An innovative Mac application allows you to experience vibrations via the trackpad whenever you click on a link or button.
This $5 Mac app transforms your trackpad into a mini web radar
A newly launched Mac app called HapticPad aims to enhance web browsing with a more tactile experience. The developer announced it on Reddit’s r/macapps community, explaining that the app utilizes the Force Touch trackpad on a Mac to produce a subtle vibration when the cursor hovers over links, buttons, and input fields in the browser. This allows users to "feel" different elements of a webpage before clicking on them. It’s a simple concept, yet its cleverness is so apparent that it raises the question of why macOS hasn’t incorporated this feature already.
So, how does it function?
HapticPad operates through a Mac application along with a bundled Chrome extension. The developer claims that the trackpad vibrations occur within 10 milliseconds, allowing for various haptic patterns for different web components. For instance, links can have one type of pulse, buttons another, and input fields a different feedback pattern. According to the official website, users can personalize seven haptic patterns, which include single, double, triple, and quad-style feedback options.
The app is also presented as an accessibility-friendly tool. By adding a physical feedback element to web browsing, it could assist users who benefit from an additional cue apart from visual indicators. The developer affirms that the settings are compatible with VoiceOver and can be navigated via keyboard. This application aligns broadly with other unique software, yet it appears to be more practical than some quirky options, such as a $3 app that makes a MacBook emit moans and various sounds when tapped.
Price and compatibility
HapticPad is available for $4.99 as a one-time purchase, and it offers a 7-day free trial. It requires macOS 13 Ventura or newer and a Mac with a Force Touch trackpad. The developer states that the Chrome extension conducts element detection locally, ensuring that no URLs, page content, or analytics are transmitted from the Mac. Overall, it’s a small app with practical features, as Apple has provided excellent trackpad haptics for years, and HapticPad enhances their usability.
Vikhyaat Vivek is a technology journalist and reviewer with seven years of experience focusing on consumer hardware.
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An innovative Mac application allows you to experience vibrations via the trackpad whenever you click on a link or button.
HapticPad utilizes your Mac's Force Touch trackpad to provide vibrations on links, buttons, and web inputs as you hover over them in Chrome.
