Since last year, there were rumors that Apple is going to make the iPad more powerful and handy to users. Earlier, several sites reported that the Cupertino company is developing a smart keyboard for the premium tablet. Now, a new report supports these claims and reveals that an expanded mouse cursor support is coming with iPadOS 14.
iPad Mouse Support
The latest news about a new feature coming to the iPad is revealed by 9to5Mac, which claims to have found pieces of evidence supporting that the Cupertino tech giant might soon release support for mouse cursors. In iOS 13, Apple introduced Accessibility settings, which included fundamental compatibility with external mice. The report adds that this feature would go live with the iOS 14.
Apart from the mice support, the site also found references on a couple of new Smart Keyboard models in the iOS 14 build. It claims that these accessories are in development. Moreover, the site provides details on the functionalities that iPad users could expect from the rumored feature.
It includes "a tap to click setting is also present, which indicates the trackpad will have some sort of depression, probably with some kind of haptic feedback." The feature also comes with "support for multiple pointers depending on what is being hovered over, like switching from a standard arrow pointer to a pointing hand when hovering over links. It is possible these APIs could then automatically translate over to Mac apps using Catalyst, which currently lacks an API for changing mouse cursor type," the site adds.
Smart Keyboards for iPad
As mentioned earlier, there are references found in the iOS 14 build of two new Smart Keyboards. This hints that Apple is gearing to release these accessories to several iPad models. The site admits that it could not find additional information that would reveal the physical features of the said accessories.
However, it mentions the possibility that the codes might be pointing to a "laptop-like design with keyboard above and a large trackpad below." last month, The Information revealed that Apple has been considering for several years equipping the iPad with a keyboard that comes with a trackpad. There were rumors that the Smart keyboard would feature capacitative keys that would "mimic the response of mechanical keys but with sensors."
Another report claims that Apple might release a Smart Keyboard with backlight for the iPad. It is worth mentioning that while these details are interesting, these are not yet official. In this case, we suggest taking this information with a good measure of salt.
