iPadOS 13.4 adds full mouse and trackpad support

That iPad you have sitting in a forgotten drawer is about to become more useful. On March 24, 2020 Apple is set to release iPadOS 13.4. Among many new features and bug fixes is the main headline many have been waiting for: full mouse and trackpad support.

And this time it’s for real.

Apple is giving us a mouse pointer (albeit unlike the one you’d find on a traditional Mac or PC). With the 13.4 update, you can pair a trackpad or mouse and use your iPad without necessarily needing to touch the screen to navigate and get things done.

Working from home? Your iPad could all of a sudden become a welcome productivity tool.

Also, Apple is not restricting devices. Thankfully that means if you don’t have or don’t want to pay the premium for a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad you can pair a third party version — including that old cheap mouse in that same forgotten drawer.

iPadOS Video: Hidden Features for Your Mouse & Trackpad on iPad in iPadOS 13.4 (via AppleInsider)

Unlike with the release of iPadOS 13, this update gives full mouse and keyboard support, so you’ll be able to move the cursor on the screen, highlight text, navigate through apps, and generally get things done in a way that’s much closer to the way we work in MacOS and Windows.

AppleInsider reports that iPadOS 13.4 will work on “with all iPad Pro models, the iPad Air 2 or later, iPad fifth generation or later, and iPad mini 4 or later.”

Apple is releasing iPadOS 13.4 from beta to the public on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

Mike Carrall is a tech executive by day in Silicon Valley who writes under a pseudonym. Mike's passions include extreme sports, testing audio gear, trying (not so successfully) to restore a vintage 70's McIntosh receiver and spending time with his seven year-old daughter.