iPad accessibility eye tracking versus the method on the MacBook

Am no expert n this area, yet your question to the community deseves some response.

Apple Support's article for Switch Control (link below) has some info.

Use Switch Control to navigate your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

eg: says :

"Use Head Tracking on devices with a TrueDepth camera

Head Tracking uses the camera on your device to track the movement of your

head to control a pointer on your screen, and tracks your facial

movements to perform actions. You can use Head Tracking on devices with a

front-facing TrueDepth camera.* Here's how to turn it on:

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility, and select Switch Control.
2. Tap to turn on Head Tracking. From here, you can select certain actions, pointer speed and your tracking mode.

The TrueDepth camera is supported on iPhone X and later, and iPad Pro 12-inch (3rd generation) and iPad Pro 11 inch."

I have not found a way to pause except to use Siri to turn Switch control on and off - you can do this anytime by saying "Hey Siri, turn switch control off" or "Hey Siri turn switch control on".

You could set up a shortcut to create an icon to do this - which works for turning it off, but you cannot turn it back on again without touching the screen or using voice. See here: 254742033

As far as I know there is no way to adjust the calibration. I believe it adjusts the range based on your head movements. Make sure the iPad is positioned optimally. We had issues with iPad in landscape with the camera on the short side - but if you have one of the latest iPads the camera is now on the long side which should help.

I do not know how you can make a long press. I have not found a way to do this despite much looking! As I said earlier the implementation of head tracking on iOS is not fully thought out and there are a number of shortfalls that limit its usefulness.

Thank you for replying, and for letting us know how things worked out. seems a great start!

Re: Being able to pause

This discussion thread is from 2023 so may or may not or helpful now:

Head Tracking - Apple Community

Hello ec40

I have not succeeded in using eye tracking either. It is not good enough.

There is head tracking built into iOS on certain devices (you need the true-depth camera) and this works better then eye tracking, but in my experience not as good as using an external device for head tracking. An external head tracking device however can cost as much as your iPad!

The implementation of head tracking on iOS is a mystery to me. It is implemented differently to MacOS. It is part of switch control which complicates the feature, and you cannot use it with Assistive Touch to get access to things like dwell, scrolling etc. You can use it with gestures (for scrolling etc), but this method is not as intuitive. Using gestures may have some fans, but in my experience is not as easy as the way head tracking works on the Mac. Head tracking on the Mac is, in my experience, relatively good.

I was hoping Apple would improve the head tracking on iOS and make it more like the implementation on the Mac, but this has not happened yet, and may not be something that will change. I don't think there will be many serious users until it is improved. (If there are people out there using it - post a response on your experience). Eye tracking is a relatively new feature - we will have to see if it improves, otherwise it will be a feature without any practical use.

I hope that helps, even if not the answer you were probably hoping for.