Why does a number of companies and even YouTube say I need to Update Safari when I have the latest IOS update?

iPadOS Safari can operate in two modes - the default Desktop mode or Mobile. The browser User Agent, as enumerated by the website, determines how the website is rendered in your browser.

When iPadOS 13.5.1 Safari used in Desktop Website mode, your electricity company believes that your browser is Safari 13.1 on macOS (Catalina).

Here is an example:

By contrast, if you switch to Mobile website mode, your User Agent is instead detected as Safari 13.1 on iOS 13.5:

What is the difference I hear you ask...?

Many websites are optimised for either full-sized screens, or smaller screens such as a mobile phone. Some websites will cater for both - and will produce an optimised page for both types of device - this being determined by the detected User Agent that is accessing the page.

You can switch browser modes using the options menu accessed from the aA icon that you’ll find at the left end of the Safari Address Bar.

I hope this information and explanation is helpful in clarifying the observed behaviour of your iPad.

valsin wrote:

I hope you have what is needed to respond to my question.

Yes, I do, thanks for the additional information.

Safari is updated with iPadOS updates. Indeed you have the very latest version of Safari that Apple has released. So your electric company has misstated something.

If that happened to me and I had used previous versions of iPadOS to communicate to this electric company, I might try Settings > Safari > Clear History & Website Data to remove all the historical data that might not have been properly updated to this company.

You are very welcome.

Hopefully this explanation resolves the mystery. All is well - and your iPad is working as it is intended.

And what is your iPadOS version number?

If your iPad is too old, “the latest version of [iOS] iPadOS for my iPad” is not current.

You’re welcome. I hope you can now communicate to this vendor using Safari.

Enjoy your iPad.