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Backlight and more angles please.

this. more angles.

what i need in the future (not this next generation, but some point soon), is a completely redesigned Smart Keyboard that allows for acute angles.
and, of course a trackpad, as well.
 
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Sounds expensive. If you're needing a heavy duty keyboard why are you on a tablet in the first place?

I will say I do like my MX Keys I use at work. The device two button switches to my iphone when I am using iMessage.
 
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well like two other iPad models came out since the Pro and they went back to the Apple Pen 1
The lower end iPads aren’t going to get the magnetic attachment and inductive charging of Pencil 2. That’s reserved for iPad Pro, just like a USB-C, FaceID, Super Retina display, etc.

Sometimes features migrate down the lineup, but I wouldn’t hold my breath 🙂
 
I absolutely adore the current Smart Folio Keyboard (is that the right name?). I like it more than the Magic Keyboard to type on. My problem with it is that the material is starting to look really shabby on the outside of the iPad. That and lack of backlights.
 
I wish they’d do more with the smart connector. Moving it made it pointless. Far preferred along the side like on the 10.5, with the Logitech case that had a removable keyboard.
 
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Nice. Apple might actually catch up with Microsoft and Samsung on tablet keyboard technology! This has been neglected by AAPL for a very long time.
 
I still want Apple to release an external Mac keyboard that's backlit like MacBooks. Been waiting for that since PowerPC days
 
Oh...I enjoyed the one I had, it simply didn‘t last and the two other people I know that had them had similar experiences. The connnection to the iPad would fail, resulting in having to remove the keyboard and reconnect, often several times. Finally it just fails.

I’ve seen some odities here and there for sure. Kinks def need to be resolved at this point. I’m on it 8-14 hours a day now and over the past month I def think it will need to be replaced within a year. I can’t tell if the connection pronlems are the Smart Keyboard or iOS...
 
Apple is the world's leader in horrible keyboards & mice
Oh, really? Have you used a PC keyboard recently (or at any time in the past)? I had the misfortune of being forced to work on a PC with its useless keyboard at a recent consulting job for the US Government. After six months of pounding on the dang thing, I had a rip-roaring extensor carpi ulnaris tendinitis that resolved in short order after I stopped working at that site and returned to using Mac and iPad keyboards exclusively. I’m not saying Apple’s keyboards are all flawless, just that they are much, much better than a lot of the competition.
 
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I can buy that they're changing the keyboards. I can buy that they're going to make them backlit. They might throw in more angles or a different way of positioning it too. I don't think they're moving to scissor switches from butterfly though. I'm sure they have a lot of butterfly switches they need to get rid of and the only problem with them was that crap would get inside and cause them to stop working properly. The iPad keyboard is sealed so that's a non issue. Feel is a preference and some people (myself included) love the feel of the iPad keyboards.

I don't see them throwing away their opportunity to get rid of all those leftover butterfly switches when they move the entire MacBook line to the new scissor setup from the 16"
 
The current design is fine (in fact, it is better to type on than the butterfly switches on most Macs still in use). Two changes are needed: (1) backlighting (seriously Apple, no backlighting); and (2) trackpad support, probably in the vein of an overlay that lets you glide across the key surfaces as a trackpad.
 
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I’m typing this on a PC right now and I wholeheartedly object.

Oh, really? Have you used a PC keyboard recently (or at any time in the past)? I had the misfortune of being forced to work on a PC with its useless keyboard at a recent consulting job for the US Government. After six months of pounding on the dang thing, I had a rip-roaring extensor carpi ulnaris tendinitis that resolved in short order after I stopped working at that site and returned to using Mac and iPad keyboards exclusively. I’m not saying Apple’s keyboards are all flawless, just that they are much, much better than a lot of the competition.

Isn't the advantage of using a "Personal Computer" (PC), being it a Windows or MacOS device, that you can use any keyboard you want?

I use a low profile, low travel scissor switch keyboard with my Windows "PC" at home and it offers the same experience as my work iMac with Apple keyboard.

I'm assuming your taking shots at Windows computers using the term PC.
 
Update: The full report claims that Apple will likely release new iPads with "glowing" scissor switch keyboards in the second half of 2020, which presumably means a backlit Smart Keyboard. The report also reiterates that a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a scissor keyboard will be released in the first half of 2020.

A "glowing" backlight would be totally awesome.

Great news but when is it coming out?
The new Smart Keyboard Folio would come out whenever the new iPad Pros come out, because this keyboard will likely be exclusive to them. The camera cutout will be different, and because of this, the magnet orientation will also be different.


apple-ipad-pro-magnets.jpg


Judging by the above picture, if the 2020 iPad Pro does actually get a triple-camera, they'll have to move the corner magnets. Thus the corresponding keyboard will be different, to accommodate both the new camera setup and the new magnet locations. Because of the new magnet locations, the new keyboards wouldn't work properly with the old 2018 iPad Pros.


2020-12.9-inch-iPad-Pro-with-Metal-Back-scaled.jpg
 
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I guess the bad news is that this rumour points to a 2020 H2 release for the new iPad Pros, since the new keyboards and the new iPad Pros would likely come at the same time. (That is, if we take any stock in this rumour.)
 
A backlit keyboard is news in 2020? Apple has been giving us behind the times crap for keyboard and mouse forever. Sad and pathetic. Really, this should NOT be news.
 
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