New iPad Pro (2024) Magic Keyboard crafts a true laptop replacement with function row
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When Apple announced the original iPad and then the more advanced iPad Pro line, it had lofty goals for its tablets. It advertised them as lighter, more flexible actual laptop replacements with a touchscreen, longer battery life, and the respective accessories it sold like iPad cases and keyboards.
Fast-forward to today, and Apple is again making a go at the laptop replacement marketing, as it announced a brand new Magic Keyboard for the impressive iPad Pro (2024) line, the best tablet it has announced in years.
Not only are the 2024 iPad Pros its first models with OLED screens, but Apple made them unique by employing a dual-stack panel. Those tandem OLEDs can last more than a decade and are much brighter than single-stack screens, while at the same time offering a drastic increase in battery life due to their decreased power draw.
With new iPad Pro tablets come new accessories, of course, and the 2024 iPad Pro line doesn't disappoint in that respect. Besides the powerful Apple Pencil capabilities, Apple brought many desired changes to the indispensable Magic Keyboard accessory, too!
2024 Apple Magic Keyboard features
To match the new iPad Pro 12.9 and 11-inch versions with thin tandem OLED screens, the fresh Magic Keyboard is also much thinner than its predecessor. It has the tried and true design with a quality trackpad and chicklet keys with a good amount of travel.
The keyboard now has a function row, though, while the palm rest is made of aluminum. The trackpad's sensitivity offers haptic feedback, and, basically, "the entire experience feels just like using a MacBook," chimes Apple.
2024 Apple Magic Keyboard price and compatibility
The new 2024 Magic Keyboard is compatible with the iPad Pro (2014) models, both the 12.9-incher, and the 11-incher. It costs $349 for the larger iPad Pro 12.9" (2024), while the iPad Pro 11's accessory that turns it into a MacBook of sorts will set you back "just" $299. Any takers?
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