Hallo i was very happy from latest ipados update but i have one question. If iam comparing mouse cursor ipad vs macbook i have a feeling there is little delay on external monitor and iam much more unaccurate comparing to macbook. Have you same feeling? it just feels different.
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ipad vs macbook cursor accuracy
- Thread starter Delarock
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I’ve never noticed any delay on my external display so far on the iPadOS 26 beta, and as someone who also has a Mac Mini to compare against, I’d say the pointer accuracy is the same. Hope that answers your question. 👍🏻
It's definitely floatier and less precise as far as I can tell. It's like they try to make it smoother, but that makes it less direct.
Have you tried the iPadOS 26 beta? I literally have tested my Mac Mini side by side with my iPad, and not only are the cursors about the same size and shape, I don’t really see a difference in accuracy at all. If you’re meaning the edges are a bit rounded to smooth the shape, I have nothing against that, and it really doesn’t affect accuracy. And the cursor is resizable in Accessibility Settings.
Yeah, I'm on the 26 beta, and while I do like the new mouse shape, I'm definitely detecting that the control over the mouse is not as direct as it is on my MacBook Pro (M3 Pro). It feels like there is something in software going on that's changing the acceleration or something. Can't quite put my finger on it.
It's not the end of the world, but I do feel what OP is talking about.
I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there are settings for adjusting cursor acceleration. That may help you out. It’s the “Tracking Speed” setting. Here are a couple of screenshots. I hope that helps you out. 👍🏻
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Thanks, but I've been through those settings previously. I believe it's a difference with the OS.
Ok, me using them side by side, I really don’t see or experience any difference… 🤷🏼♂️. The cursor looks slightly different (which I think makes sense), but I really have no idea what you’re talking about with an “indirect” feel, I just don’t see anything like what you’re talking about… 🤷🏼♂️
Not sure if this is something you've ever come across, but in PC gaming you will notice some games the mouse movement feels exactly the same as just being in the OS, because it's just showing the hardware mouse movement. Some games though, the mouse feels a bit floatier and just off, because the game is taking over and applying its own smoothing, acceleration, etc.
I feel like something similar is happening with the iPad.
With the new pointer, I’d say we’re now at 90-95% ‘fluidity parity’ with MacOS.
There was a WWDC session, I think, a few years ago when they added cursor support to iPads, where they talked about the philosophies behind it, and how there's a deliberate sense of momentum imparted to the cursor when you lift your finger off a trackpad. Apparently it also kind of auto-targets things like buttons that the cursor can (could) be "absorbed into," though, well, this is also all specific to the older iPadOS rather than necessarily also being applicable to 26.