Windows Precision Touchpad gestures now supported by Apple in new update

(Photo: AFP)


Apple Inc has integrated Windows Precision Touchpad drivers in its latest Boot Camp update.

The new 6.1.15 update includes support for Windows Precision Touchpad, including single tap to click, lower-right corner to right-click, down motion to scroll up and three or four-finger gestures.

Various Reddit users noticed the surprise update went live yesterday, and it works better than third-party solutions like Trackpad++ and mac-precision-touchpad that people have had to use for years, The Verge reported.

“Works way better than both of them with better palm and thumb detection too,” a user wrote.

Microsoft first started introducing Windows Precision Touchpad with Intel in 2013, to fix what were notorious PC trackpad issues at the time.

It has taken Apple a long time to enable Windows Precision Touchpad in Boot Camp, but not every MacBook is supported, the report said.

An Apple support document notes that only Mac computers with a T2 chip will be able to access Windows Precision Touchpad, which is most MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2018 onward.

The timing of such a significant update to Boot Camp is also surprising and could hint that Intel-based Macs will coexist with Apple’s M1-based Macs for a while yet.

Apple discontinued Intel-based MacBook Airs last year, but users can still buy a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel CPU for now. Apple has said that its “transition to Apple silicon will take about two years to complete”.