Mouse support for iOS devices like the iPad Pro Pro is about to get a lot stronger, at least according to a hint of iOS 14 code.
This was reported by 9to5Mac after a source showed the Apple news site the code for the upcoming mobile software update. iOS 14 is expected to ship this fall for both iPad and iPhone versions, and when it arrives you will notice some more sophisticated behavior with the mouse cursor.
Last year's iPadOS 13 update introduced support for connecting a Bluetooth mouse to the tablet, but this feature is fairly basic and required a deep dive into the settings just to turn it on. Once enabled, mouse support worked, but Apple did not advertise this feature much and we got the impression that it was not really designed for widespread use.
According to code seen by 9to5Mac, that has apparently changed with iOS 14. In addition, the code points to more sophisticated powers - for example, different types of pointers will appear on the iOS device's display based on what the cursor is hovering over.
Basically, if you connect a mouse to an iPad or tablet with iOS 14, you can expect a more Mac-like experience, right down to support for gestures that let you tap with two fingers to act like a right click.
This is not the only input device-related information 9to5Mac has gleaned from the iOS 14 source code. The site also found two new Smart Keyboard model identifiers in the code, suggesting a new keyboard for the iPad. In addition to that, gesture support suggests that a keyboard with a trackpad accessory is in the iPad's future.
This is consistent with an article reported last month by The Information that Apple is developing a keyboard with a touchpad as an iPad Pro accessory.
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