Yesterday, Apple announced new iPad Pros and a Magic Keyboard with trackpad. To almost everyone’s surprise, Apple had secretively revised the way mice and trackpads would be used with iPads going forward. The new iPads come out next week along with the mouse and trackpad support, which will be baked into iPadOS 13.4 to be released on March 24. I’ve had a chance to try out iPadOS 13.4 and I still have some questions about how everything is going to work.
So here are my top questions regarding Pointers and the Magic Trackpad.
Does the Magic Keyboard fold backward?
This might not seem like a pressing question, and really it isn’t, but this is the number one thing I wanted to be answered before I put all my money down on a new keyboard. Apple currently sells the Smart Keyboard Folio for the last and new generation iPad Pro. I’ve owned it since day one and I really like it.
iPad Pro and Smart keyboard Folio Smart Keyboard Folio closed
The Folio covers the entire iPad. It opens up so you can use the included keyboard and it can be folded back to use the iPad like a tablet device. When you folded it like that, the keyboard would be open on the back. The keyboard was there if you needed it, and if you didn’t it would fold away.
But in all the media Apple released yesterday, the Magic Keyboard is never shown in that configuration. In the videos released yesterday, Apple never shows the Magic Keyboard in any other orientation besides closed and keyboard style. When someone uses an iPad like a tablet, they take it off the Magic Keyboard stand.
At this point, I’m really doubting that the keyboard will bend back like the previous version. Will that bother me if I were to use it? I’m not sure. Recently, I’ve been taking the iPad off of the Folio when I read or surf the web.
How Strong Are The Magnets?
When attached to the Magic Keyboard, the iPad will float about the keys. The iPad attaches to the back of the Magic Keyboard by magnets and floats thanks to the cantilever hinge. I want to know how strong the magnets are though.
The older Smart Keyboard Folio uses magnets to attach to the iPad. I’ve never dropped my iPad thanks to the magnets, but I have had issues where it falls off when I try to close the keyboard. The magnets seem strong enough to hold it, but just a tiny bit of force can cause it to fall.
Will the same be said of the Magic Keyboard?
On the other side, if you can’t fold the case all the way back to use in tablet mode, you’ll have to take the iPad off the Keyboard. If the magnets are too strong, taking the iPad off might become difficult.
Finding the right strength for the magnets become a tight rope walk. Apple doesn’t want them to be too strong to pull the iPad off, but it does need to be tight enough that it won’t fall.
How Much Weight Does The Magic Keyboard Add?
I love the iPad because of how light and slim it is. I throw it in my bag and take it with me wherever I go. The Smart Keyboard Folio adds a little weight and just that little extra thickness but it is still easy to carry around.
But how much weight and bulk does the Magic Keyboard add to the iPad itself?
My next iPad will probably be the 12.9-inch iPad Pro -not this 2020 edition, but maybe the next one. But if the Magic Keyboard adds a lot of bulk to the device, I’ll probably skip it.
I want my tablet to be something I can take around with me and not have to worry about anything else.
How Does Pairing Work on the Magic Keyboard
This one is probably a no brainer, but I would still like some clarification. When you attach the keyboard to the iPad, it uses the Smart Connector, but does that also work for the trackpad? Do you have to connect to the trackpad with Bluetooth? I’m assuming that the Smart Connector will handle it all.
That leads me to…
Has the Smart Connector Been Upgraded
If the trackpad is also going through the Smart Connector and there is a USB-C plug in the hinge for power, does that mean the Smart Connector has been updated?
I’m not sure what this would mean, but it seems like a lot more power and data is traveling through the smart connector these days. Does that mean there’s a future in the Smart Connector beyond just the Keyboard Folio and the Magic Keyboard?
Why Doesn’t My Magic Mouse Work?
Before the iPadOS 13.4 beta, I would use the mouse through accessibility features. It worked, but it wasn’t the greatest. So I was excited to try the new system out.
I updated my iPad to iPadOS 13.4 when the Gold Master Beta came out and got my old Gen 1 Magic Mouse out. I had connected it last summer to try out the mouse pointer stuff.
Once everything got going, I got the chance to take the new cursor for a spin. It’s honestly a very cool system. The cursor adapts and snaps like magic. I think it will be a real game-changer.
But for some odd reason, my Magic Mouse won’t scroll a page. You can swipe as much as you want, but no page will move at all. I tried to push the mouse button and drag the page down, like the previous mouse cursor, and all the text got highlighted instead. I couldn’t find any way to change the behavior either.
Apple claims that the Magic Mouse 1 is supported. It does work, but it doesn’t scroll. None of the gestures work either.
Since iPadOS 13.4 comes out next Tuesday, I’m doubting that Apple will get this working.
Will Apple Bring the Magic Cursor to the Mac?
I haven’t spent much time with the new cursor on my iPad. The time I have spent though felt great. I have to wonder if the developers at Apple are thinking of bringing this cursor over to the Mac.
I know there are some people will want the cursor to remain the same, but I wouldn’t mind a re-thinking of the cursor on the Mac. But then again, maybe the cursor should stay the same.
Honestly, I need to spend more time with the cursor on the iPad. It wouldn’t hurt to be able to spend some time with it on the Mac just to see how it felt. This might be something that I’ll come back to eventually.
As much as I like macOS, I love iPadOS more. As I’ve said before, I think iPadOS will be the future of computing eventually. Adding this cursor support to iPadOS makes the device that much more capable.
Wrap Up
I’m really excited for what’s to come with the iPad, iPadOS, and the Magic Keyboard. I can’t wait to get some hands-on time with the Magic Keyboard come May, and I’ll bring all my hands-on experience here.
What do you think about the new cursor support in iPadOS? Are you planning on getting the Magic Keyboard? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!
(updated 3/20/2020 to add the strength of the magnets question)