Malcolm Owen
Apple could include the ability to use a mouse or trackpad within iOS 13, a report suggests, which beyond accessibility could enable the iPad or iPad Pro to more directly compete with notebooks and other devices that could be used as a complete computer replacement.
The iPad Pro range is pitched as an ideal device for working, as an alternate to the MacBook Pro lineup that is highly portable due to its tablet form. While iPads are highly versatile, the addition of mouse support could be coming to the platform in iOS 13, and could feature during WWDC on June 3.
Speaking on the Connected podcast, MacStories editor Federico Viticci revealed an interest in the idea of mouse support, with conversations with others suggesting it could be part of the AssistiveTouch accessibility feature. In researching the possibility, it was found it is possible to have a cursor in iOS when used with the right accessibility hardware, and has been so for years.
According to Viticci's sources, a USB-C mouse could be used in a similar fashion in the future, plugged directly into the iPad Pro's USB-C port without any extra adapters.
A later tweet from developer Steve Troughton-Smith corroborated the rumors, claiming the feature "is indeed in the works."
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
While the use of a USB-C connection may facilitate the use of a mouse or trackpad on the iPad Pro, it is likely that Apple will also turn to other ways of interacting with mice, if it is indeed working on the feature. A plethora of Bluetooth mice are on the market, including Apple's own, and it would make sense for Apple to enable support for those devices, rather than forcing users to acquire a USB-C mouse or an adapter to attach USB-A versions.
The use of Bluetooth also opens up the possibility for mouse support to be added to iPads and older iPad Pro models, which use Lightning instead of USB-C connections.
The timing of the rumors may also be due to Apple's Marzipan project, which, greatly simplified, enables apps produced for iOS to be ported to macOS with less friction than before. As Marzipan apps would need to accept input from a mouse, it makes sense for Apple to extend that functionality over to iOS.
Other elements iOS 13 is touted to introduce include changes to photo management, a "dark mode" to match macOS, and a universal "undo" gesture.
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So the next logical step would be to get OS X to run on the iPad. It would be a great device if they had it run as OS X when it was docked with a keyboard/trackpad, and run as iOS when removed from the keyboard. The apps could handoff to each other, so if you were working on something in OS X and moved to the iPad, you could continue where you left off.
It sounds crazy, but I think this is 100% true, and I think Marzipan is the beginning of the end for the Mac. Although I was expecting this to come along around 2021, after Marzipan apps had become somewhat commonplace.
The argument against pointer devices on iOS (and touch on the Mac) is that the UI "isn't made for it." And that's still true. But what is changing is that one app can now have multiple UIs.
The way this would work is, a Marzipan app works in "iPad mode" normally; snap in a keyboard with a trackpad, and it pops into "Mac mode." A lot of folks are gonna say this is Apple's "Windows 8", but it's a radically different approach.
Platforms get adopted in waves. We saw this with word processors, then GUIs, then CD-ROMs, then Internet, then touch. We're already into the period where people get "read work done" (I see at least five folks working on iPads in the room I'm in right now); pointer-enabled iPads and Marzipan apps will make the iPad "good enough" (or even better) for a whole new wave of consumers.
I think in about five years the Mac will be relegated to a lineup of one laptop, and one desktop, mostly aimed at developers and legacy buyers. In ten years it'll be done.
What remains to be seen is, "can Marzipan apps be good?"
If you follow all the people on here, this must not be true. They can’t figure out why you would ever need mouse support on an iPad.
For those using their iPads for something besides watching movies, sweet. A little overdue.
Seems odd that it would be USB only,
This is great!!! It will help Apple compete a lot.