Apple could be on the brink of adding mouse support to the iPad in iOS 13.
According to a new report from reputable MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci, Apple could be introducing the ability to add a mouse to the iPad Pro, but only as an accessibility feature rather than a default offering for professional users looking for a laptop replacement.
Speaking of the news, Viticci said: “what I heard is without adapters, you will be able to use any USB mouse on your iPad, but as an accessibility device.
“The iPad Pro has a USB-C port, so just plug in a USB mouse and if you have physical impairments, if you have any other kinds of motor impairments, just use a USB mouse in accessibility mode.”
Users have been able to install a trackball or a joystick to their iPad or iPhone for a number of years for accessibility purposes, but so far it has not been possible to add a mouse to an iPad to control their iPad.
The change would be a huge step in a new direction for the iPad, which is often called the “computer killer,” despite offering limited professional functionality.
Popular Apple developer and code lurker Steve Troughton-Smith has also confirmed that he expects to see mouse support on the iPad in iOS 13, and joked that “every pro user will turn that on, day one.”
He added that “mouse/trackpad support on iPad is a band-aid that needs to be ripped off so that we can move on, just like for the stylus — which is now one of the most important iPad accessories,” suggesting he expects bigger changes in the coming years.
If you missed last week's @_connectedfm, @viticci had a pretty interesting scoop that he'd been sitting on re mouse support coming to iPad as an accessibility feature. As far as I'm aware, that *is* indeed in the works. I feel like every pro user will turn that on, day one 😂
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) April 22, 2019
Rather than offering full mouse functionality with a traditional pointer like on the Mac, it is expected that the new mouse support will feature a circle or a dot to guide users, although this is yet to be confirmed and plans could change.
We could even see the spinning color wheel come to the iPad for the first time, though this is unlikely because of the iPad’s speed.
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, where we’ll likely hear more about new features like this one.
However, if Apple is planning for mouse support to be an accessibility-only feature, then the company probably won’t mention it during the keynote – instead, hands-on developers will discover it themselves.
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