Why The Mac Cursor Gets Bigger

If you’ve ever been using your Mac and noticed its mouse cursor pointer suddenly blow up in size, you’ve actually discovered a feature, not a bug. It was introduced to MacOS El Capitan back in 2015, and aimed to solve the problem of lost cursors.

[@DaveAdams222]

I'm a DevOps and Infrastructure Engineer, and my Mac has 4 displays connected so that cursor is ALWAYS getting lost. That feature helps out a ton. I remember when I first encountered it, it was one of those "ahh, that's useful" moments.

[@parthadey2415]

You can never have too many displays to monitor those grafana dashboards 😁

[@ShadowIncarnate]

I turn this feature on, always. No sense in reducing the screen resolution, or permanently increasing the cursor size, when I can just jiggle the mouse to see where it is if i happened to have lost track of it on screen. It's one of the first and only accessibility options I always make sure is on when working on my mac.

[@waxsta]

Apple could make the cursor white in the middle but that would mean being humble 😉

[@kemcolian2001]

@@waxstahow would that help

[@UnderscoreAngel]

me too, I have multiple monitors and I had to find a similar thing for Windows (powertoys thing)

[@rdvgrd6]

How can users ever think it’s a bug… it’s quite intuitive by its trigger and animation

[@derpdee63]

Honestly I didn’t even know it was a thing til now. Then again my monitor isn’t big, and IIRC the first thing I did was resize the cursor when I got it. Probably would’ve thought it was a bug the first time I saw it too. But yeah, doesn’t take much to realize why it’s intentional

[@Korne127]

I've always found out it happens when you shake it like that for a while and always thought it was some kind of bug or remain from old code or an old OS, didn't realise that it could be helpful like that until now.

[@-YELDAH]

if there weren't people to think it's a bug, there would be no-one to watch this video lol until i saw the channel name, i clicked it thinking it would be a joke video

[@_GhostMiner]

Because stupid people exist

[@lizzieli8096]

I did for yearssss till I saw this video

[@tomasplunksnis1087]

Only Apple users can see this symbol: 

[@SmitePlayz_]

Wtf is that? Its showing up on my Google pixel 6 as a rectangle with a cross in it

[@thegamingenderman]

@@SmitePlayz_ its an apple logo, its a hidden easter egg on the keyboard

[@YappingtonUniG.]

I can see it

[@splashmanej3]

i cant do that on mobile but i can see it

[@Soemguywhoask]

@@SmitePlayz_he said only Apple users can see it

[@TwilightRealm723]

In case if you’re wondering, on Windows, there’s an accessibility setting in the Control Panel, where you can display a large circle around the cursor if you press the Ctrl button. I have it enabled not because I often lose the cursor but because it’s fun to spam it if I get bored :D

[@TheLegendryZelda]

Same 😂

[@cadenchurchill4296]

Lol same though 😂

[@jerrywu615]

Also it looks kinda like a spotlight when you use that

[@SoundblasterYT]

Same on GNOME (Linux DE) IDK about KDE default but I doubt it can't be customized to do this or something similar.

[@thisisa]

Same

[@flether]

Hi Greg!

[@danyal_assi]

U mean æ is running out of idea?

[@TheAngelOfDeath000]



[@flether]

Umm, yes

[@deezpleez3832]

You should give him some!

[@laszlob3683]

Ae legit became watchmojo/wikihow

[@JonathonV]

If you're looking for a Windows analogue to this feature, you can activate a setting in Advanced Mouse settings where you press the Ctrl key and some circles will home in on your cursor. Perhaps not as elegant, but it works just as well.

[@DheerajSukumaran]

or there is this Microsoft run github project called power toys that come with a plethora of small additional features and one among that is locate mouse by double tapping CTRL and the the whole monitors dim with just the mouse under spotlight

[@ZiRR0]

i thought this was only a powertools feature, guess im wrong

[@isa_L]

there is settings to make it bigger in mouse settings

[@SanderEvers]

Such a simple feature, but absolutely a time safer when using multiple displays.

[@StampleD2147AI]

saver*

[@SanderEvers]

@@StampleD2147AI Thank you for that correction.

[@dark_mode]

Next video please explain why there's a volume increase and also decrease options on Apple products. Is it a bug or a feature? I could never figure that out.

[@FelicitationHumain]

haha

[@SerhatAtayMD]

Seriously. I used to be a Windows user. Had been for decades. When I switched to macOS and saw that when I shake the mouse the cursor would get bigger I was like, "Oh, neat". No one on this planet would ask "wait why does it get bigger tho 🤔". Anyone with at least 2 functioning brain cells would understand why this happens immediately.

[@EpicCheeseball]

2:04 2:04 2:04 2:04

[@adrian-victor2727]

Then why did you click on it? For me it was interesting just because I don't own any apple products, so I couldn't have known.

[@SerhatAtayMD]

@@adrian-victor2727 This would make into a “Small macOS features that improve QoL greatly” video. Would be both more informative and entertaining for people who have Macs and people who don’t. Explaining why this happens is like explaining in detail why we use glasses to drink water instead of spoons. Everyone knows the answer instinctively without thinking about it. You don’t need a 2min video to explain why.

[@og9806]

So helpful for PvZ. Sometimes, there is so much drama on the screen that I can barely see the cursor. This is why I missed coins, sun, and even planted things in the wrong places.

[@dumbuz]

It is incredible how you manage to stretch out something that can be explained in 20 seconds into 2 minutes.

[@0n3killf0xy2]

U kinda have a point.. that’s KZbin though I guess

[@gabrielbarros493]

At least he explained why it happens In youtube shorts, there are people who multiple the video's duration by like 5x without adding anything

[@zevidavis]

That's what 2x speed is for

[@b0y.slvt7]

i do like having all the extra content to watch but yeah i agree

[@Enkay5235]

wdym he explained why the cursor gets bigger in the first 15 seconds then he added the information to why it is like that in the first place

[@slipstreammuzzle]

i always just loved shaking my mouse and watching it grow in my music periods, it always felt fun watching it grow and shrink a few seconds later

[@housepianist]

As many may know, iOS/iPadOS uses a circle as a cursor if you use a mouse. It can be solid or a ring around a circle and it’s size-adjustable as well. In a way, I kinda prefer this over an arrow. However, it may not be optimal for precision use but still, it’s pretty effective.

[@RandomPerson-tz7wk]

Put a X or + inside the circle. Problem solve

[@DARK_AMBIGUOUS]

It's like that because an arrow points to/lets you select a single pixel but the iPad has a touch screen so the circle is resembling a finger touching the screen. I still prefer an arrow because it feels like on the iPad, there is so much wasted space. On my windows computer, there is so much space for icons, I can have a column of 10 and 30 across so 300 but the iPad is only 6 by 4 so 24 so you have to have pages, also the iPad used to be 4 by 4, they should make it so when you connect a mouse to your iPad, everything becomes smaller and adds more space

[@SeaMonkeee]

I thought it was for depth perception of something, like making it in circles would make it bigger to be like closer to your screen because I always saw it when doing that. Really cool feature and Amazing video!

[@mgames1710]

0:24 Scared the crap outta me. For a sec I was like why is my mouse moving on its own 😂

[@lukadoosh8677]

I only use one monitor but this still helps me out a ton as the cursor often gets lost in the edges of the screen

[@ashwinalagiri-rajan1180]

such a simple thoughtful but extremely useful feature

[@worldofpeoplem.e.andthewor2615]

I like how your videos are short and to the point.

[@prestonferry]

I remember when they introduced that with El Capitan in WWDC… Was pretty excited about it…

[@technologyguy]

As TROL said, going back and remastering your old videos sounds like a great idea! 👍

[@Chipsomedip]

"You've actually discovered a feature, not a bug"

[@insertusernamehere8125]

Whenever I get bored at school on my mac I always shake around the cursor because it's fun to see it turn big, now I understand the meaning of the feature.

[@gamechep]

Haha, I don't know why but I always shake my cursor on my Windows laptop hoping it to get big, even though I've never used MacOS, just been exposed to it. While this is hilarious to me, it is also common sense that a frustrated user will shake the cursor all over the screen to find it. I am pretty confident that if this isn't an official feature in Windows, there exists a tool or some kind of tinkering which will make it an unofficial feature. Edit: Imo, I'd like a button or a shortcut which would enlarge the cursor.

[@GhostVaibhav]

Actually, there exists an official tool from Microsoft called Powertoys, which lets you locate your cursor by tapping Ctrl twice!

[@megakarlachofficial]

@@GhostVaibhav This already existed, without a tool needed, probably even before Windows XP existed, under the Control Panel > Mouse > Pointer Options > Show location when press CTRL key.

[@GhostVaibhav]

Actually the original method is pretty boring and realistically, quite outdated. Powertoys has a new fade-in animation associated with that action which just feels more modern.

[@megakarlachofficial]

@@GhostVaibhav usually real people don't need animation or stuff like that, outdated or not, accessibility features doesn't need to be look good or have new animation because it's barely noticeable to most majority of people who don't prefer enabling it anyway. But yea it would be better if you have third party software to mimic what macOS did with it's cursors.

[@gamechep]

@@GhostVaibhav Ooh, I need to check this out! And also the settings thing. Hopefully it doesn't mess up my custom cursors. Wow this doesn't cease to get funny, cuz my custom cursors are the ones from the MacOS 😂 (except the dumb black main cursor)

[@NolanTheEpic]

THANK YOU! I've always wondered about this feature and as a new Mac User and it is something I like having, I somehow turned it off and was not sure how to look up the way to turn it back on haha. I did not know this is a somewhat new feature (well as much as something from 8ish years ago can be new.) I always thought it was a part of Mac OS, maybe from the early 2000s or earlier so this is a shock to me haha. This is a feature I hope Windows gets seeing as I did have that problem sometimes on that platform. Although I never looked into it till now I found that Mouse to be way to small for my liking so this video helped me change that, I figured it would be in the mouse settings but no. lol

[@diecastbros]

Best feature that ever existed and I’m glad it’s the lives on

[@VoyagerWon]

Hey, AE, I’ve noticed lately that people have been mentioning that you’ve been running out of ideas, and while this maybe be kinda true, there would be a good way to continue making concern that feels fresh and interesting: Remastering old videos that might be dated, basically adding the newer details modernizing them. This is just a suggestion, but I feel like this would be beneficial - take this from a long term sub!

[@sebastianthe06]

this dude will make a video out of anything, even the scratches on his desk

[@FroggyRaining]

I saw this videp plenty of times on my recommended page, now that i am new to mac and had this, this video was informing haha

[@WolfWreader]

Thank you! This was driving me crazy until you explained it, and now I like it haha

[@antonbernad952]

I am happy that this function exists. I use it very often on my 27" iMac. But nice video, thanks for your upload!!11OneOneEleven

[@TheLordOfNothing]

Ive always wondered about this! THANK YOU!

[@Clip_It1]

I wondered why this happens, I never bothered to research it but this video was very helpful, thanks

[@xevento8682]

that's why cursors should be relative to screen size. Which, by the way, they are on windows, so i never lose track of it.

[@IamMauriS]

Hey greg, btw nice video! Ok so can you talk about the new m2 chips? love the videos bye.

[@XeZrunner]

I could have sworn this was a thing in earlier macOS versions as well, I recall seeing it in screen recordings or tutorials. Maybe it was disabled by default, or only enabled in presentation mode / during screen recording?

[@donathanlinebrink7723]

My elementary school had Mac laptops for students, and I distinctly remember playing around with this feature , trying to see who could get the biggest cursor. In 2014/15 we switched to Lenovo computers, so I agree with you, this had to have been in earlier macOS.

[@proatmope8764]

We have Mac's in my computer science classes and the first day of school I moved the mouse and saw it became bigger and I didn't know why until just now.

[@DARK_AMBIGUOUS]

I remember on windows XP I think it was, you could press a button and a yellow ring would appear around the cursory for a second to find it if it was lost. I use windows and I just move my cursor to the top corner to find it

[@trashtrash2169]

This is explained exactly like I'd expect someone who's related to Crapple would.

[@Farleigh1050]

I figured this out a long time ago, and I guessed it was to find it, but great video

[@Sinna94]

I have an 11 inch MacBook Air but find ithis very useful; specially when the background matches the color of the cursor or when it's cluttered.

[@mayorplayz]

The next Apple Explained Video: Why the MacBook has a display

[@Usswrckdmdncnss]

ty for listening

[@afellowlorecreator]

You know, I’ve actually known this ever since I got my first MacBook back in 2019. It was when I was working on a school project and I couldn’t find my mouse. I was trying to see if I could move it to the middle until I discovered it by shaking the mouse.

[@LEGOGames1000YT]

I didn't know about that feature at all! (I'm not a Mac user, but a family member has a MacBook Pro)

[@TheAngelOfDeath000]



[@carltongamble]

Awesome and thanks for explaining the history now it all makes sense. I thought it was a bug.

[@kwaff]

this would be a banger macadress episode

[@richieh2006]

Love ya, Greg. Thanks again.

[@patrick71994]

The cursor is that flashing thing that indicates where you are typing. This video is about the pointer. As seen in the video itself in the system settings.

[@ShadowIncarnate]

A cursor is defined as "a movable indicator on a computer screen identifying the point that will be affected by input from the user". There are mouse cursors and keyboard cursors. Both are cursors.

[@BlushinGun]

Still hard to find sometimes. I think it would have been smarter to turn the pointer red when shaken.

[@WestyC]

That is actually dope

[@remonhames]

Brilliant video! Thank you.

[@kdhlkjhdlk]

This is only necessary on a Mac because it's a bandaid for the cursor disappearing when you don't move it. On other operating systems the cursor doesn't disappear, so you don't lose it. You can also disable this.

[@thawkade]

huh

[@XandarYT]

Windows Powertoys shake feature is the best

[@VoidPaul97]

Bro, I want so badly to unsee the asymmetry of cursors!

[@abdulateeq9]

Now I came to know why it gets enlarge, Fantastic feature 🎉🎉🎉

[@novygaming5713]

I usually just bring the cursor to the top left of the screen. No matter where it is, it's guaranteed that it ends up on the top left.

[@thearchangelgabriel563]

Before I watch this video, I want to say I’ve been wanting this answered since 2014.

[@uthmanbaksh3530]

Since I have a monitor connected to my laptop This feature would be really handy on other OSes not just MacOS!

[@KP6]

Thank you Greg ❤

[@flether]

Thank you 🙏

[@biggestthreattoyourexistence]

I love this feature.

[@KIVSlzr]

It is such a small thing but it helps and fixes a lot!

[@ShadowIncarnate]

Amen.

[@TheGamingAudiophile]

Because I was blind and asked Steve Jobs to fix that and he said sure.

[@TheAngelOfDeath000]



[@Ramon314]

One of the only features I want windows also to adapt.

[@chairgaming1997]

I really like this feature and i wish windows had instead of the weird ctrl circle thing

[@thawkade]

Powertoys has a way more useful version of it. Not sure why it doesn't come in Windows by default tbh.

[@sietsesterk]

I remember switching to macOS and getting to frustrated with this 'bug', soon I realised it was a great feature.

[@lucasmerring6025]

I’ve always wondered that. Thanks

[@Leonidesu]

TL;DR: It's a feature to help tracking your mouse cursor.

[@TheBlueCrown]

Quick Hint: you cant find the cursor, so apple added it that you can find it quickly by shaking the cursor with the mouse. and beacuse the some big display cant find it.

[@nanashi2622]

someone actually plays on Mac kinda surprising

[@jackintoshvids]

It has an actual reason? I always thought it was just something the designs thought would be funny, like "haha Mike look what happens when I rapidly move the cursor like a rabbit on coke". Cool to learn tho! Great video!

[@apesevolved]

i like using this feature to just fuck around while i wait for stuff to happen

[@enviyon414]

“So you can find it”

[@jedwardoo]

I hope you make a video why  is reviving the OG HomePod

[@ZephCloud]

doesn't make have the setting to let you find the cursor by pressing a key on the keyboard like windows?

[@Bigdollabill]

This feature can actually be really useful sometimes

[@ARandomTexan]

When you move it around a lot you’re probably trying to find it so that’s why

[@Kangdil]

Once i discovered the cursor gets bigger first time i knew it was a feature for finding the lost cursor

[@jareeed4401]

Thank you for this explication ❤

[@firefly245]

One thing I really want to know is why the Clock app in iPhone is always in dark mode while the rest of the phone is in light mode. Is there a real reason or is it random?

[@some_man_tiks]

Windows has a similar feature. This kinda thing to me is useful. I do lose my cursed location at times

[@Robloxian_Gameboy]

I originally discovered this when I was in 2nd grade 5 years ago and I thought it was interesting then, not knowing about this. Now, after growing up so much and learning so much about the mac, I finally know why

[@bubbadean0920]

😟

[@zhuravlevivan4622]

I used to play with this feature a lot of times

[@fireaza]

"Lost curser" is also something my Dad would become during road trips.

[@ruchirjain1163]

Ngl, even with external display connected, i thought this was a bug initially. Read online, and simply disabled this feature.

[@notbenirvine]

About time!?

[@burnedoils]

the bigger cursor thing is one of the silliest thing, it takes so long to make it big ur better of moving the cursor toward what u want, and then as u find it as it moves across ur screen, re-aim it toward what u want

[@morbus5726]

to make it big, you just wiggle the mouse, you don't need to know where it is. This comment sounds like its from someone who's never used a mac before

[@MortCodesWeb]

@@morbus5726 because he never did. he came from windows. mac users dont speak like that

[@MortCodesWeb]

@@mum-your honestly i dont know lol.

[@cadenchurchill4296]

This feature is really cute compared to pressing control on Windows and having that circle.

[@roseplayspt147]

so true i always wondered why

[@EthanNasurutia]

You know, I’ve always wondered why that happens. One day, I shook the mouse on an iMac 🖥️, and the cursor got bigger. I wonder why

[@ardynjaleco]

Next video idea: Why Apple is bringing back the Original HomePod (HomePod second gen 2023)

[@edgylearner9249]

I kinda wish he would do a video as to why Siri is not getting smarter.

[@TheSektorz]

Basically for Siri to get smarter Apple would have to start sucking a ton of your private data. That's kinda why Google Assistant or Alexa are so good - it comes with the cost of using data sourced from millions of users. Of course, there are other reasons Siri remains pretty basic, despite being the oldest of those mentioned, and we can speculate all day. But the privacy thing is 100% true.

[@JollyJeepers]

This. Seriously this. I've seen the claims of "80% Smarter" or hiring Google Assistant Engineers... but Siri continues to be the "dumbest" assistant.

[@edgylearner9249]

@@TheSektorz Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Apple is pretty big on privacy.

[@smiles-channel]

This actually sounds useful. Does anyone know if there is a Linux program that can do something like this? Edit: I found that on KDE (they really do have a setting for everything, huh) you can enable something similar to this in workspace behavior>desktop effects>track mouse. Also apparently there's GNOME extension that can do this too, but I don't use GNOME so idk for sure

[@TC-iv7dn]

No but windows

[@TealJacketDude]

I used to mess around with this feature a lot lol

[@enchantstv972]

May I know what’s the title of the background song you are using? Ive been trying to search the song for almost a half year. Thank you so much

[@nihilriv3r]

Keep in mind this ONLY works moving from side to side. I can't get it to work moving up and down.

[@technologyexplained]

Nope it works for the Up Down movement as well. (Pune not intended 😂)

[@ABCis123]

@@technologyexplained no it doesn't, at least for me

[@ROAMitRALPH]

I really was wondering why this was happening 🧐

[@walpoleandworcester]

I used to think this was a glitch with MacOS when I first used it years ago but I see now. Lol.

[@lizzieli8096]

what I wanna know is that why haven't they redesigned the cursor yet.. it looks so retro

[@mroscar7474]

Didn’t even realize this was a feature, neat lol

[@christiansequentialartwork8202]

Why iPad Pro 11 & 12.9 inch doesn’t have horizontal camera for no oblivious reason?

[@desiraenyatenya]

Can you talk about Apple wallet and if there’ll be a an option to save a driver’s license? I remember seeing it in my wallet one day, but then it disappeared.👀