Did Apple explain why they abandoned the snapping/magnetic/shape-changing iPad mouse pointer announced in 2020, and went to a more traditional arrow last year?
Answering my own question:
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/208 starting at 8:45, but there’s no explanation, just the sort of “we’ve always been at war with eastasia” one expects from Apple’s polished statements.
Elevate the design of your iPad app - WWDC25 - Videos - Apple Developer
Make your app look and feel great on iPadOS. Learn best practices for designing a responsive layout for resizable app windows. Get...
Design for the iPadOS pointer - WWDC20 - Videos - Apple Developer
Bring the power of the pointer to your iPad app: We'll show you how Apple's design team approached designing the iPadOS pointer to...
You bet I’m writing a blog post.
@mwichary I’m slowly cleaning out my old Instapaper backlogs and came across this good Panzarino essay about the then-new iPad cursor, including interviewing Federighi.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/06/how-apple-reinvented-the-cursor-for-ipad/
How Apple reinvented the cursor for iPad | TechCrunch
Even though Apple did not invent the mouse pointer, history has cemented its place in dragging it out of obscurity and into mainstream use. Its everyday
Marcin Wichary
Phil Dokas