Apple's New iPadOS Software Includes Mouse Support as an Accessibility Option

[Mac 128]

Reaching up to a screen like that gets really old, really fast over the course of a day's work.
[doublepost=1559615334][/doublepost]
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.

There’s a guy over on AppleInsider suggesting that the correct way to use the iPad is laying flat on a table, hunched over it and typing on virtual keyboard or hours on end. Says we all read books that way, and draw and write letters with paper and pencil that way, and that it’s perfectly normal and harmless.

How do you argue with an opinion like that?

 

[Marshall73]

Good call from Apple. Will make certain apps much easier to use.

View attachment 840651

That’s why you would probably just connect with Bluetooth then under accessibility options. Sorry reality doesn’t fit your narrative.

 

[Mathias Denichi]

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.

I wonder if that means we’ll be able to use the Citrix X1 as a Bluetooth mouse, system wide, if it only allows corded usb.

 

[burgman]

Then you don’t understand why it’s here, or what an iPad is. This is not meant to complete anyone’s puzzle at all.

Thanks for speaking for everyone, we are so ignorant on what works for us.
[doublepost=1559644480][/doublepost]

The level of pure ignorance that keynote day brings out is astounding.

Must we bend the knee to your awesomeness?

 

[AlexJoda]

I wonder if that means we’ll be able to use the Citrix X1 as a Bluetooth mouse, system wide, if it only allows corded usb.

That would be nice. I am using the X1 for years with Jump Desktop but sadly that (and of course Citrix Receiver) is the only way to use it....

 

[apolloa]

It supports Bluetooth mice:

 

[pdauser92]

It supports Bluetooth nice:

That’s correct. I’ve just paired my iPad with a Microsoft Mobile bluetooth mouse, and it is working with no issues so far.

 

[apolloa]

That’s correct. I’ve just paired my iPad with a Microsoft Mobile bluetooth mouse, and it is working with no issues so far.

Have you tried a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse yet?

 

[bmac89]

It supports Bluetooth nice:

According to that video the QuickPath (swipe) keyboard is not available in the full-size keyboard but only in the small keyboard... is that correct?

If so that is very dissapointing! I don’t see why this should be the case. All I can think is the QuickPath swiping could conflict with the swipe down keyboard introduced in iOS 11 but surely this is workable with some tweaking, perhaps even an option to toggle between would be better than nothing.

 

[MoreRumors?]

This is great news and using a mouse is much easier and better than using my fingers.

 

[pdauser92]

According to that video the QuickPath (swipe) keyboard is not available in the full-size keyboard but only in the small keyboard... is that correct?

If so that is very dissapointing! I don’t see why this should be the case. All I can think is the QuickPath swiping could conflict with the swipe down keyboard introduced in iOS 11 but surely this is workable with some tweaking, perhaps even an option to toggle between would be better than nothing.

The swipe function only works on the small keyboard from what I can see.

 

[bmac89]

The swipe function only works on the small keyboard from what I can see.

Thanks! That is a shame, I hope this changes down the track.

 

[pdauser92]

The mouse functionality also works with iPhones. I’ve just successfully used my bluetooth mouse with my XS Max.
[doublepost=1559653362][/doublepost]

Have you tried a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse yet?

I can use both a bluetooth keyboard and the mouse successfully.

 

[jerryk]

Anyone know if you can do dragging? Also, right mouse click or other context support?
[doublepost=1559660381][/doublepost]

Never seen the point in adding a mouse to a Touch-based device. At least the Surface fanboys will stop complaining, I guess...

You sound like people that never saw a use for wireless charging until the iPhone had it, 5 years after Android phones.

 

[threesixty360]

I dont think Apple have ever been against mice or any other controlling device (game controllers etc..). What they dont want is developers ignoring touch as the primary method of input on the ipad. If they allowed for that early on it would have destroyed the ipad ages ago.

Developers, users etc.. will always go for the easiest thing for them. And if that means porting some old pc app which was designed soley for a mouse with pixel size touch points then thats what they would have done. You can see this when microsoft made the surface. How many apps were redesigned for windows pc touch? Would the new photoshop for ipad even exist if they could have just ported their old mac code and interface designed for mice?

 

[PastaPrimav]

Thanks for speaking for everyone, we are so ignorant on what works for us.

Indeed you are. When you think an accessibility feature completes a puzzle and lets you drop a Mac for good, you're completely and utterly clueless.

Anyone that has ever used the iOS simulator on a Mac for 20 seconds knows why this is just an accessibility feature, and at no point ever will it be considered a primary input method.

 

[pdauser92]

Right mouse clicks bring up a menu containing options such as custom actions, and also contains pre-configured actions such as ‘double-tap”.

 

[Falhófnir]

So Bluetooth mice won’t work, and you have to plug in a mouse via a usb cable?

Ah well, tough luck with the Apple mouse and its underbelly charging port...

Nope - bluetooth very much supported! Lots of videos showing pairing via bluetooth, this one as just one example:

 

[pdauser92]

Nope - bluetooth very much supported! Lots of videos showing pairing via bluetooth, this one as just one example:

Also applies to iPhones on IOS 13.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Anyone know if you can do dragging? Also, right mouse click or other context support?
[doublepost=1559660381][/doublepost]

You sound like people that never saw a use for wireless charging until the iPhone had it, 5 years after Android phones.

You’re making the assumption that I’m some sort of fanboy? Where are you getting at?

I don’t care that Android or Windows had it first. What I care is the practicality of it and I failed to see the practicality of it.
I didn’t believe the UI was made to need a mouse nor did it yet have all the full desktop options that require such precision. If it’s docked on a keyboard, there should be more ways to navigate throughout the OS with either keyboard shortcuts or a more flexible case. (I.e. not having to drag around a usb mouse or reaching up gorilla tactic style on the larger screen).

Touch should always be the main input on iPad, otherwise get a Mac. People here are so bent on trying to merge the two categories but don’t realize this could lead to compromises; something that Microsoft has struggled with for a while and some PC vendors are still not fixing.

P.S. Still don’t care much about “wireless charging”. Until someone releases a device that can actually charge wirelessly (not inductive charging pads), I won’t buy into it.

 

[pdaholic]

This looks very similar to how the old jailbreaking app BT stack worked. I really enjoyed using a mouse with my iOS devices.

 

[apolloa]

The mouse functionality also works with iPhones. I’ve just successfully used my bluetooth mouse with my XS Max.
[doublepost=1559653362][/doublepost]

I can use both a bluetooth keyboard and the mouse successfully.

That’s great to hear! Think the iPad Pro is now on my options list.

 

[brinary001]

Now if they will just allow you to change the cursor...

Baby steps, my friend. Baby steps

 

[Coffeeboo]

[deleted]

 

[va1984]

Reaching up to a screen like that gets really old, really fast over the course of a day's work.
[doublepost=1559615334][/doublepost]
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.

Of course, I don't disagree with this. But not everyone's use-case is the same. I teach at a university in the humanities. My work involves lots of reading and annotating (here the Apple Pencil was a game changer). It also involves grading students' essays (ditto). It involves writing and research, too, and that's where a big upright screen is useful. But that's it. Right now, I'm typing this on a 5K iMac. While I enjoy using this computer, I don't need it, really. If my iPad Pro could connect to a big display and have a pointer device of sorts, and have two apps side by side or two instances of the same app side by side, it would be enough for me to cover the relatively small percentage of time that I want to use it that way.
As it happens, I already went iPad Pro--only without any Macs at all, for about 18 months when the first 12.9" iPad was announced, and I have been absolutely happy with the iOS-centric life since then.
So -- for my work and use-case -- there is really nothing that challenging about ditching the Mac. Not that I have anything against it. And I appreciate that a lot of people can't do their work without Macs. But if I want to simplify my device line up, the iMac would be the first to go.

Indeed you are. When you think an accessibility feature completes a puzzle and lets you drop a Mac for good, you're completely and utterly clueless.

Anyone that has ever used the iOS simulator on a Mac for 20 seconds knows why this is just an accessibility feature, and at no point ever will it be considered a primary input method.

Yes, it is an accessibility feature, and no one in their right mind (except for people whose disability means that they have no other option) would buy an iPad with a view to only using it with this feature.
Having said that, instead of calling people clueless and ignorant, you could try to think a little harder. Obviously whether or not this option "lets you drop a Mac for good" depends on what you need to do with computers to earn your wage. Some of us have already "dropped Macs" years ago with very good results. Some of us -- I am one of them -- use a Mac a minority of their working hours because of a few specific features, and this accessibility workaround eliminates one of them. What's so hard to understand?