Marcin WicharyFeb 25
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?
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 25

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...

Apple Developer
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 25
For comparison, the 2020 video: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10640/
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...

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Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 25
You bet I’m writing a blog post.
Diego 5d ago
Show threadMarcin Wichary
Here we go: https://unsung.aresluna.org/the-curse-of-the-cursor
The curse of the cursor – Unsung

A blog about software craft and quality

Mar 20 at 12:44pmWeb
Show threadQuarterSwede5d ago
@mwichary I liked and used Posy’s cursors before Tahoe. Now I use Tahoe’s on my work Windows laptop too. It’s just a nice softer arrow and the icons are great (hand aside). iPadOS 26 really seems to get the tailless arrow right too.
Show threadMax Mellman5d ago
@mwichary this was a fun read, and I didn’t expect you to go into the iPad cursor design. I actually bought the iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard just so I could use the morphing pointer, and I loved it. It’s obviously more precise now, overall, but for interacting with toolbar UI elements, the level of precision it offered with morphing was perfectly sufficient.
Show threadMax Mellman5d ago
@mwichary also, I think I’ve heard them using the word “somehow” in other videos, too, lately, though it could just be this one. Weird word choice, indeed.
Show threadJochen Marschall5d ago
@mwichary
Very nice, thank you!
There’s probably a lot more to be said in the history of other systems. I think some experimented a bit and also all came back to the Kay approach. I always thought by being on an angle, the cursers stays out of the way while still being precisely on point.
1/2
Show threadJochen Marschall5d ago

@mwichary

One story I’d like to add. This is more in the category of mouse trails and shake to locate.
I installed the Master Control Program (yes, MCP) on my AmigaOS 3.1 in the mid 90s. This allowed me mouse actions I had not seen anywhere else before. The curser disappeared when I started typing or I could scroll in an unselected window just by moving the mouse curser over it.
2/2

Show threadMarcin Wichary3d ago
@ritchey_de Thanks! I recognize the first thing from the first Mac, but can you tell more about the second? Do you mean scrolling with the scroll wheel without the window having focus?
Show threadJochen Marschall1d ago
@mwichary
Yes, but I forget the details because I did not have a scroll wheel mouse on my Amiga until much later.
My A4000T with this exact setup is still here in pieces and apparently “just” needs a new PSU. One day I will try to fire this machine back up.
Anyway, there were several options in MCP to allow interactions with windows that are not in front, just the mouse curser hover over them.