Leaked code shows iPad Smart Keyboards with a trackpad are coming, alongside sophisticated mouse cursor support including multiple cursors and “right clicking”
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac :
Context & Ripple Effects
This leak is the confirmation beat in a slow arc: Apple shipped a trackpad-style text-selection feature on the iPad's QuickType keyboard back in 2015, then in 2019 folded mouse support into iPadOS as an accessibility setting. Two weeks ago, The Information reported Apple was planning an iPad keyboard with a built-in trackpad; today's leaked code from 9to5Mac's Benjamin Mayo shows that keyboard exists in iPadOS, alongside a cursor system far richer than the accessibility pointer — multiple cursors and right-clicking.
First-order effects
- iPad Pro buyers are positioned for a hardware upsell: the Smart Keyboard line gains a trackpad, turning Apple's premium tablet accessory into a laptop-style input device rather than a typing shell.
- The leaked cursor support — multiple pointers and right-click — signals iPadOS is moving mouse handling from a buried accessibility toggle to a first-class input mode, changing how apps must respond to pointer events.
Second-order effects
- Apple is already lining up first-party software for the pointer: days after this leak it committed to adding trackpad and mouse support to iWork in iPadOS 13.4, and Microsoft is reportedly building cursor support into Office for iPad by the fall — the two biggest productivity suites on the platform racing to be pointer-native.
- Third-party iPad app developers now face pressure to implement hover states, right-click menus, and cursor-aware UI or look broken next to Apple's and Microsoft's apps on the same keyboard.
Third-order effects
- If the trackpad keyboard ships as the iPad Pro's flagship accessory, the iPad's competitive frame shifts from 'tablet vs. tablet' to 'iPad vs. laptop,' with Apple monetizing the convergence through high-priced keyboard hardware — a pattern that culminates in the $299/$349 Magic Keyboard for the M4 iPad Pro.
The trend: The iPad is converging on the laptop form factor through pointer input and trackpad-equipped keyboards, with Apple selling the convergence as premium accessories.