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iPad Mouse Support - The Missing Elephant
- Thread starter neteng101
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Ahhh.....no, that's not what I want at all. Nor is that what I and many others are saying. That's just you.
I did not want a touchscreen Mac when the ASK was released to be used with the iPad.
Wising to use a mouse with iOS on an iPad Pro to get work done, knowing that it is not a touch Mac should not be this difficult to understand.
But apparently it is.
After all, we have Apple pushing the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement.
Apple could embrace convergence, possibilities are endless. A macbook air style keyboard/trackpad base, slot an iPad in to make a laptop!
Obviously in my world, the iPad would then run macos and ios when undocked.
Obviously in my world, the iPad would then run macos and ios when undocked.
So I cba to read through this full thread but I couldn't resist adding my two cents. Apple is trying to market the iPad as a laptop replacement. I can, for the most part, do anything on my iPad that I could otherwise do on my MacBook Pro. In fact, there are some things that I can only do effectively on my iPad, like handwritten notes (there is always the old fashion pen and paper method for this). I have however discovered some applications where not having a mouse renders my iPad useless for certain productivity tasks. Best example I can think of is editing a page on squarespace. I think mouse support would be a welcome addition, particularly for those who are using the iPad as a replacement for a laptop. It could be implemented just like ask support. When a supported mouse is connected there could be some ui changes customized to using the mouse. Likewise, when there isn't a mouse the iPad can revert to the iPad experience many of us know and love. The option should be there. I personally don't ever see myself carrying around a mouse. I do not use my iPad as a laptop replacement and still carry around my MBPr when I am in a truly productive mood.
If you want/need mouse support, then please continue to use traditional-OS computers.
Apple isn't "transitioning" interface modes. They've made a clear cut reboot. The only way to establish a completely new interface approach is to allow it to gestate in the total absence of legacy - hence the original Macintosh's complete lack of command line, with the focus on the mouse enforced and emphasised by the keyboard's lack of cursor keys. An annoyance at the time for sure, but a statement of clear intent.
They added a command line after more than fifteen years.
If Apple adds a mouse-mode to iOS, it may well be in around 2025 - I guarantee you that nobody will care nor want it by then.
Apple isn't "transitioning" interface modes. They've made a clear cut reboot. The only way to establish a completely new interface approach is to allow it to gestate in the total absence of legacy - hence the original Macintosh's complete lack of command line, with the focus on the mouse enforced and emphasised by the keyboard's lack of cursor keys. An annoyance at the time for sure, but a statement of clear intent.
They added a command line after more than fifteen years.
If Apple adds a mouse-mode to iOS, it may well be in around 2025 - I guarantee you that nobody will care nor want it by then.
The contradiction between Apple’s claim that iPad Pro can replace a laptop, and their claim that MacBook doesn’t need a touchscreen, tells us what Apple thinks: revenue requirements dictate iOS not receiving mouse/trackpad support 
I don't think it's so deliberate, I feel it's more a matter of priorities.The contradiction between Apple’s claim that iPad Pro can replace a laptop, and their claim that MacBook doesn’t need a touchscreen, tells us what Apple thinks: revenue requirements dictate iOS not receiving mouse/trackpad support
First, iPad is low priority compared to iPhone, every reasonable person knows that.
As of iOS 10.... 7 OS versions after the original iPad debuted, the iPad has a crappy multitasking implementation, a fragmented frankestein workflow for managing files, a very limited pencil support and no drag and drop support, which is ridiculous for a device that is based on direct manipulation (touchscreen).
Yes, there are other problems, but these were high priority, major showstoppers for productivity and iOS11 fixed them (after fanboys explained for years why files were not needed and split screen multitasking was bad on iPad etc.).
This is not enough and far late, but it is still a major win for iPad users.
The iPad still needs basic productivity features (multi-user, external memories support, Safari file downloader) and A LOT of refinements (why no arrow keys in the 12.9 iPad pro on-screen keyboard? They found the space on iPhones!). Mouse support is important (IMHO) and I'm sure will come, but there are basic, more important features that iOS still lacks.
It's probably stating the obvious that most people on this forum won't have used an Android tablet, but my Google Pixel tablet included mouse and trackpad support and, while I didn't use it much, when I did need it - I could use it. Lots of bluetooth keyboards have trackpads built in, and sometimes using the cursor for very precise work - like manipulating vector handles, or moving through a spreadsheet - is just what you need. I don't see why including trackpad support means anything else is compromised. I used my Pixel most of the time like I use my iPad.
it's been like this forever: for each feature the iPad missed, we had people explaining us why it was a bad idea, never happening. Multitasking, control center, smaller screens, bigger screens, split screen, stylus, file manager, drag and drop, external memories, more RAM, trackpad etc.
The fact is, apple resources are very limited when it comes to the iPad team, and I bet that's why there's still no support for trackpads.
That said, the current touch screen input methods could be improved A LOT, making the lack of mouse support less painful!
The trackpad mode, introduced with iOS9 and then left untouched, is still very rough, text selection could be easily improved, and so the touch keyboard (having arrow keys alone would be an incredible boost for productivity when using excel or text editors).
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I wished apple would include a touch screen on the laptops but I see their logic. OS X is not a touch first OS, its difficult to add in (see MS with windows 8), Apple views laptops as something that will eventually be replaced by and large by the iPad. With sales being what they are, adding a touch screen may not impact to the degree that it's worth the effort and cost (this is my opinion, nothing more).The contradiction between Apple’s claim that iPad Pro can replace a laptop, and their claim that MacBook doesn’t need a touchscreen, tells us what Apple thinks: revenue requirements dictate iOS not receiving mouse/trackpad support
Very valid point there. Also I don't think the traditional laptop / desktop setup is really good for touch screen. I tried some windows computers with touchscreen but the arm fatigue is so real.
I agree!
It's much easier to add mouse support to an iPad, than optimize Mac Os for touch inputs. And it makes more sense, looking at the future
In a sense that is a strong argument for trackpad support on the iPad, because when you use a Google Pixel in keyboard mode, the easiest thing is to reach a few inches across to the trackpad and not reach over to the screen.
The amount of time some people rationalizing why features missing from Apple products, but present in other products, isn't needed is pretty amusing. And then when Apple gets around to adding it, it's "magical".
Ok the google pixel...yes. On a 12.9'' iPad....absolutely no. It's too big and it's more than a few inches on such a device. The arm fatigue on the 12.9'' due to its size is a real issue and apple will need to address that.
Mostly that comes down to the fact that apple implements things better than other manufacturers. It's not just cramming in features but features need to work well for every day use.
Yep... when the Apple TV 4 launched, it was missing support for Bluetooth keyboards, no text entry was available other than the crappy onscreen keyboard. I and many others were complaining about this and I was amazed at the iSheep that were defending Apple stating things like "you don't need keyboard support for ATV", "get over it", "Apple decided it's no longer needed", "I don't use a keyboard (therefore you shouldnt either)" etc. Yet, lo and behold, updates came out and all the support was restored and even more. The iSheep all stopped their bleating and went back to quietly grazing.
It proved to me that there are many here that blindly defend anything Apple does or doesn't do and will happily swallow anything Apple feeds them.
Unreal.
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iSheep - I love it! I'm a huge Apple fan and for the most part love their products - but they aren't perfect.
Yes, I love the products too. All of my "stuff" is Apple. But I don't defend their every move or decision like some do around here. I question things and don't accept the status quo simply because "that's the way it is".
Uhmm...come on...let's try to have a discussion outside the stereotypes. This is simply not true, at least not always...
iCloud used to loose data before cloudkit. Regularly. Puff, gone forever. Splitscreen multitasking took years to come to iPad, while other OSes had it much earlier. Yet it was introduced with a horrible app selector, where you had to scroll apps one by one with no search-bar. And it stayed untouched for two iOS versions. Text selection and copy-paste was great in iOS3, but now it's much faster, reliable and more efficient on android. Control Center gets redesigned at every major iOS version. Do we want to talk about how Apple Maps was when introduced? 3rd parties touch keyboards? Crashing every two seconds on iOS8. What about the camera connection kit? It only sees pictures or videos in the DCIM folder and only if their file name has 8 characters. You must import all the pictures or select each one of them one by one.
Many features are introduced and they don't work well at all, and they sit there for years barely touched by apple, until they get redesigned...
How about we use what we feel is best to get the job done instead of you telling everyone what they need to use? I will never understand why there are folks so vehemently against having mouse support. As if such a thing can physically harm them. Asking for mouse support is in no way asking to compromise the iOS experience which mouse support would never do.
No one is asking them to do so by asking for mouse support. Such a strawman argument.
LOL....Mouse mode....People simply just do not understand.
Let's talk on how apple implemented the Apple Pencil charge from the iPad shall we
)No Apple certainly does not implement all things better, at least not all the time.
And somehow, every time I need my apple pencil, battery is at 5%.Let's talk on how apple implemented the Apple Pencil charge from the iPad shall we
No Apple certainly does not implement all things better, at least not all the time.
...no off buttons, what could go wrong...
Of course there are also good things, that's why we are here, after all, we are all iOS users.