In Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control are several additional mouse and pointer options, which allow for customizing the appearance of the circle that serves as a mouse pointer.

There, in the Appearance section, you can enable Increase Contrast to make the pointer a bit easier to see, Automatically Hide Pointer to make it disappear after a few seconds of inactivity, and set its Color. The color of the pointer is normally dynamic, but can be changed to white, blue, red, green, yellow or orange. In the "Color" menu, you can also set a Stroke Size, which only works if you've selected a mouse color, and makes the pointer even easier to see.

Going back to Pointer Control, below the Appearance settings you can select a Pointer Size, which as expected, makes the pointer larger or smaller. Normally, the smallest possible size would be ideal for most users.

The next option, Pointer Animations, affects whether the pointer would morph into different shapes when appropriate. For example, the pointer will change into a vertical line when hovering over text. This option also sets whether the cursor will snap onto interface elements such as icons. Some users may find it difficult to precisely use the cursor when it snaps to certain items, thus may choose to turn this off, for a more generic and predictable mouse experience.

The last option sets the Scrolling Speed, or how far would menus or pages move up or down as you scroll with the mouse's scroll wheel.

If your mouse has extra buttons, those can conveniently be mapped to certain actions by going to the AssistiveTouch settings menu, which is linked just below the Scrolling Speed option.

So, should you use a mouse or trackpad with your iPad?

Screenshot 2020-06-30 02.31.43.jpg

The Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case for iPad comes with a trackpad and provides a laptop-like experience.

Mouse support is in its early stages, and the iPad wasn't even meant to have it until recent years. But, if you're using a large iPad and find it cumbersome to always lift your hand and reach for "back" buttons and menu options, using a mouse could make things easier. Alternatively, if you already have a keyboard for your iPad, using a mouse or trackpad would make sense also, especially if you need precision. Desktop browsing on the iPad is definitely easier with a mouse, as desktop websites are designed to be navigated with precise mouse clicks.

But for most users, using your finger or an Apple Pencil would be far less cumbersome. iPadOS is still almost entirely designed for touch, so a mouse only makes sense for users who need it for accessibility reasons, or for those who are doing a lot of desktop web browsing. As we've established, it's not your average mouse experience, because iPadOS is not a desktop operating system. We're yet to see if Apple is going to change that, but currently there are no signs to suggest any major changes.