iPad Pro Trackpad support is awesome... except for in Sidecar...

[terminator-jq]

Trackpad support is fantastic! It works well and it was truly made for the iPad in a way that mimics touch rather than just tacking on a traditional pointer. That being said, there are times when you actually DO want the mouse to be a traditional pointer... namely when using Sidecar... Unfortunately, that doesn't work...

The way Sidecar works with the Apple Pencil is awesome and I just can't understand why Apple did not mimic that functionality with the trackpad / mouse support...

In my office, I have a 16" MacBook Pro with an E-GPU sitting on my desk. Next to that area is a small seating area. Sometimes I'll bring my MacBook with me to the seating area but at times the MacBook can get too warm or just too heavy to use on my lap comfortably for a long period of time. Luckily, when sidecar came out, my 11" iPad Pro was just large enough to have a decent computer experience and yet small enough to use on the couch for a long period of time laying in positions that would be impossible to do with my MacBook Pro. Since I was within Sidecar range, I could mirror my MacBook display and still get work done. With mouse support that experience could have been even better. Unfortunately, as of iOS 13.4, we will still have to pick up our Apple Pencils whenever mouse inputs are needed...

Hopefully Apple can correct this functionality and hopefully they can expand Sidecar to allow connections over Wifi so we can access our Macs from any location with low latency and that awesome Apple security! Then the iPad could really be a laptop replacement for those who have iMac's or Mac Pro's sitting at home.

 

[AutomaticApple]

The way Sidecar works with the Apple Pencil is awesome and I just can't understand why Apple did not mimic that functionality with the trackpad / mouse support...

Maybe they'll make it work better in iPadOS 14?

 

[Kier-XF]

Just going to second this - I'm perpetually reaching for the iPad trackpad and being endlessly frustrated that it doesn't act as the Mac trackpad when in Sidecar mode - despite the fact that the keyboard does. It makes no sense and I really hope Apple sort it out quickly.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

It is weird that they even have support for the iPad keyboard in Sidecar actually. It is right in the name. You can’t steer a motorcycle from the sidecar either. It is meant to just be a feature as a companion to the macOS device. You guys are describing a full remote desktop functionality. I would love that too from Apple, but can recommend Jump Desktop as a full remote desktop experience alternative if that is what you all are looking for. For the rare ocassions when I do need to use macOS for something, that is how I get access to my iMac. Excellent cursor support with the Magic Trackpad 2.

 

[Kier-XF]

You guys are describing a full remote desktop functionality.

Not really. Consider my working arrangement right now:

At this point, I can type my message on either keyboard, both of which behave identically, but one trackpad behaves entirely differently from the other. I think it should at least be an option to have the iPad trackpad control the Mac.

 

[Floh79]

I second this thought since it would be a great extension if we can use iPad as Touchpad.

I'd prefer Apple implement options like:
* No Touchpad (as now)
* Touchpad (tapping on the screen means just click)
* Touchscreen (tapping on the screen means click on that position of iPad)

No matter which option is selected, pencil should work only on that screen (iPad) similar the last option "Touchscreen".

Would be cool if someone of Apple read this and consider to implement.

Best regards
Floh

 

[hovscorpion12]

Sidecar is an extension of MacOS. Sidecar is a second display. iPadOS 14 wouldn’t fix it. More likely that MacOS 10.16 would need to be compatible with iPadOS trackpad. MacOS uses traditional mouse whereas iPad uses a circle. going between the Mac’s screen to iPad could cause issues if your using both the mouse and trackpad at the same time.

 

[Burç Tuncer]

Sidecar is an extension of MacOS. Sidecar is a second display. iPadOS 14 wouldn’t fix it. More likely that MacOS 10.16 would need to be compatible with iPadOS trackpad. MacOS uses traditional mouse whereas iPad uses a circle. going between the Mac’s screen to iPad could cause issues if your using both the mouse and trackpad at the same time.

I use the app called Screens, which is a VNC/Remote Desktop app and it support using the trackpad on Magic Keyboard 2nd gen out of the box. This can let me do what OP described (working on the couch from time to time) but obviously the overall performance of *any* VNC Client (it's a very old protocol) is way below the smoothness/quality and responsiveness of Sidecar. It's especially painful if you do programming stuff and scroll through your code. Anyways, since even a third party app can support this out of the box, obviously such feature does not demand a major OS update.

And the "issue" you mentioned is obviously an edge case, what you described is also possible with using mouse on mac and apple pencil on the iPad at the same time with Sidecar (I can't even imagine why anyone would want to do this), so it's not quite valid.

 

[Floh79]

You're right, we have to differ between Remote Desktop (Remote Access) and SideCar (Extended Display).

And the main benefit of SideCar is, you also can spontaneous take your "Display" anywhere. Try that again with your Display connected to Mac Pro.