The level of pure ignorance that keynote day brings out is astounding.
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Apple's New iPadOS Software Includes Mouse Support as an Accessibility Option
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I wouldn’t use it on a regular basis but there have been times when I have had to remote in to a Windows PC at work to access a document (such as a IEEE paper) that I couldn’t directly access from the iPad. Trying to do it with a touch interface isn’t very efficient.
I mean... I understand why it’s here (people with Parkinson’s or such who can’t easily touch a screen) and I most certainly understand what an iPad is. I’ve had several.
This feature however would have the beneficial side effect of making word processing and spread sheet creation easier while sitting in class. I tried using an iPad with a keyboard alone and it was a painful experience trying to reach up and tap and scroll with my finger and not knock over the device.
Am I the use case this is intended for? Probably not. But it would probably work enough for me to leave my MacBook at home, or forgo a laptop altogether and just use an iPad and my home Hackintosh.
Some of us have been doing that with our iPads for a few years already... Jump Desktop and the Citrix X1 mouse. That's been a great experience, but now with native (albeit limited) system-wide support for a mouse, it is going to be better for those scenarios where a mouse is preferable.
I love the flexibility of using the iPad as a touch tablet and then when I need to compose an email, switch over to a BT keyboard... and if I have to work on something like a spreadsheet, to be able to use a mouse for that... BOOM.
Apples executive team (especially Tim Apple) tour the iPad as a computer replacement, and judging by how they’ve treated/neglected the Macintosh, it sure seemed they’d rather not invest in the personal computer but in iOS with meemojis. I realize that they are offering significant long overdue features to the Macintosh now, roughly 4 years later, but okay.
I also agree with you, I’ve been able to do a lot of stuff that I did on my MacBook on the comfort of my iPad, but certain task are impossible or require so much extra effort, I always still use my MacBook Pro daily.
This way they can sell a new Apple Smart Keyboard with a Trackpad.
Bluetooth mouse support does work.
Make sure you pair it within the section in Accessibility and not with the regular system Bluetooth area in System Preferences. Ironically, I couldn't get my Magic Mouse 2 to work because it's recognized as a mouse when plugged in, but I didn't see a way to get it to pair with Bluetooth. And we know this mouse is useless when plugged in with the charger on the bottom. Anyway, I paired it with a piece of junk BT 3.0 mouse I had laying around.
Yes, it would be nice if they let you dynamically size the "touch" circle, and maybe its opacity when in use. Also, this is just a "hovering mouse" pointer so I don't think apps have any way of capturing the mouse directly using any public API. That would work for the majority of use cases, but it wouldn't let you use, say, an emulator or a remote control app in a true "mouse" mode (the app won't know where the pointer is until you click). Still a huge step in the right direction and makes selecting text really easy- though still different than on, say, a Mac because you need to simulate the finger gesture for selection with the mouse button. It's basically a double click then drag instead of single.
Only vaguely related but fun: Dualshock 4 from PS4 pairs over BT and works just fine with MFI game apps on iPad and iPhone! (not just Apple TV as suggested in the keynote).
This WWDC is the gift that keeps on giving. BT mouse support and DS4 support... well damn.
Does having it there hurt you?
Maybe it will make one person's life easier?
Maybe even more than one?
No... Does me not seeing the point in a feature hurt you?
I guess but I wouldn’t know since obviously I didn’t see the point in such a feature for iPad
Probably. There are 7 billion people in the world so I’m sure if one person’s life is easier because than about a thousand more people’s lives are earlier because of it. Still don’t see the point.
99.9% of usb mice have a usb a receiver not usb c. So basically apple chose dongles to hook up a mouse rather then just Bluetooth. Nice. Sigh..
You should take a look at iOS 13's Accessibility section. There's tons of new stuff in there that only a small % of people will use, but it will probably make their (mobile computing) lives 100X better. That's what this is, really, though people will probably find editing documents easier when their iPad is propped up with an external keyboard.
That way you'll be less likely to use it, and keep using it the way Apple wants you to, and buy a Mac if you need a mouse.
I look forward to trying this but I do hope they introduce an option to change the cursor.
I’ve seen the short clip above but I would be interested to see how it goes with finer work such as highlighting & editing text etc
Also does the mouse ‘cursor’ auto hide when not being moved? Or perhaps opacity fades?
If not I hope they introduce auto hide.
I’ve seen the short clip above but I would be interested to see how it goes with finer work such as highlighting & editing text etc
Also does the mouse ‘cursor’ auto hide when not being moved? Or perhaps opacity fades?
If not I hope they introduce auto hide.
It already works with the Bluetooth mice. Just have to access them from the accessibility section and not the standard one.
Reaching up to a screen like that gets really old, really fast over the course of a day's work.
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Sure. Sell your iMac. I don't know what kind of work you do, but I for one would not want to be on the bleeding edge of this transition.
The iPadOS looks like an amazing and overdue step forward from iOS, but if you start breaking it down, every single thing they announced about it today was basically a watered-down feature that the Mac has had for years, if not decades.
And none of this quite solves the basic ergonomic issue with exclusively touch-screen interfaces: the angles for positioning the display that are good for viewing are pretty much atrocious for repeatedly touching. A desktop or laptop computer solves this by putting the main control surfaces flat on the desk in front of you where you don't have to raise your entire arm every time you want to manipulate something on the screen.
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anyone have the beta installed and MS Remote Desktop that can try that combo out?
My biggest use would be selecting text to copy/paste. My fingers don’t seem to pinpoint what I am trying to select very well.
Definitely the case for me. I've been getting neck strains when I work on the New iPad Pro over 4 hours and I noticed it's because I have to always touch the screen as I work a lot with word and excel files. This for me nails it for using my iPad even more now. So glad about this.
Is support for assistive devices to allow users to interact with iPad who are not physically able to touch the display. Hence the circular pointer to act as a remote finger. It’s purpose is not to be an actual mouse pointer, that’s a benefit to supporting assistive devices which provide input based on HiD. It’s also. It working like you think it is. It’s not dragging a mouse cursor, it represents your finger floating on the display until you click the mouse button. So for Remote Desktop apps if you drag the cursor via touch then on this you will have to hold the mouse down to drag the cursor. Or change to a touch to click input. Either way it’s gonna be janky for vdi apps.
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Yeap agreed, will be watching this very very closely, mouse support, external monitor support, Bluetooth keyboard support, new OS finally giving proper multiple windows. Looks pretty good to me
It isn’t mentioned in the article, but in the settings window for this option are Bluetooth options and cursor size options, so it may very well support Bluetooth mice. We will have to wait and see..