Apple’s new 2020 iPad Pro supports a new trackpad keyboard cover
The line between tablet and laptop is now very blurry at Apple
Apple has just announced a brand new pair of iPad Pro models, and although they don’t look very different from the outside, they have a whole new party trick if you’re prepared to stump up for the company’s new Magic Keyboard.
Said keyboard can fold and unfold around the iPad as before, but it has two new features. Firstly, it can bend to provide a more comfortable viewing position as in the picture above. Second, and more importantly, it comes with a trackpad for the first time, blurring the line between iPad and MacBook a little.
You can see how this works in practice in the video below, around the 53-second mark.
On top of this, of course, there are specification boosts. It comes with a new eight-core CPU – the A12Z Bionic – which Apple claims makes the device “more powerful than most Windows PC laptops”. On top of this, the iPad Pro now comes with a triple camera array with a regular wide-angle camera, an ultra-wide lens and a third sensor with LIDAR for depth-sending and Apple’s continued fondness for augmented reality.
Now onto the tricky subject of money. As ever for iPad Pros, these aren’t exactly what you’d call cheap. The 11in model starts at £769 if you’re happy with WiFi only, but begins at £919 if you want 4G with that. Those prices are for 128GB of internal storage, and you’ll be paying more if you want 256GB, 512GB or 1TB configurations.
The 12.9in version has the same storage options, but starts at £969 for a WiFi only version, or £1,119 for one with cellular connectivity. Both iPads will be available from next week.
The Magic Keyboard will be compatible with the previous generation of iPad Pro, which isn’t hugely surprising given they have the same form factor, but it won’t be released until May and, again, it’s pricey. It’ll set you back £299 for the 11in version or £349 for the 12.9in one.