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

[rmariboe]

I’m still waiting for Apple Mouse support on iPad. It would make teamviewering so much easier!

TeamViewer on iOS does have mouse support...
https://www.swiftpoint.com/teamviewer-mouse/
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I would love a mouse (bluetooth, USB, I don't give a crap) on the iPad, so when I get an after hours call, I can just carry a small messenger bag and an iPad, instead of my damn laptop everywhere.

I ended up fixing the problem by getting a Surface, which is actually a real computer. I love MacOS and iOS, but some of this stuff is getting really tiresome from an actual productivity standpoint.

If you use a remote desktop application on iOS, you can use an array of pointing devices - like the SwiftPoint and Citrix mice...
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I gather we have external display with the newest iPad Pro using the USB-C?

So along with a Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse / TrackPad, I can have and iPad + Monitor Dual Screen Setup and finally ditch my MacBook?

If that is the case it would be dream come true, many have been wishing for something like this for a long time. I could only wish they bump the price by a little and give me 8GB+ Memory for multitasking.

You almost have this already (ever tried connecting an external display through USB-C, lightning to HDMI or an AppleTV?)...

 

[barmann]

Mouse support in iOS , what kind of witchcraft is that !!?
Why does man need tools when bare hands are so much better ?

This is getting ridiculous, Apple's quest to turn iPads into computers , and the glacial pace of their progress .
If iOS had been ready for external devices from the beginning, a decade ago, it might not be the marketing hyped toy it actually is today .

 

[markfc]

TeamViewer on iOS does have mouse support...
https://www.swiftpoint.com/teamviewer-mouse/

I'm not buying another mouse when I have a perfectly adequate Magic Mouse 2 here.

 

[2ilent8cho]

What would be even better in addition to USB or Bluetooth mouse support is using my iPhone as a touchpad! i've tried to use bluetooth keyboards with an iPad which work fine until i have to lift my arm to touch the screen it drives me nuts, i just wanted a mouse. So to have a bluetooth keyboard case for my iPad with my iPhone gives me a very portable on the move computer.

 

[sracer]

I'm not buying another mouse when I have a perfectly adequate Magic Mouse 2 here.

Fair enough. But it sounds like using a mouse isn't a high priority requirement for you.

Using the Citrix X1 mouse with Jump Desktop on my 12.9 iPad Pro w/ASK to access my iMac made the experience feel like a natural desktop computer experience. The flexibility of being able to switch between that and full touch is the thing that makes the more expensive iPad Pros worth the price, IMO.

As for this rumor, I think it is too early for anyone to get excited about it... because just like the lead up to the Files.app and USB-C on iPads, people's imaginations ran ahead of what Apple actually delivered.

 

[Winni]

I wonder how will they support it.
One of a mouse features is not only pointing and clicking but also hovering the cursor over stuff and getting visual cues.
That doesn't make sense on iOS.

It's rather interesting that this still is an open topic on iOS. Android introduced mouse, keyboard and even game pad support how many years ago...?
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Keyboard, Mouse, Multitasking... Basically iPad is becoming a MacBook.

Yeah, this would only close the circle. The remaining difference being that it would be a totally castrated and restricted MacBook where you can only buy "allowed" software from ONE store.

 

[bluespark]

Given the iPad Pro's "computer" aspirations, mouse support (wireless included) is a must-add feature, and it shouldn't be relegated to an accessibility feature. Apple knows as well as we do that any such feature would be used more for productivity than for accessibility, so the feature should launch when it's ready for full-bore productivity use.
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Keyboard, Mouse, Multitasking... Basically iPad is becoming a MacBook.

You're not wrong, but so what? We talk a lot about the legacy of Steve, but one of the best things he did in my view was to let each product line be everything it could be without concern for whether one Apple product ultimately cannibalized another. By contrast, it seems right now that *both* the Mac and the iPad are being held back for fear of what innovation (or simply introducing features already standard in the non-Apple market) would do to another existing Apple product.

 

[EugW]

Fair enough. But it sounds like using a mouse isn't a high priority requirement for you.

Using the Citrix X1 mouse with Jump Desktop on my 12.9 iPad Pro w/ASK to access my iMac made the experience feel like a natural desktop computer experience. The flexibility of being able to switch between that and full touch is the thing that makes the more expensive iPad Pros worth the price, IMO.

I don't think this should be limited to the Pros. There isn't any reason to, especially now that the Air is basically a revamped Pro and has full Smart Keyboard support. Furthermore, there is no reason to limit it to the third generation Pros either.

BTW, the iPads that don't have Smart Keyboard support still have Bluetooth keyboard support (and technically even USB keyboard support through a dongle), so they could also function as laptop replacements with both keyboard and mouse support.

Given the iPad Pro's "computer" aspirations, mouse support (wireless included) is a must-add feature, and it shouldn't be relegated to an accessibility feature. Apple knows as well as we do that any such feature would be used more for productivity than for accessibility, so the feature should launch when it's ready for full-bore productivity use.

Remember, putting a setting in the accessibility section in no way limits the setting, as the setting is still OS-wide. It seems Apple sometimes puts settings there when they don't fit somewhere else. For example, Reduce Motion is an accessibility setting, but it really has little to do with accessibility, and when you turn it on, the feature is turned on throughout the OS.

Furthermore, while a significant minority will love this feature, overall most people will not need mouse/trackpad support on an iPad, so it makes sense to have it turned off by default.

 

[Mac 128]

What would be even better in addition to USB or Bluetooth mouse support is using my iPhone as a touchpad! i've tried to use bluetooth keyboards with an iPad which work fine until i have to lift my arm to touch the screen it drives me nuts, i just wanted a mouse. So to have a bluetooth keyboard case for my iPad with my iPhone gives me a very portable on the move computer.

Yes, and Apple has cited this tiresome aspect of using a touch screen with an external keyboard as an explicit reason for why there will be no touch screen on a Mac. Yet, Apple actively markets the iPad with an external keyboard requiring exactly that.

Being able to use your iPhone as a trackpad would be an excellent function.

But if they did that, you wouldn’t need to buy a Mac. ;-)

 

[iLLUMI]

I wonder how will they support it.
One of a mouse features is not only pointing and clicking but also hovering the cursor over stuff and getting visual cues.
That doesn't make sense on iOS.

Agreed! It would mean having a mouse pointer appear on the iPad display. That would just be bizarre. Oh wait, I guess the pointer would only appear within the app itself? I guess that would make sense.

I think Apple should just create a tablet that dual boots into either iOS or MacOSX.
I would imagine the price tag would be steep.
They could market it as MacPad ?? or MacPad Pro ???

 

[timber]

Apple will probably take a minimalist approach and use the mouse as a point and click device with some hovering cursor (that does nothing in addiction to pointing where to click) emulating a finger floating over the screen. Some combinations for gestures perhaps.
Still it would help a lot for selecting text and some similar uses.

 

[Mac 128]

Agreed! It would mean having a mouse pointer appear on the iPad display. That would just be bizarre. Oh wait, I guess the pointer would only appear within the app itself? I guess that would make sense.

I think Apple should just create a tablet that dual boots into either iOS or MacOSX.
I would imagine the price tag would be steep.
They could market it as MacPad ?? or MacPad Pro ???

I imagine it would mostly be a feature used in app, at least at first. However, understand that Apple has allowed 4K external monitor support with an external keyboard. It still goes against ergonomic practice of having to lift ones hands to touch a screen, and more awkward if one has to shift ones gaze from the touchpad to the screen and back to navigate on the iPad. Not quite so bad when merely selecting and launching an app, but a bit more complicated when switching between apps while using the keyboard, copying and pasting between apps, etc.

Currently the external monitor supports only mirroring, but eventually I imagine Apple would support spanning, which it already does in a limited fashion, in which case the awkward vertical touch input would only work for the active screen.

So long as Apple chooses to market and promote the iPad for desktop use, with a vertical screen orientation with an attached keyboard, and use with an external monitor, a mouse only makes ergonomic sense. And a wireless one is absolutely necessary if the iPad intended to be used interchangeably as a handheld tablet and desktop display with a keyboard. Nothing would be more awkward to lift up an iPad to manipulate it traditionally, after typing a document, with a bunch of wires connected to it.

 

[richpjr]

Why would anyone get a gorilla arm using a tablet on the way it is intended to be used? Do you get gorilla arm when you write a book or draw on a sheet of paper? I don't know how other people use tablets but I personally have it on my palm, or lap and using the pencil feels completely natural. For the desk experience, I have a desktop, and that has a mouse, and it should because when I am using that, the distance of the monitor is greater than the distance I would have the tablet, therefore touchscreen would not be too practical for me. But mouse on a tablet, in the way I use tablet is a NO NO for me. When it comes to other people...well! It wouldn't surprise me if some people would ask for a mouse on a smartphone also. I have read all sorts, so nothing surprises me anymore.

If Apple never intended the iPad to be used on a desk, why did they release the keyboard? That use case is where gorilla arm comes from, not holding it in your palm as mentioned.

 

[MrJeffreyGee]

I wonder if they'll eventually add support for the Magic TrackPad.

 

[Acorn]

I like the idea of mouse support but I would prefer the option of a Bluetooth mouse over usb-c. I’m not excited about all the potential dongles and crap hanging off my iPad like usb-c to usb 3 with a usb 3 receiver plugged into that. Just use Bluetooth and avoid all that crap.

 

[jamesrick80]

I'm looking for all-around wired/wireless (bluetooth/Touchpad/Mousepad etc) mouse support. And this new iOS needs a real file manager and true external storage support too. Simple (no-brainer) features Apple!!!

 

[fairuz]

Depends on the person, but not from my experience. I much prefer iOS to macOS so any additional features in regards to productivity just enhance the tablet experience. I don't find them comparable at all.

That's the OS. They're comparable if you're using Windows. Their stuff is lame all around, but MSFT at least did things right with the Surface.
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Huh?

2.4GHz radio with a USB dongle. None of them use Bluetooth cause it never works right, plus many desktop PCs don't even have bluetooth radios.

 

[tps3443]

I’ll buy one of these mice right now! Where do we get them? I can’t wait until ios13. I hope all of this is legit. Having a mouse and a 2nd monitor would be beyond incredible while using a iPad.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

2.4GHz radio with a USB dongle. None of them use Bluetooth cause it never works right, plus many desktop PCs don't even have bluetooth radios.

I was referring to the Apple Mouse! It's 'dongle-less'... Why would I want to use a non-Apple mouse with an iPad?

 

[DNichter]

That's the OS. They're comparable if you're using Windows. Their stuff is lame all around, but MSFT at least did things right with the Surface.
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2.4GHz radio with a USB dongle. None of them use Bluetooth cause it never works right, plus many desktop PCs don't even have bluetooth radios.

Yes, but when we are looking at an iPad vs a MacBook, I don’t see it comparable at all. Just because you add mouse support and a keyboard, doesn’t make it anything like using a MacBook to me. I still see the iPad as a much better platform for the future. The Surface is just like any other Windows laptop, not a good tablet at all. I had to use one for two weeks and it was terrible.

 

[ipponrg]

Yes, but when we are looking at an iPad vs a MacBook, I don’t see it comparable at all. Just because you add mouse support and a keyboard, doesn’t make it anything like using a MacBook to me. I still see the iPad as a much better platform for the future. The Surface is just like any other Windows laptop, not a good tablet at all. I had to use one for two weeks and it was terrible.

It doesn’t feel like using a MacBook because iOS is gimped compared to MacOS. The irony though is supporting these peripherals makes it seem that iOS has an identity crisis

 

[Spendlove]

I believe more users has been rumoured as well.

Gasp!

Be still my beating heart.

 

[rowspaxe]

The irony though is supporting these peripherals makes it seem that iOS has an identity crisis

It does have an identity crisis: it is a phone os trying to support a productivity device. And that's not working.

 

[DNichter]

It doesn’t feel like using a MacBook because iOS is gimped compared to MacOS. The irony though is supporting these peripherals makes it seem that iOS has an identity crisis

I don’t see it that way at all. The move to iOS only has been great for me. More stable OS, cost efficient, extreme portability, much better app selection, a ton of use cases I couldn’t have done on a MacBook. There hasn’t been anything I can’t do on my iPad for a few years now. Adding peripherals like this will just help in certain situations and make operational tasks better on the iPad. There is no downside, while keeping what makes the iPad so great.
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It does have an identity crisis: it is a phone os trying to support a productivity device. And that's not working.

Well more people buy iPad’s than Mac’s so it has to be doing something right. It won’t be the best device for all people/tasks, but that’s just a matter of time.
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I'm looking for all-around wired/wireless (bluetooth/Touchpad/Mousepad etc) mouse support. And this new iOS needs a real file manager and true external storage support too. Simple (no-brainer) features Apple!!!

I think they’ll hit on all of these with iOS 13.

 

[rowspaxe]

I still see the iPad as a much better platform for the future.

How so?