Should I Buy a Mouse for my iPad?

Last year Apple introduced the option to use a mouse or trackpad with iPad quietly as an accessibility feature. This year they went all in, releasing the incredibly well received (and pricey) Magic Keyboard & Trackpad cases for iPad Pro models, making use of their Smart Connectors.

We’ve already mentioned the rumours that these cases will be extended to more, if not all iPad models in the near future, but until then, is it worth grabbing a cheap mouse to get a taste of the action?

As will almost anything I ask on this website, the quick answer is, it depends.

iPad Pro Magic Keyboard & Trackpad

Because iPad is a touch first operating system, multitouch is a central part to how the system works. The trackpad is the most natural way to replicate this without directly touching the screen and the gesture support built into iPadOS makes Apple’s own option very functional.

Unfortunately at this stage, third party trackpads don’t appear to support the extended feature set that Apple has on their own hardware. I would assume that the gestures work if you pair one of their own Mac trackpads as well as with the Magic Trackpad case, but I’ve not tried so I can’t verify that right now.

That means that most trackpads in cases from Logitech or Brydge right now don’t give much more usability than a basic mouse – but of course you’re not swapping touch support for pointer, you get both. You can still reach up and manipulate things on the screen and then go back to a more traditional experience with keyboard & pointer when you need to.

Convenience vs Cost

One of the biggest conveniences you’ll lose however by using Bluetooth accessories rather than Apple’s Smart or Magic ones is that when you grab the iPad to use alone, you’ll have to disconnect the peripherals manually, either by powering them off or disconnecting the iPad’s Bluetooth connections.

With Apple’s Smart Connector based products, as soon as you pick it up you’re done. Also Apple’s Keyboards are powered by the iPad, not another thing to remember to charge, which also makes a difference.

So right now, I wouldn’t recommend getting a third party trackpad case for your iPad, go Apple or go home on that. But if you have an Apple trackpad in the drawer, give that a go, or even pick up a Bluetooth mouse for about a tenner from Amazon if you feel like dipping your toe in the computer replacement waters.

It’ll give you a good idea of what to expect for very little investment, but there’s also no reason to use one if you’re not using an external keyboard too. It would be very strange to tap away on the screen for letters and then go back to a mouse!

My Post Lockdown Everyday Carry

While on Furlough I’ve been getting everything ready for returning to work, hopefully in the coming few weeks. In this video I’ll talk through what will be living in my daily carry bag and the rationale behind each item.

The below links may include affiliate or associate links for which I earn a commission to help support future content on the channel. My reviews are not paid or influenced by these product owners.

iPad Air 2 32GB Wifi Silver

My daily carry iPad is an iPad Air 2 – which happens to be the oldest version that supports the latest software version. As such, its perfect for the usual office type apps, but you’d be hard pushed to do any heavy lifting like complex video edits on here. iMovie should be fine (which I need to revisit soon) but LumaFusion has had some failed exports for me using this. The iPad belongs to my employer, but they allow me to use my own Apple ID which is really handy as I can use all the apps I already own as a result! Shop iPads on Amazon https://amzn.to/2Cj8eju

iPhone XS 64GB Gold

This is my current personal iPhone, though I’m due an upgrade with this year’s releases, so keep an eye out for that in September or October. This is currently running the iOS 14 Developer Beta so I can play around with all the latest additions and has for a while been my main camera too. Usually lives in a gel case with a magnet in the back for dashboard mounting. https://amzn.to/3fgwhOM

iPhone 8 64GB

This is my work iPhone, so this runs the stable release of iOS at all times but also makes a brilliant second camera, and because I don’t fill it with a bunch of apps has around 30GB of free space so REALLY handy if I’m running low on storage! https://amzn.to/2VWMcKE

Keysmart Keychain

The Keysmart is something I’ve been rocking for quite a number of years now, and I really like how compact and not jangly it is! If you’re pocketing keys it is super compact and nice, but I’m planning for it to live in the bag as much as possible, even though old habits are hard to break! https://amzn.to/31Yibh2

Kinder Surprise Face Covering

This probably falls more into the life hack category than anything else, but now we need to have face coverings handy at all times, keeping mine in the capsule from a Kinder Surprise is a nice way to avoid it getting grubby. Wear your mask! https://amzn.to/3iML85U

AirPods 2nd Generation

These are my daily go to for audio and I still don’t think you can beat them, though I haven’t tried AirPods Pro just yet… https://amzn.to/2ChCMSZ

Slickwraps Retro AirPods Skin

Mentioned in the video but not arrived just yet, I’ll give you a more in-depth opinion when I’ve wrapped them up! https://www.slickwraps.com/apple-retro-skin-for-airpods.html

Targus Bluetooth Keyboard

Very much a ‘make do’ keyboard, this bluetooth number was salvaged from an old keyboard case, by why throw it out when it works perfectly well. May look to upgrade at some point but its not high on my priority list. https://amzn.to/38I5Cb5

4Life Tablet stand

Already done a full review of this so not much else to say. These are cheap, compact and work! https://amzn.to/3gBtbVV

Hand Sanitiser

In 2020 this is of course vital, so make sure you have some in your everyday carry too. https://amzn.to/2O6PExR

PowerAdd Pilot X7 20,000MAH Battery Pack

Picked this one up last year as we’ve had a bunch of last minute overnighters in hospital with my son, so its been super valuable. Lots of capacity and a couple of ports to keep everything topped up. https://amzn.to/2ChDlfz

Lightning Charging Cable

The basics, if you have a charging pack, you need cables. I prefer to keep the official ones or at least Made for iPhone certified ones handy. https://amzn.to/3gHkSHU

Apple Watch Charger

As above, but its even harder to find non-Apple branded ones of these that work, so just use a real one! https://amzn.to/2VV9znG

Apple Watch Series Zero Stainless Steel

It’s SUPER old but it works for fitness tracking, Apple Pay and notifications. And to be honest, I don’t know what else I need it to do. Will upgrade soon 🙂 https://amzn.to/2ALwpHa

Chereeki Shoulder Bag

You have to have something to keep all the goodness in and I’m really happy with this shoulder bag. Its not big. It has lots of pockets. I can keep many things inside it and so that’s a good thing. It is also inexpensive. https://amzn.to/3gHZsL5

6 Ways to Extend iPad Battery Life

iPad has industry leading battery life of around 10 hour use on a full charge, but of course, this will vary based on what you’re using it for. Complex gaming apps like Call of Duty or Fortnite will certainly eat up your battery faster than email and web browsing for example. There are ways you can carefully sip away at that battery a bit more slowly through the day.

1: Switch off Background App Refresh

One of the services which iPad runs constantly in the background keeps your apps up to date, lets you know when there are notifications and uses your battery. Navigate to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and switch off any apps that you absolutely don’t need instant updates on to save them from accessing your data and battery behind the scenes.

2: Reduce Your Screen Brightness.

The backlight on your iPad’s display uses way more battery than you probably realise, so make sure that its either set to auto brightness so the system will optimise it or manually lower the brightness.

3: Airplane Mode.

If you can get away with it, for example if you’re just writing and don’t need to communicate with the world for a while, activating Airplane Mode will turn off all your wireless coms on the iPad. Of course, if you’re using a Bluetooth keyboard you’ll need that on still, but just be aware of how many wireless standards you’re making use of and turn them off when you can.

4: Dark Mode.

It may sound silly but Dark Mode will generally allow you to have the screen brightness lower while keeping text readable on the screen. While iPhones with the latest OLED screens will actively save power by using black screens that stops pixels being illuminated, iPad still uses a full backlight and LCD displays, so the gains here are much smaller.

5: Update iPad OS.

Apple constantly tweaks the operating system to help with power efficiency, so make sure you’re running the most recent version of iPadOS to take advantage of these. Although it may seem like your iPad doesn’t last as long as time goes by, its not because the operating system is draining the battery but that the battery itself degrades over time. Keeping your iPad up to date will mitigate this issue as much as possible, but eventually batteries will need to be replaced, but by then, its probably more economical to replace the device itself. Check out our article on making use of older iPads for some full time connected ideas for iPads with degraded batteries.

6: Top Up When You Can.

Not letting your battery completely empty is a good idea, and Apple’s battery tech is designed to notice when you normally pick up your iPad in the morning and optimise charging times to extend the useful life of the device. So plug in if you’re at the desk or just listening to music and don’t need it in your had all the time.

Why iPad?

You might not know this, but Apple was actually working on iPad before the original iPhone was launched. The concept for multi touch computing, that is a surface that can register more than one touch input at a time was revolutionary.

Before Apple introduced iPhone in that iconic Steve Jobs keynote, touch screens generally meant a plastic screen which scratched easily, a stylus to press with and I mean press. The capacitive glass that we now have was very much a new concept to most, and revolutionised the computer and phone industry.

Why did Apple move away from physical buttons? Because you only need buttons when you need them. When you’re not typing, they’re a waste of space. When you’re watching a video, or painting, they’re not needed. Once they’ve been stuck there, you’re stuck with them, and no software update will get rid of them. But a glass, multitouch display is whatever you need it to be. A TV, a canvas for your art, a photo frame for your grandchildren’s pictures and a videophone to chat with them.

So who am I? I’m a drinks brand ambassador who is currently furloughed through the coronavirus issues that the world is currently experiencing (at the time of writing this initial article at least!) but I love technology. I’ve been an Apple user since 2010 when I bought my first iPhone and I’m now pretty much a convert.

Since the lockdown, I’ve found myself using the iPad more than any other device I own, as well as entertaining the kids and keeping in touch with family remotely using them. So now I want to share my experiences to help you get more out of the computer that does everything most people need, if not the way you learnt it before. I’d love to answer any questions you have on iPad life, so please feel free to reach out!

David, your Living with iPad friend.

p.s. Everything that I publish on here will be created on iPad. There may be the odd stock photo, but it will be found on iPad, the articles typed on iPad, any videos filmed and edited on iPad. Because it is also WAY more powerful than you think!

Can iPad be your main computer?

In 2020, is the iPad a genuine alternative to a traditional Mac or Windows PC or Laptop?

When iPad first arrived in 2010, it was easy to see why people thought it was essentially an oversized iPhone or iPod Touch. The first iPad, just like the original iPhone was incredibly limited compared to what we think of today.

The original iPad from 2010 had no cameras. That’s right, not bad cameras, none at all. No selfie camera, no rear camera. No FaceTime (that wouldn’t be introduced until later in 2010 with the iPhone 4).

iPad was designed to kill what was actually the bane of computing at the time. The dreaded Netbook. While many companies were trying to release small form factor laptops with mini keyboards which often ran stripped out versions of Linux, Apple created a whole new category, as they had with iPhone. Every tablet released since has tried to emulate what the iPad could do.

What iPad can do.

• Web browsing (with full desktop versions of websites on iPad OS 13 or newer)
• All the social networks
• Email with rich content
• Write documents, spreadsheets and presentations
• Play video from any source online
• Play music from anywhere
• Be a drawing tablet
• Make audio or video calls
• Shoot photos and video
• Store and send photos and videos
• Play games

That’s a pretty decent list, but probably doesn’t even come close to covering everything iPad can do. It can also edit video, photos and audio even if not quite to the level yet that a fully fledged computer can.

Here’s a few things you WON’T need to do with an iPad.

• Defrag the hard drive
• Run or subscribe to antivirus software
• Remember a bunch of passwords
• Charge it super often (the batteries typically last 10 hours)
• Install drivers for anything

Basically you get almost all the benefits of a computer but without the hassles that normally come with them. There are some very specific things that you may use a computer for in industry or hobbies that can’t be done, but I’ve not found much yet unless it involves interfacing with existing hardware. If you have any concerns, please feel free to post in the comments below and I’ll do my best to find you an answer.