How to Customize Cursor Appearance in IPadOS 13.4
Apple added external mouse support for iPad when it released iPadOS last year , but with the iPadOS 13.4 update, users can now customize the look and behavior of the iPad UI cursor. Using a mouse or trackpad to control your iPad might seem unnecessary considering it’s a touchscreen device, but it’s useful if you’re using your iPad as a laptop replacement or as a secondary display for your Mac. It’s also an important accessibility option for users who have difficulty using the iPad’s default touchscreen interface, and the ability to change the cursor makes it even more useful for those who might have trouble displaying it on the screen.
The new cursor settings are available on the new iPad Pro and select iPads (fifth generation or later), iPad mini (fourth generation or later), and iPad Air models (second generation or later), but you need iPadOS 13.4 installed. first. Go to Settings> General> Software Update to install the update if you haven’t already.
From there, connect your mouse or trackpad to the iPad via Bluetooth (if applicable), or connect the corresponding dongle directly to the iPad. Your cursor should appear immediately – no fiddling with accessibility settings like you may have done in the past.
How to customize the iPad cursor
To customize your cursor, go to Settings> Accessibility> Pointer Control . From here you can use the following menus to change the appearance of the cursor:
- Scroll down to Pointer Size to make the cursor larger or smaller, and use the Color menu to change its appearance.
- Visit Scroll Speed to adjust the cursor movement / tap / trackpad speed and change the Zoom Pan behavior.
And if you need to customize your trackpad — for example, its tracking speed, or if you want to enable tap-to-click or secondary two-finger clicks, you’ll find these options right under Settings> General> Trackpad.