As Apple’s legions of followers stay up for the launch of the iPhone 16 subsequent Monday, one leaker has slipped out a stunning prediction a couple of completely different (and probably very talked-about) product: the iPad Magic Keyboard.
Apple sells a variety of Magic Keyboards for the iPad Air and Professional, and whereas these are extremely rated for his or her consolation, ease of use, and engaging and practical cantilever design, they’re additionally extremely costly: the 11-inch fashions are $299, whereas the 13-inch fashions value a startling $349, as a lot because the Tenth-gen iPad. (There is a less expensive various for the low-end iPad, the Magic Keyboard Folio, however this doesn’t have the cantilever design and nonetheless prices $249.)
In different phrases, even those that can afford an iPad Air or Professional regularly balk on the additional expense of a Magic Keyboard… which is a disgrace, as a result of it’s among the best equipment for turning an iPad into an efficient work machine.
Effectively, if that describes you, prepare for some (doable) excellent news. Within the newest version of his Energy On e-newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman mentions virtually in passing that Apple is engaged on a less expensive model of the Magic Keyboard.
“I’m instructed that Apple suppliers are laborious at work on a brand new iPad keyboard for subsequent 12 months,” he writes. “This accent can be a low-end model [of the Magic Keyboard] which may be designed for an entry-level iPad or the brand new iPad Airs.”
The important thing issue right here is that it seems like the brand new keyboard will get the cantilever design, or no less than Gurman doesn’t specify in any other case. He notes that it’ll differ from the higher-end keyboard in its lack of “pricier parts just like the metallic palm relaxation” however mentions nothing a couple of essentially completely different design.
The opposite query this prompts, after all, is how “low-end” are we speaking? Gurman doesn’t supply a determine, however we are able to take an informed guess by pondering by way of higher and decrease bounds. It can clearly value lower than the $299 of the present 11-inch Magic Keyboard; however equally, it’s laborious to think about that it’ll dramatically undercut the $249 at present charged for the Magic Keyboard Folio. My expectation is that Apple can be seeking to promote the Magic Keyboard ‘Lite’ (it positively gained’t be known as that, by the best way) for someplace between $219 and $249, and concurrently give the Folio a worth lower, or discontinue it totally.
As for its launch date, Gurman says to anticipate the brand new product by the center of 2025, “if all goes to plan.” So it’s debatable whether or not potential iPad consumers ought to take this into consideration when mulling a purchase order. And naturally, like all “funds” Apple merchandise, keep in mind that, as we’ve mentioned, it in all probability gained’t be particularly low-cost.