Apps & websites

Computer-use for iPad, hacked together with a USB dongle

iPadOS does not expose the accessibility APIs that let an agent control other apps on a Mac. Jamie, at Jane Street, got an agent clicking and typing on an iPad anyway: the trick is a little USB dongle hanging off the side of the device.

Role

Jane Street, CS at the University of Waterloo

Posted

15 September 2026

Jamie@jamiepinheiro

I hacked together computer-use for iPad!

Unlike macOS, iPadOS doesn’t expose the same accessibility APIs for controlling other apps. So how do you get an agent to click and type?

The trick is that little USB dongle hanging off the side 🧵

15 Sep 2026View on X