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Apple is not going to add pointer support to the iPad. No trackpad. No mouse. They’ve made it very clear that they do not believe in mixing a touch UI with a pointer UI. How is an iPad with mouse support any different from a Surface? It’s not.

I do think we’ll see pointer support in iOS when Apple transitions the Mac to iOS one day. But I don’t think Apple will ever support a mouse/trackpad on iPads.


I recall them also being stuck on a 3.5 inch screen because they thought smaller was better. And here we are now.
 
I recall them also being stuck on a 3.5 inch screen because they thought smaller was better. And here we are now.

True, but that’s not a valid comparison. Increasing screen size didn’t fundamentally change how iOS works or how the user interacts with the device. Adding pointer support to iOS fundamentally changes the whole iOS experience. It’s not going to happen.
 
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I think there are a lot of things the ipad does very well, and in some cases, better than a traditional computer. Four examples: reading books/documents, handwritten notes, markups/annotations, and drawings/diagrams/sketches. I think most people can get past the lack of mouse support if they use a BT keyboard and learn the gestures. Split view and app switcher are pretty good for multi-tasking. Personally, on a 13.3 inch laptop, I rarely view more than 2 windows at once....so, split view is fine for me.

Nevertheless, there are two major limitations that require work around even for the most average of computer users: 1. Unable to have more than one document open in the same App (i.e. two Pages Docs open side by side), and 2. Unable to transfer files to/from an external storage device via lightning or USB-C.

It is really unfortunate because if Apple removed just these two limitations, I think the iPad would replace a laptop for many more people than it currently does.
 
True, but that’s not a valid comparison. Increasing screen size didn’t fundamentally change how iOS works or how the user interacts with the device. Adding pointer support to iOS fundamentally changes the whole iOS experience. It’s not going to happen.

sort of like adding a stylus ( I mean pencil) was never going to happen? yes I know its more than a stylus.
 
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The numbers don't lie: Macs which have a long product life lasts anywhere from 5-10 years easily before most people try to replace them, and yet have steady sales, but look at iPads, how sales are dying, what does that tell you?

Screen-Shot-2018-11-01-at-4.33.13-PM.jpg


And by the way, Mac sales are surviving even with horrible product neglect and issues, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, Macbook air all without updates for years, MBP with keyboardgate, throttling, donglegate, iMac 2017 with huge bezels, discontinued Apple display etc etc. Mac users are putting up with neglect but continue to buy Macs.

iPads get all the spotlight and dominate in ads, and look at the numbers.
 
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The whole DAMN thing is a giant Trackpad!!! WTF is everyone's PROBLEM?!?

hi. i hope you are having a nice day too. :)
for me, touching the display to input and not having to touch the display input is what the difference is.
its what is the difference between a tablet device and a keyboard device.
apple is directionally going to be making an iPad looking device running iOS apps that does have a trackpad soon.
its for that day that apple is now pre-marketing iPad devices as computers.
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I do think we’ll see pointer support in iOS when Apple transitions the Mac to iOS one day.

exactly.
thanks so much!
 
sort of like adding a stylus ( I mean pencil) was never going to happen? yes I know its more than a stylus.

Again, it doesn’t change the iPad experience in any fundamental way. The pointer is your finger or the stylus, not a cursor on the screen. Apple isn’t going to turn the iPad into a Surface.
 
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I bought an iPad Pro because of this claim. The truth is, it is a mobile device and everything runs as mobile. This is annoying for any kind of web research but it is especially bad in that software/programs available for it are very limited. Any word processing, spreadsheet, etc., programs you try to get for it have to be designed for mobile and are therefore very stripped down versions. I bought the Office program available for it and it is complete garbage. I can't use it for my job because of this meaning I had to go out and buy a laptop on top of the iPad pro. The pro can do some cool things, but it doesn't replace a full computer/laptop .
 
Again, it doesn’t change the iPad experience in any fundamental way. The pointer is your finger or the stylus, not a cursor on the screen. Apple isn’t going to turn the iPad into a Surface.

Its all about change, they changed their view on screen size, they changed their view on stylus.... How can you be so certain they won't change their views on mouse support? They allow mifi controllers for games yet no mouse support for productivity. Doesn't make sense to me.
 
Its all about change, they changed their view on screen size, they changed their view on stylus.... How can you be so certain they won't change their views on mouse support? They allow mifi controllers for games yet no mouse support for productivity. Doesn't make sense to me.

None of the examples you cite, valid as they may be, change the fundamental nature of the user experience. Of course I can’t be certain of anything. I’m not in charge of iOS. But I take Apple at their word on this one. We’re 12 versions deep. If they’d wanted to add pointer support, I think they would have already done so. Think about it. Suddenly iOS has a cursor??? What does that do to the user experience, an experience built on the foundational idea that we interact directly with the device by touching it? The iPad becomes a Surface. I truly believe that Apple isn’t going to do that.
 
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I'll simply quote craigmod's awesomely eloquent article on why the iPad is simply NOT ready to be a computer replacement, not now, and not ever while it runs iOS.

"macOS is clunky in its own ways — with nearly fifty years of UI ideas piled atop each other, the incumbency of older technologies making it more complex than it should be. But, damn, it sings. It responds as quickly as I can type, and if I need to hack together a solution — figure out how to open a weird file or automate a process or drag data from one space to another — my iOS mittens are off and the precision is surgical. It feels like a machine that trusts me to be an adult."

"For now, though, the iPad is still good for writing. Amazing for sketching. Reliable as a tank. Just don’t switch too quickly between apps. Don’t expect your cursor to be where you think it should be. Don’t try to do anything fancy with files. Don’t design a book on it. And don’t hope to open two documents from the same app side-by-side. Yet."


And for the love of Steve, please don't insult our intelligence with the "but for the average consumer" bollocks argument. It only serves to excuse mediocrity, especially for a gawd expensive "Pro" device.

PS. The fact that both iPads released in 2018 have incompatible pencils with no backward compatibility is peak Apple f__ckery.
 
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iPads get all the spotlight and dominate in ads, and look at the numbers.

Um... that's why they get tons of ads... poor sales performance.

EDIT: Poor in contrast to its historic sales development... I know it's not a flop, but they are trying to create a bigger market for it.
 
It can probably replace the computer for 80% of people at this point. We still need a few more features in Files and a few more apps that can really take advantage of the hardware.

I'd say instead that 80% of the people would be returning their iPad and switching back to a computer when they discovered there is no mouse.
 
None of the examples you cite, valid as they may be, change the fundamental nature of the user experience. Of course I can’t be certain of anything. I’m not in charge of iOS. But I take Apple at their word on this one. We’re 12 versions deep. If they’d wanted to add pointer support, I think they would have already done so. Think about it. Suddenly iOS has a cursor??? What does that do to the user experience, an experience built on the foundational idea that we interact directly with the device by touching it? The iPad becomes a Surface. I truly believe that Apple isn’t going to do that.

What's so bad about it becoming a surface? Why not best of both worlds, require developers to support both touch screen and mouse pointer input? Similar to what they require of developers regarding mifi support.

If there was money to be made in mouse support, I'd guess apple would be all over it. i.e. selling some sort of proprietory mouse. Similar to their pencil.
 
True, but that’s not a valid comparison. Increasing screen size didn’t fundamentally change how iOS works or how the user interacts with the device. Adding pointer support to iOS fundamentally changes the whole iOS experience. It’s not going to happen.
But Apple did add PENCIL SUPPORT because peoples fingers were just too damn big to draw with. So, it's not so far fetched to add POINTER SUPPORT. It'd actually be pretty easy. Android did it, so Apple can't?
 
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None of the examples you cite, valid as they may be, change the fundamental nature of the user experience. Of course I can’t be certain of anything. I’m not in charge of iOS. But I take Apple at their word on this one. We’re 12 versions deep. If they’d wanted to add pointer support, I think they would have already done so. Think about it. Suddenly iOS has a cursor??? What does that do to the user experience, an experience built on the foundational idea that we interact directly with the device by touching it? The iPad becomes a Surface. I truly believe that Apple isn’t going to do that.

You are right if we follow the narrow mindset Apple has right now. But that mindset is what's limiting iOS and if Apple doesn't break the mold, it will continue to be limited, and all the raw power will continue going to waste. It's been 6-7 years already of iPads in this world, and iOS keeps being severely limited in so many ways.

If this platform is truly to move outside of the walled garden and be truly versatile, it has to open up and expand to many different things, including maybe mouse support. There are many use cases where a mouse is just superior to touch, period.
 
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