An iPad is almost a Mac. iPads are as fast as the MacBook, and entry-level MacBook Pro models. The iPad display is better than a MacBook display. What else?
The Mac comes with a keyboard. iPad is a tablet but it works with a variety of keyboards; from Bluetooth to Smart Keyboard. Mac applications have keyboard shortcuts galore. iPad applications? Not so much. What else?
Tennis Elbow
Here’s the deal. Use an iPad for a research paper, a term paper, or a business proposal, or the next great American novel, and you could end up with tennis elbow and never set foot on a court.
Why?
Navigating an iPad’s screen via the keyboard is an exercise fraught with error, frustration, and disappointment. How so?
Because most navigations beyond the basics require your fingertip. While you’re sitting and typing that fingertip navigation– so easily accomplished with the iPad sits on your lap– is a royal pain (literally and figuratively) because the finger is attached to the hand which is attached to the arm, which is joined by the elbow which attaches to the rest of the arm and then the shoulder.
That’s a lot of opportunity for tennis elbow to spread. Apple could fix the physical dangers with a simple iOS option to handle mouse points and clicks. Hello, Apple! Microsoft has it with their Surface notebook tablet hybrids and Windows 10.
Why not a mouse option for iOS on iPad?
Come one. This makes sense. If you’re using a keyboard on an iPad, then iOS needs to have, 1) full-on keyboard shortcuts for navigating where the finger would normally go, or, 2) full-on mouse support so we can add a mouse, and for a few precious moments turn our favorite tablet into a real personal computer.
You know. Like a Mac.
So, you ask, “If you have so much writing to accomplish, why not just get a Mac with it’s built-in keyboard support?” That’s a fair question. But a Mac is a lousy tablet. A Mac starts at $999. An iPad starts at $329 and could be a decent entry-level notebook– Mac-like in nature– for an additional $35 with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
All that’s required to make this happen is for Apple to implement mouse support into iOS 12. The mouse becomes a mechanical finger and points and clicks (vs. point and tap) just like a human finger.
Seriously, Apple. This is a no-brainer.
The iPad needs what the Mac already has. Mouse support.
