Along with the iPad Pros, Apple today introduced new keyboards and an Apple Pencil Pro.
The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, at long last, has a function row of half-height keys similar to what you’d find on a Mac. The trackpad is bigger, the palm rest is aluminum, and the whole thing is thinner and lighter than before, which are all great additions. The keyboards come in black (with a black aluminum palm rest) and white (with a silver palm rest). What hasn’t changed is the cantilevered design of the keyboard, which some had predicted would be replaced by a more laptop-like hinge.
There’s a new Smart Folio for iPad Pro, too. According to Apple’s press release:
The new Smart Folio for iPad Pro attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in black, white, and denim, it complements the colors of the new iPad Pro.
The new Apple Pencil Pro sounds as though it’s a big step forward. There’s a sensor in the device’s barrel so that, with a squeeze, users can summon a tool palette on the iPad Pro or iPad Air. The new Pencil also incorporates haptics, allowing it to provide a bit of feedback when a user squeezes the Pencil. There’s even a built-in gyroscope that senses when the barrel is rotated, which can be used to rotate brushes and onscreen objects. The rotation functionality is incorporated into the hover feature, allowing users to see the rotation of a brush before placing the Pencil on the screen, for example. The new model Pencil also supports Find My. As before, the new Apple Pencil Pro connects to the iPad Pro magnetically for pairing, charging, and storing.
I like the look of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro a lot. The previous Magic Keyboard always felt too cramped, and it was frustrating to not have function keys. And, although I’m not a heavy Apple Pencil user, I’m excited to see how developers implement the new Pro features.
The new Smart Folio comes in black, white, and denim and is $79 for the 11” iPads and $99 for the 13” iPads. The new Magic Keyboard comes in white and black and is $299 for the 11” iPad Pro and $349 for the 13” iPad Pro, with $20 off those prices for education customers. The Apple Pencil Pro is $129 and $119 for education customers.
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