The iPad goes Rogue

This post was originally published May 27, 2020 on and has been lightly edited before reposting

BC

Ever since the introduction of the iPad, it has supported external keyboards. Aimed towards the power user, it served its purpose...to an extent. iOS for the iPad, and then iPadOS, was never designed for a keyboard only interface - it was touch-first all along. This meant frequent taps on the screen (which on a top heavy iPad is a delicate maneuver). Several long held conventions and shortcuts on the mac (and even Windows) didn't translate over. It took several releases before even Cmd+Space (for Spotlight) and Cmd+Tab (to switch between apps) were supported.

Starting iOS 9, Apple has added and refined multitasking capabilities into the operating system like Slide Over and Split View. However those capabilities were again built around a touch first interface. Neither multitasking gesture can be initiated by a keyboard. When in Split View the OS doesn’t clearly identify which app has focus, so a tap is needed on the app or on a text field within an app to ensure it is ready for text input via keyboard.

iPadOS needed a pointer desperately.

iPadOS 13.4

Apple released iPadOS 13.4 earlier in April with mouse and trackpad support and a neat pointer. This pointer (which Apple calls a Cursor) has been revamped (it existed in earlier versions of iPadOS 13 as a lookalike of the Assistive Touch overlay) in appearance and capability.

The new pointer isn't an arrow like in macOS, rather is a solid circle. In size its smaller than most touch targets, yet isn't so tiny as to require precise maneuvers. Like a bizarro chameleon, it switches between dark or light shading depending on what it hovers over, so as to never get lost. The pointer changes shape depending on the context too. Take the pointer near a button and it swiftly envelopes it, take it near a line of text and it quickly becomes a cursor. As the pointer is moved, buttons or app icons change their appearance (shading, perspective) to indicate the movement.

On the whole, the iPadOS pointer is delightful and feels organic, almost alive.

iPadOS now treats trackpads (and mice) as first class citizens. With a trackpad, several gestures (a la macOS) have found their way to the iPad - swipe up with 3 fingers to go into Expose, continue swiping to go home, swipe left/right with 3 fingers to switch between different apps (spaces really). Most sliders work with two-finger swipes.

iPadOS also has some nifty pointer oriented gestures - three-finger swipe up closes an app, swipe bump the pointer to the bottom of the screen and the Dock shows up, hit the pointer against the top of the screen and the Notification Center shows up, smash it against the top right corner of the screen and Control Center drops down. 

For the most part, the rest of the software (the system itself and apps) all work well with the pointer. 

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iPadOS 13.4 has hinted (at least to me) the future of computing. With the right apps and a keyboard+trackpad I believe the iPad can replace for the most part my MacBook. It easily beats the laptop in flexibility and matches it for weight. It can be my consumption device and my productivity beast. So what do I need Apple to focus on (with regards to the pointer) in iPadOS 14? 

Coming from the macOS world, my list of needs probably makes the iPad an almost-there laptop. Nevertheless, it will be great to see Apple put its secret sauce into them like it did with the pointer.

In no particular order, here is what I want from iPadOS 14:

  • Deeper trackpad support across the board
  • Multitasking to work with taps instead of clicks (on a tiny trackpad, click-dragging is surprisingly difficult)
  • Text selection with taps instead of clicks
  • Explicit controls over the mechanics of the pointer, instead of hiding them in accessibility
  • Deeper support for the Escape key, right now it works only to dismiss textboxes and exit Notification Center, Spotlight. Can't exit control center. Can’t reliably dismiss context menus within apps
  • Better stability with the smart connector. Frequently my iPad ignores the connected trackpad and keyboard despite powering them
  • Out of the box support for text selection and context menus across the board; dont rely on developers to build this support in explicitly
  • Capability to define keyboard shortcuts like in macOS

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