O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: input

  • Blender announces plans to bring a full-featured, native app to iPad Pro, other devices

    Blender announces plans to bring a full-featured, native app to iPad Pro, other devices

    If you’re a Blender fan, you’re going to like this.

    Over on its developer blog, the Blender team outlined early plans on Monday to bring the 3D creation suite to the iPad Pro as a native application. It didn’t stop there, the team also suggesting that the app could make an appearance on other devices, like the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and Wacom MovinkPad.

    The first version will focus on sculpting and basic object manipulation, with hopes of bringing tools like the Grease Pencil and storyboarding later.

    The current mockups present a single-window workflow that highlights screen real esate and quick access to tools via floating UI elements and contextual overlays. Menus are collapsed by default, and the usual Tool Settings header has been replaced with floating panels tailored to pen input.

    The team also cited a long-term goal of bringing a fully native experience to touch-first platforms, complete with multi-touch gestures, AirDrop, and iCloud support on iOS, and new input handling features.

    Blender says a live tech demo will be shown at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver, with follow-up discussions and design workshops planned for Blender HQ and the Blender Conference later in 2025. The company also encourages developers with experience in tablet and iOS design to reach out.

    The project is still in very early-stage plans, and Blender did not offer a timeline for public release as to the native app.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and code.blender.org

  • Rumor: Apple to significantly redesign Magic Mouse in 2026, incorporate voice and touch-based features

    Rumor: Apple to significantly redesign Magic Mouse in 2026, incorporate voice and touch-based features

    You may love or hate Apple’s Magic Mouse, and with that in mind, the rumor mill has it that a completely redesigned version of the peripheral is en route for 2026, complete with touch and voice controls incorporated into the design.

    According to a noted Korean Apple news aggregator known as “yeux1122,” Apple’s next-generation Magic Mouse will feature a new, more ergonomic design that addresses long-standing complaints, including the location of the charging port.

    Although the Magic Mouse switched from a Lightning port to a USB-C port a few months ago, the charging port remains located at the bottom of the mouse, which prevents it from being used while charging. Per the leaked rumor, Apple will be shifting the position of the charging port at lost last.

    Apple has apparently designed a prototype of the new mouse that incorporates a mixture of touch, voice controls, and hand gestures, making it more suitable for today’s computing demands. It reportedly plans to release the new Magic Mouse alongside the OLED, “M6” MacBook Pro in 2026.

    Over the years, Apple has made low-key changes to the Magic Mouse design, such as switching from AA batteries to a built-in rechargeable battery in 2015, new color-matching options with the iMac in 2021, and the switch from Lightning to USB-C earlier this year. Come 2026, something more radical may be in the works.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and blog.naver.com

  • WWDC: Apple highlights forthcoming changes in visionOS 2

    WWDC: Apple highlights forthcoming changes in visionOS 2

    During Monday’s WWDC keynote, Apple highlighted several major features and revisions en route for visionOS 2, the operating system for its Vision Pro wearable headset.

    Upcoming features include the following:

    • visionOS 2 can recognize and reveal your Magic Keyboard or MacBook keyboard when you’re immersed in an Environment. Previously, being fully immersed in an Environment meant you couldn’t see your keyboard while typing.
    • Support for mice, including Apple’s Magic Mouse as well as third-party mice
    • You can now rearrange your Vision Pro’s Home View by pinching and holding
    • iPad apps on visionOS can be moved out of the “Compatible Apps” folder and placed anywhere on the Home View
    • Improvements for watching videos in Safari

    The first visionOS 2 beta is now available to developer beta testers and the update will be released to the public in the fall.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac

  • Apple support document explains how macOS Sonoma’s Game Mode functions

    Apple support document explains how macOS Sonoma’s Game Mode functions

    If you snagged macOS Sonoma a few days ago, you may have been eager to try the operating system’s new Game Mode feature, which prioritizes CPU and GPU performance for games. Apple on Tuesday offered the following support document offering additional information as to how to use the feature:

    Game Mode optimizes your gaming experience by giving your game the highest priority access to your CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. And it doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate, which reduces input latency and audio latency for wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods.

    Game Mode requires a Mac with Apple Silicon. Here’s how to turn it on in ‌macOS Sonoma‌:

    How to Turn on Game Mode:

    Game Mode turns on automatically when you use these steps to view your game in full screen:

    Move your pointer over the green button in the upper-left corner of the game window.
    Choose Enter Full Screen from the menu that appears.
    When you enter full screen in this way, a Game mode menu appears in the menu bar. You can use this menu to confirm that Game mode is turned on for your game.

    How to Turn Off Game Mode:

    Game Mode turns off automatically when you stop viewing your game in full screen, but you can also turn it off while your game is still in full screen mode: From the Game Mode menu in the menu bar, choose Turn Game Mode off. Note that Game Mode will remain off for the game you were playing until you turn it on again, even if you quit and reopen the game.

    If you’ve tried the Game Mode feature in macOS Sonoma, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and support.apple.com

  • Apple patent hints at invisible input areas which could replace buttons on future devices

    Apple patent hints at invisible input areas which could replace buttons on future devices

    A recently published patent shows how Apple could be working to develop technology that could allow virtually invisible input areas that can display information to a user while replacing physical buttons or controls on its products.

    On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patent number 11,237,655, covering a “concealable input region for an electronic device.” The patent describes technology that uses microperforations to sense input.

    Within the patent, Apple states that the point of the technology is to do away with the “large buttons, keys, or other mechanically-actuated structures” used to sense inputs on a device. That’s because traditional input elements “may lack flexibility or adaptability and may permanently indicate the presence of the input device.”

    The patent describes a means of adding an input surface to a device’s exterior that includes an array of microperforations. When in an active state, these microperforations can display virtual keys, buttons, or notification graphics to illuminate an input region.

    The patent highlights that input regions would “be visually imperceptible when not illuminated.”

    The invisible input regions could be further configured to receive an input, detect touch, or use other methods like optical, magnetic, and capacitance-based sensors to otherwise enable device controls. Apple says it could also be configured with a haptic portion to simulate the tactile response of a key or button.

    This input layer could also incorporate a translucent layer made of “glass, ceramic, plastic, or a combination thereof.” The company has stated that this translucent layer could be the “top case of a laptop.”

    Apple has been granted other patents related to microperforation illumination. A patent from 2012, for example, described a system for using similar technology to create invisible device controls that can light up when activated to indicate a control area.

    The system could be used in conjunction with other Apple-patented technology, such as glass keyboards on a MacBook Pro or seamless all-glass iPhones.

    It’s unknown as to if and when this technology will be incorporated into future Apple products.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and the United States Patent and Trademark Office