Brydge has begun offering its long-promised iTrack trackpad designed exclusively for iPad users , well after its early debut during CES 2020.
Brydge iTrack iPadOS trackpad
The Brydge iTrack trackpad looks very Apple-esque with an aluminum base that tapers towards the front with a 5.5-inch by 3.3-inch matte glass top that creates a smooth tracking surface. It features USB-C charging, impressive battery life, and multi-touch capabilities.
Due to how iPadOS communicates with tracking devices such as mice and trackpads, there is often quite a bit of lag unless they've been designed with the iPad in mind. To combat this, Brydge has a feature called "Instant-On," which allows the trackpad to stay connected to your iPad in a low-power state for up to four hours. This allows users to not have to continuously reconnect the peripheral, and allows for rapid response when the iPad is awoken from sleep.
Compared to Brydge's flagship mobile keyboards, the new iTrack is designed to be used more as a desktop device. A mounted iPad or an iPad on a stand connected to a Bluetooth keyboard and new trackpad makes an ersatz desktop workstation.
USB-C charging port and antenna port on iTrack trackpad
Brydge has vastly improved its trackpads in recent months, issuing new firmware for its Pro+ keyboards that enabled full multi-touch functionality. It also released the new Max+ keyboard with a massive new trackpad and redesigned hinge that we went hands-on with at launch.
When Brydge originally announced its trackpad at CES 2020, Apple had only launched cursor support as an accessibility feature. It wasn't until iPadOS 13.4 that Apple fully released cursor support as a full-fledged feature. You can connect almost any Bluetooth mouse or trackpad though there was a clear usability difference between generic devices and ones designed for iPad. Brydge seems to have waited for Apple's cursor support to mature before bringing its trackpad to market.
You can order the Brydge iTrack iPadOS trackpad now for $99, undercutting Apple's Magic Trackpad 2 by $29, and also comes in Space Gray.
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