The good news for everyone else, though, is that the iPad is one step closer to functioning as a serious computer while retaining everything we love about the tablet. So for folks who word process on their iPad, or who edit images and video on their iPad, or who write code on their iPad, the cursor is going to be a nice addition to their workflow – especially if they pick up Apple’s upcoming Magic Keyboard + Trackpad (available in May 2020). : OMOTON Bluetooth Mouse for iPad 8th/Air 4 and Phone(iPadOS 13/ iOS 13 and Above), Ultra-Thin Wireless Mouse Compatible with Bluetooth Enabled. It all feels very tactile, and the contextual clues really help to keep things simple. And when it hovers over a button, it disappears entirely and the button itself enlarges slightly, to show that it’s about to be selected. When you’re resizing text boxes in Pages, it changes to a pair of arrows. But when you hover over text, it becomes a caret (a text cursor). This cursor is different from a traditional desktop cursor because it dynamically changes depending on the action it’s about to perform.

So Apple’s brought a new kind of interaction to iPadOS. The touch screen is great, but it can be imprecise – selecting text or making careful edits to images can be difficult when using an index finger. The new iPad cursor answers a call from people who use the portable (but powerful) iPad Pro as their main computer. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll be using the Logitech MX Master 3 mouse.Mouse settings. You’ll also need to put the mouse in pairing/discovery mode.Įach mouse manufacturer and model will have its own variation of this type of mode, so be sure to check your manual to find out how to activate pairing mode. It may sound obvious, but always check that your Bluetooth mouse has power. How to connect a Bluetooth mouse to your iPad Once your dongle is plugged in, turn on your mouse and you should see the cursor appear on the screen. USB-C mice will work on recent iPads without a dongle. If you have a mouse with a dongle, you can connect it to your iPad just by plugging it in.Īs noted earlier, USB-A mice require a dongle for use with either a USB-C or Lightning port, depending on your iPad. How to connect a mouse to your iPad via dongle iPad running iPadOS 13.4 or later (that's any iPad Pro, the iPad Air 2 or later, the iPad 5th generation or later, or an iPad mini 4 or later.Because of this inconvenience, we’d recommend Bluetooth mice, if possible, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to come by.

But if your iPad has a lightning port, you’ll need to find an adapter to convert it.

Can i use a mouse with ipad air