Jason Snell:

Apple didn’t just copy Mac cursor support and paste it into iPadOS with version 13.4. This is a careful, considered set of additions that rethink what a cursor should look like. And apparently it should look like an adorable round sticky color-changing blob.

The cursor in iPadOS 13.4 is very thoughtfully designed. It’s downright delightful to use. But beyond that, I have two distinct impressions of this feature:

• I don’t expect I’ll actually use it too often. My time on the iPad is far more laid back — I primarily use my iPad on the couch and in bed, which aren’t ideal locations for a trackpad. I suspect the majority of the time I’m using it will be the times when I’m editing/writing text with a keyboard attached.
• I don’t think I like the snapping nature of the cursor encompassing buttons as it goes near them. It’s a bit more jarring than I prefer and my brain is having a hard time tracking the transition from the round cursor to a feint square that surrounds the button. Luckily it can be disabled from Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control, the “Pointer Animations” option.

These opinions could change over time, especially if I purchase the Magic Keyboard with the built-in trackpad. But I’m so happy that this feature exists. If only because it seems to be encouraging less enthusiastic iPad owners to reconsider the platform.

➝ Source: sixcolors.com