Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro Arrives Early

Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2020/04/15/magic-keyboard-for-ipad-pro-arrives-early/

You can now order the new trackpad-equipped Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, and it will be arriving a month earlier than originally promised.

Ah, the paradox of choice…

Indeed.

I still find the idea of using an iPad of any type for many jobs is trying to recreate the wheel, but without decent spokes.

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I can’t find the weight of the magic keyboard for the iPad Pro anywhere. Does anybody know its weight, and also the weight of the smart keyboard case for the 12.9" iPad Pro (new and 3rd generation) for comparison?

I saw in this MacRumors article that the Magic Keyboard for 12.9 inch iPad Pro is 710g and the iPad itself is 641g, making the combined weight greater than the MacBook Air and close to the weight of the 13-inch MacBook Pro (the total travel weights would be different once you factor in the power adapters). The Magic Keyboard for the 11 inch iPad Pro is 601g (that iPad is 471g).

This 9to5Mac article says the 12.9-inch Smart Keyboard Folio weighs 407g and the 11-inch is 297g.

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Thanks. Very useful to know. I just inherited a 12.9 inch iPad Pro (2018, 3rd gen) from an elderly friend who passed away. It came with the Smart Keyboard Folio. That’s probably enough.

John Gruber got one for review, and after a brief moment of not understanding it, he loves it.

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Thanks for that link, Adam. Interesting review.

When you charge the iPad through the smart connector (by plugging your charging cable into the Magic Keyboard), it charges slowly: about 0.4 percent per minute, 25 percent per hour. If you want to charge your iPad quickly, plug the cable into the iPad. Charging inductively is the iPad equivalent of using a “wireless” Qi charger with an iPhone — convenient but slow.

Does that mean the Smart Connector is only for signaling, and power to the iPad Pro always (apart from using its USB-C port) comes through the back case via induction? I just realized I had always just assumed the Smart Connector included power delivery.

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