your users are primarily visiting from Apple iPhones then you will want to make sure that your website is well optimised for the mobile version of Safari. Additionally, if you were planning on developing an app then it would likely make sense to prioritise the Apple App Store.
Device brand report
In a similar fashion to the device model report, the brand report could also influence where you prioritise development resources. If the majority of your users come from the Apple ecosystem, then it would likely make sense to prioritise app development for Apple users.
However, development isn’t the only consideration when looking at the Brands report. Knowing which brands your visitors use can also reveal insights about your users. For example a certain brand may be more popular within specific regions, so if the majority of your users have devices from this brand it may suggest a strong regional influence.
Additionally, the Device brand report can also help influence marketing creatives. For example, if you plan a photoshoot where users will be interacting with your brand through a mobile device, it may make sense to use the brands that your visitors most resonate with.
Screen resolution report
Screen resolution reports can be useful for making design and development decisions for your site. If you know the majority of your users access your content with a specific resolution, you will want to make sure that your content and layout is well optimised to display at that level.
Configurations report
You may have noticed in the screenshot for the Screen resolution report above, there is also a link to load a Configurations report. This adds Operating System and Browser data to the report for even more precise analysis.
Using Devices data for segmentation
One final consideration is that you can also use the dimensions from these reports to create segments. Using these dimensions as segments enables you to look at data across the full range of Matomo reports while drilling down into the user experience and flow of visitors using a specific type of device.