Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2020/03/24/ios-13-4-and-ipados-13-4-trackpad-support-icloud-drive-folder-sharing-and-more/
iPadOS 13.4 brings dramatically improved support for mice and trackpads, iOS 13.4 provides a return to always-visible controls in Mail, and both gain the long-promised support for iCloud Drive folder sharing, along with a variety of bug fixes.
With respect to Mail, all of the functions that were hidden behind the Reply icon (arrow) are still there, even those that have their own icons on the message screen.
That was so annoying, though. Hitting a reply button to file a message is just bad UI and UX.
Jason Snell has a nice article about the cursor support in iPadOS 13.4.
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I have NOT moved to iPad OS since there were issues with iPad air 2s running sluggishly. Can anyone confirm that with the latest iPad OS updates all is OK now for iPad Air 2? Thanks
I haven’t heard of widespread issues remaining, so I see no reason to hold off. iPadOS 13 has worked fine on our iPad Air since the beginning (as well as on a 10.5-inch iPad Pro).
Thanks Adam…
I tried using the Magic Mouse (first version) that I have and the cursor part works fine, but there is no scroll support. I wonder if that is the “supported” behavior or if something else is going on. Pairing the mouse also displays a warning in the Bluetooth section of settings that this device may interfere with Bluetooth and WiFi. Anyone else seeing these things?
We have a more detailed article coming soon, but in short, the original Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad are really limited.
I also tried using the original Magic Mouse and had the same results. Cursor support works fine, but cannot use the mouse to scroll. Not very useful. I’ll be curious to try out the new iPad keyboard with trackpad when it is available (and the stores are open again — so it may be awhile).
I suppose it’s a good thing that Apple brought back some more obvious functionality to the toolbar in Mail (in iOS 13.4), rather than hiding it all behind the “reply” button. But why did they choose to MOVE the buttons that were already there to different locations? Whether we realize it or not, we all develop muscle memory with a user interface, and we come to expect certain UI elements to be in certain locations. You would think that Apple’s UX designers would know this, and would try to maintain some consistency when they change or add new elements. The delete button in Mail, which used to be second from the right, is now at the far left of the toolbar. It is a function that I (apparently) used regularly without having to think about it or look for the button. Now, every time I want to delete an email, I hit a speed bump and I now have to retrain my brain to adapt to the new button locations. It’s as if someone came into your kitchen and switched around everything in the cabinets, so that the glasses are now where the plates used to be, and the bowls are where the spice rack once was. Every time you go to the cabinet to get something, you don’t find what you expected to be there and you have to think about where it is now. Apple used to be the expert in consistent UI design. I miss those days.
I suspect it’s because Apple had already made this mistake before. In iOS 12, the reply button was where Apple put the delete button in iOS 13, causing much consternation for those whose muscle memory was to tap that second-from-the-right button. Apple broke the training people had gotten used to in iOS 13, but people switching from iOS 12 now won’t suffer from the accidental deletions they did in the past. Here’s a screenshot from something else I’m writing about about this.
I am a pretty happy camper. I’m a psychiatrist, just this week started seeing patients from home with my iPad Air and using my clinic’s Windoze desktop using MS Remote Desktop Client.
In the scheduling software, I needed to be able to right-click for some functions. It’s almost impossible using the finger gestures that MS says to use. I Googled for how to use a mouse with my iPad, and that night upgraded to 13.4.
So I tried a bunch of Bluetooth mice, finally found my old Apple Mouse, the one that uses AA batteries, worked well. It has helped a great deal with getting more precision on the Windoze Desktop, even scrolling, even though the right and left mouse buttons don’t seem to do anything. But being able to precisely position the pointer and then two-finger tap on my iPad screen to get a right click has been wonderful. I’m having a lot less stress (even though still freaking out with my busy schedule, at least I’m at home!).
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