Apple Rumored to Add USB Mouse Support to iPad Pro as Accessibility Feature

[EugW]

So you need usb a to usb c dongle

1. If mouse support comes, I'd be surprised if it's limited to USB.
2. Not all iPads have USB-C. But for those that do have USB-C, I'm sure somebody will build a USB-C wireless RF mouse if Apple limits mice to USB.
3. For the other iPads, you can use the existing Lightning to USB-A dongle. That would also work with wireless RF mice.
4. USB-C to USB-A adapters are very small and cost about $3.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

Huh?

He/She is correct. They use a radio between the little USB reciever and the mouse. Much more common that Bluetooth models.

 

[anshuvorty]

USB mouse support would be a little odd... why no bluetooth mouse support in this day and age?

Security concerns?

 

[subjonas]

If one wants a wireless mouse, one could probably still get a wireless frequency mouse with usb dongle. Not ideal but (probably) an option.

 

[Vanilla35]

Because there is a lot more profit to selling a consumer a macbook AND an ipad than selling them one converged device.

Yeah that makes sense - adds more devices to the ecosystem overall as well.

 

[Tozovac]

Not a single comment about showing an HP mouse in the OP? Kinda amazing!

IMO, one of the biggest things holding the iPad back when using a keyboard is lack of mouse support. Having to reach up and touch the screen for the many things that aren't supported with keyboard shortcuts is a lesson in bad ergonomics. Seems kind of strange to only offer it via USB though.

Not only that but as the supremely aggravating (to me) flat design fad is still upon us, being able to hover the cursor over something to preview whether it's clickable or not is a very helpful workaround on a flat design screen. Playing the touch/tap guessing game at times on an iOS device is still one of the most frustrating outcomes of 2013's iOS 7.

 

[H2SO4]

Makes you buy an iPad Pro over an iPad...........

 

[sidewaysdesign]

USB mouse support would be sweet. One of the main reasons I've never been able to get any “real” work done on an iPad is because of the delay to select/cut/paste, which is achieved quickly and without thought on a computer.

 

[rlhamil]

This is needed if they really wanna position iPad (especially the PRO) as the computer.
I don't think I would need it that much but I can certainly see myself using it when using some specific things.
Also, great for gaming as someone mentioned.

Together with a keyboard (already available), a mouse (preferably Bluetooth) would make the iPad much friendlier as a laptop alternative; less need to lift one's hands away from the work surface to tap on the screen.

Of course, jailbreakers had the option of mouse support (Bluetooth) years ago...

 

[terrywfoster]

IMO, buy a Macbook is you need that mess.

 

[Sethal]

I almost wonder if the feature is put in under accessablilty section, if apple is testing to see if it will actually be a popular enough feature to move to the "mainstream" in a future IOS version.

The touch/pencil features already work great, unless you try to use the iPad in a laptop screen up position, then mouse support would be useful.

The Pencil is great, you’re right. But it’s not required. The thing that scares me about Mouse support on an iPad are Apps being released that are damn near useless unless you’re using a mouse. I switched to iPad because I wanted something that wasn’t a laptop. People are pushing hard for the iPad to be more like a MacBook and the exact reason I switched to iPad was because it wasn’t a MacBook. Sure, mouse support could be great in certain cases. I’m just worried that developers will get lazy and just release something that works “better” with a mouse instead of developing better ways and using ingenuity to find ways to make it work the way an iPad was built for it to originally work.

I don’t want to use a mouse, and some people do and that’s fine. However if they add support, in the long run I might be forced to, and that’s what scares me.

 

[npmacuser5]

Instead of the Mac becoming more iPad centric, the iPad will be more Mac centric. That works!

 

[bingeciren]

USB keyboards already work on the iPad too. I did this on a lark, and it works fine.

View attachment 833475

(This setup needed power though, presumably because this old Mac keyboard includes a USB hub, so there is a USB power bank in the pic.)

Lovely. The funny thing is, not just the wired keyboard but my Apple BT keyboard and the Magic Trackpad also works with my Galaxy S10 with no problem. Samsung (Android) seems way beyond Apple when it comes to supporting usb peripherals.

 

[Paulyboy]

https://www.quha.com/products-2/ipad-adapter/

Have a more detailed post earlier in this thread but it got buried quickly. But to sum it up bluetooth mouse capability already exists in IOS.

 

[nickms777]

Remember when Jobs touted how iOS was built on the same subsystems as MacOS? Jailbreaking only gave us access to what was mostly already there:

 

[Mainsail]

If Apple is going to allow mouse support, it is difficult to understand why they would limit it to USB-C connectivity.....unless it is just a shameless up-sell ploy to the Pro models, which would be painfully obvious to everyone.

It could be that Apple is just not bought into the use case for a mouse on the iPad. If so, as a Beta feature, they could limit mouse support to their productivity apps, such as: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. If this proves popular, it could be expanded to third party productivity apps: Office, Google Docs, etc... They might also experiment with mouse support for the Notes App. Anyway, there might be alternatives for rolling-out mouse support that allows Apple to test it a little at a time in the Apps that are most likely to benefit.

 

[mimeArtist]

I jailbroke my ipad about 4 years ago to allow bluetooth mouse support... it was so useful for editing code

 

[jscooper22]

For anyone who still believes Apple doesn't have the eventual smerging of laptop and tablet lines in their back pocket, my friend, the Nigerian prince, has quite a deal for you.

 

[mceolsen]

So....the iPad is slowing becoming a MacBook? Are we going full circle?

 

[sledgehammer89]

Security concerns?

*lol* show us any security flaw with any Apple BT Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad with macOS. Thanks.

 

[Aston441]

Good. It's still not a computer until they turn on multitasking also.

 

[mimeArtist]

Feels like they're never going to fix the macbook keyboard issue, and just port everyone over to ipad and deteachable keyboard with mouse

 

[EugW]

Lovely. The funny thing is, not just the wired keyboard but my Apple BT keyboard and the Magic Trackpad also works with my Galaxy S10 with no problem. Samsung (Android) seems way beyond Apple when it comes to supporting usb peripherals.

Apple BT keyboard also works on iPad. Remember, there are about a bazillion BT keyboards available for the iPad already. In fact, I even had a Logitech one for my ancient iPad 2, custom designed for it by Logitech eons ago.

If Apple is going to allow mouse support, it is difficult to understand why they would limit it to USB-C connectivity.....unless it is just a shameless up-sell ploy to the Pro models, which would be painfully obvious to everyone.

It could be that Apple is just not bought into the use case for a mouse on the iPad. If so, as a Beta feature, they could limit mouse support to their productivity apps, such as: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. If this proves popular, it could be expanded to third party productivity apps: Office, Google Docs, etc... They might also experiment with mouse support for the Notes App. Anyway, there might be alternatives for rolling-out mouse support that allows Apple to test it a little at a time in the Apps that are most likely to benefit.

1. I don’t believe the USB-only rumours.

2. USB peripherals are already supported on the other iPads with Apple’s official Lightning to USB dongle.

 

[boston04and07]

Thinking more about this - while I would like to use my Magic Mouse, this would actually get me to buy a Magic Trackpad instead, since I like those way more...hoping this is true!

 

[jdiamond]

The touch/pencil features already work great, unless you try to use the iPad in a laptop screen up position, then mouse support would be useful.

Most people overlook this, but besides being a more accurate pointer, the most critical feature a mouse adds is movement control, that is, the ability to move WITHOUT clicking. This is mainly critical for games, but it's also a really useful feature in some utilities. While most current iPad apps crudely allow this by providing a region of the screen to tap in to represent movement, it never works very well.