Re: [csswg-drafts] Need for detecting the typical viewing distance in media queries (#13398)

Thank you for your feedback. However, there is one common misunderstanding about CSS units that I’d like to clarify:

> I believe touch targets should be specified in a _physical_ unit like `mm`, possibly within `min()`, `max()` or `clamp()` together with an _optical_ unit like `px`.

`mm` is not a physical unit on screens either.
Contrary to what many believe, `mm` and `px` are either both physical (e.g., in print media) or both non‑physical (e.g., on screens). On screens, all absolute length units—`px`, `mm`, `cm`, `in`, etc.—are anchored to the reference pixel, not to actual physical measurements. Their ratios are fixed by definition:
`1in = 96px = 2.54cm`, thus `1mm = (96px / 25.4) ≈ 3.7795px` in all media.
Therefore, combining `px` and `mm` with `clamp()` or similar functions does not solve the problem, because their relationship never changes across media.



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Received on Tuesday, 27 January 2026 05:25:58 UTC