Although it had been rumored for the last few weeks, it was one of the great surprises of the launch of iOS 13, which in the case of the iPad has been renamed iPadOS. The next update of which at the moment we only have the first Beta but which in a couple of months will be available to everyone, allows us to use a mouse as a control mode of the Apple tablet.
How is it configured? What can be done? Is it customizable? We will explain all this to you in this video, from the first step, so that if it was one of the things that you needed to decide on the iPad as a substitute for your laptop, you can start looking at it with different eyes.
Inside accessibility
Apple does not consider, at least for the moment, that this is a feature that should be used regularly on the iPad, conceived as a device with a touch screen and therefore controllable with our fingers, or with the Apple Pencil. But he has nevertheless included this feature as a Useful option for people who, due to problems of some kind, cannot use the control with their fingers, and therefore require another system, such as a mouse. For this reason, this option is included in the Accessibility menu, which also opens a new section in the Settings in iPadOS and iOS 13.
We must therefore access the System Settings and look for the menu "Touch> AssistiveTouch" and activate this option. Once that is done, we must enter "Pointing Devices ”and there we can add a Bluetooth wireless mouse as I show you in the video. If we want to use a USB mouse there is no problem, using the USB-C connector of our iPad Pro or a lightning adapter in the case of other iPad models. The menu will even allow us to configure different actions for each of the buttons (up to five I have managed to add) and modify the speed of the pointer.
Apple has heard the prayers of many users
The mouse control system is identical to that of any computer, with a very smooth movement of the pointer and Configurable shortcuts on the buttons to simulate the home button, display multitasking or show the Dock. The negatives are what you can expect from using a mouse on a device with an interface made for touch control, something that I personally am not excited about. However, there are times, as in certain applications, in which the use of the mouse can be a good idea.
Despite being a first Beta, Apple has managed to implement this new functionality very well, despite the fact that I see a clear point of improvement in the pointer that you have decided to use. Too big and without customization options, I think that future betas should allow modifying its size and even its design. Are you one of those who needed the mouse to control your iPad, yes or yes? Well, you no longer have excuses.