Rumor Claims Next iPad Pro to Feature New Four-Pin Connectors

[cocky jeremy]

ah yes because they so utilized the current smart connector? I am not against improving technology, but apple half bakes things more often than not these days and then changes it a few years later (which means more new designs and more waste: which they are supposedly so against).

Maybe the original smart connector wasn't utilized much because the technology was lacking and needed improved for most functionality they wanted out of it.

 

[dalestrauss]

Who knows what Apple really has in store, but one thing’s for certain, they need to extend the bus to whatever port they will use for the next Magic Keyboard in order to make the MK a proper dock for desktop use. Using the TB port to connect to your monitor requires two connections to the iPad and MK just to pass power (unless you are lucky enough to have a USB-C monitor with PD that is also compatible with Stage Manager). As for the current 3 pin design on the back, I have only seen the Logitech keyboards as compatible accessories - nothing else.

 

[darngooddesign]

Oh bless you and your sweet innocent trusting naivety. Come Adam and take a bite from the Apple and let me show you the horrors of something called "Planned Obsolescence"

Could be worse. You could have to deal with the rest of the consumer electronics industry that did Mini USB, Micro USB, and USB-C in the same time that Apple stuck with Lightning.

 

[clive27]

Tim's way of saving the Earth is by stop innovating. I used to upgrade every year.. until iPhone 7. Then I didn't feel like I gain much by upgrading every year, so I upgraded every other year. I'm using iPhone 12 Pro now, but I don't see much difference on iPhone 14 Pro. I'll probably upgrade every 3 years from now on. See how Apple saves me money and saves the environment too! Thanks Tim for stop innovating!

 

[JayAgostino]

I wouldn't get your hopes up

I would. There's nothing to suggest that older accessories will be incompatible with the "new" Smart Connector.

Besides a size change, or moving the camera to landscape, why would the iPad need a redesign?

To accommodate new features?

This rumor tells us nothing, basically. We have no idea if this would be backwards compatible with older keyboards (easy to do if the other three pins are in the same spot) or how it would work. Does it make the USB-C port in a future Magic Keyboard more than a charger port?

I do find it funny people are screaming about obsolescence based on a rumor that has no details. Sure, I’d be annoyed if I got a 2022 iPad and the old keyboard didn’t work, but I’m not going to start screaming until we actually know something for sure, but seriously, more than half this thread is full of complaints instead of speculation on what it might entail to future products.

To sum up the rumor, Apple MAY OR MAY NOT be adding a fourth pin to do something we have no idea about what it is to a place we have no idea where it would be with no word on how it would affect current keyboards. In other words, it’s a pointless rumor yet the usual crowd is already complaining about how a greedy Apple is out to screw people by adding features to future products. Does that about sum it up?

Well said!

Very much everything you said - to add, if someone gets all bent out of shape that their 2021 iPad keyboard won't work on their 2022 iPad, my first observation would be WTF are you getting a 2022 iPad for if you have a 2021? They don't change enough year-to-year that your old one is now obsolete. And if you really feel the need for the very next year's model, and you're selling off (or giving away) your old one to get the new one, then just do the same thing with the keyboard too.

But people gotta find something to be outraged about, even if it's all hypothetical.

👏👏👏

Yes, iPad Air and several successive iPad Pros all can use the same keyboards. Remember that connector isn’t new. It’s seven years old and many iPad Pros and Airs have come out since then. You didn’t have to buy a Magic Keyboard. Past keyboards all used that connector just fine. That’s a lot of sharing features between generations.

If only most people actually realized that... 🤦‍♂️

Oh, I don’t question it’s potential uses. I was pointing out that in the original article it read as if there were already “a wide variety” of accessories available despite there currently only being one.

The article has since been updated.

I'm pretty sure there are more than one...

Honestly, as someone who is thinking about getting the 11” M2 iPad Pro (ideally I’d wait to M3), I think the M2 is overkill but not only that. The heat that the M2 irradiates is bigger than the M1, because higher clock speeds and more GPU cores. So I am not sure how the M2 fits on the iPad Pro, especially on an 11” one.

Right now, two theories come to my mind:

1) The M2 on the iPad Pro will be slightly downclocked, or keeping the same clock speed as the M1.

2) Apple has a line of M2 built in 3nm, and those will be destined to the iPad Pro (just like an old rumor said, that the iPad Pro would be the first device to have a 3nm chip).

3) Same M2 as those found on MacBooks, but with a vapor chamber or even worse, just relying on thermal throttling to keep temperatures under control.

The third option is honestly the less desirable.

I would prefer thermal throttling so that I don't burn my hands. The thermal throttling on the M2 MacBook Air is already handled well for its intended use cases.

Then they wouldn’t be centered. They would need 5 pins for that.

Priorities...

I was thinking the same thing too. It's not like this current connector has been around that long. It's only been about 3 years! If a change is really necessitated, I wish they had made the existing pin setup be more "future robust".

It's been seven years, not three years.

In my opinion, your expectations are too high for how old the current Smart Connector is. Apple can't necessarily predict the future, right? 🤷‍♂️

 

[Karma*Police]

I bought the 11” iPad Pro in 2018 (together with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard) and have been happily using it to teach in class.

Close to 4 years and I will gladly do it all over again. 😊

I have the exact same setup, but that was before the iPad Air and magic keyboard launched. More importantly, that was before the MacBook M1 Air launched. The value of iPad Pro changed significantly since Apple moved the Mac to the A series chips.

If I had to do it all over again today, I’d get a MacBook Air M1 or an iPad Air.

 

[Karma*Police]

However, as a portable computer with cellular connectivity it is a great replacement for a laptop when you don't want to lug a laptop and need internet access. Nothing like taking a Zoom call from the bar at the beach while enjoying a cold one.

You don’t need an iPad Pro for that… a regular iPad can do the same thing for almost half the price.

 

[JayAgostino]

And last time everyone had a panic attack. (2021 iPad Pros) It turned out that even though it was thicker, it still fit.

Yeah, good point! 👍

Actually, the 3-pin smart connector first showed up in September 2015 with the original iPad Pro that looked very much like a current 9'th gen iPad. Keyboards have been using that connector for a long time. People have recency bias and only think people have the Magic Keyboard, which first appeared with the 2021 iPads, but forget the original 2015 keyboards also used the same connector, and those still work today. But there have been many iPad models using that pin connector for seven years.

Seven years is an eternity in computer science. It's about time that connector did more than run a keyboard and charge an iPad.

You hit the nail right on the head!

iPad Pro became one of the worst values in Apple’s product lineup after the M1 iPad Air and M1 MacBook Air launched. I just don’t see the point of it. Do they think people are going to spend $1,500 for a 13” iPad Pro to render 3D scenes?? It’s not even good for serious number crunching in Excel.

Apple needs to figure out how iPad fits into their overall product strategy instead of thinking of new ways to drive up the price of everything.

Is that all you could come up with? The most boring use case ever?

Any artist you ask will easily be able to justify that price (including the extra cost of the Apple Pencil). It puts Wacom to shame.

They’re going to find some pushback if they plan to just obsolete a wave of $350 keyboard accessories.

Which is why they won't do it...

Apple's stock needs a boost....it's down 9.19% this year.

It'll eventually rebound...

So annoying with the proprietary connectors! They have used Lightning for a very long time and should just stick with that. They recently switched to USB-C but now they plan to switch to this new "smart connector." I'm tired of having so many cables! Bring back Lightning already!

You do realize that the Smart Connector is supposed to be used alongside the USB-C port, right?

Read the article, they are not replacing USB-C with this connector so your cables will all work.

Lightning is on the way out.

Precisely!

I wonder if this one will last longer than 4 years before Apple starts saying it’s not powerful enough for new features.

Just one look at the graphic intensive games that any ipad from the past 10 years can run and we are meant to believe UI elements like resizing windows are too taxing on a Pro from 2018.

Are you an engineer?

The Smart Connector doesn’t use any cables. I have to say I love this connector. I’ve used Bluetooth keyboards and they’re annoying. You have to hit a key about six times to get it to reconnect with the iPad while with this connector, it’s always live. The iPad wakes up immediately.

It’s my hope they do make the new connector backwards compatible, assuming this rumor has any basis in reality, but if they don’t, we still have the choice to buy or not to buy. It would be nice to have more features for these connectors beyond lighting up a keyboard and charging. I’d like to have a keyboard where you can plug in some accessory into the keyboard port and be able to use it rather than being forced to use the port on the iPad, itself.

That depends on if data transfer would even be possible with the USB-C port on the Magic Keyboard.

I had always thought this connection type would inevitably be the transition to highly waterproof devices. Can a four pin compete with USB-C?

We'll just have to wait and see! 🤷‍♂️

Bring back the headphone jack!!

That has zero relevance to this thread whatsoever. They're not bringing it back... 🤦‍♂️

Knowing apple, when they do release the new accessory for those four pins, they are going to change the rear camera design so that older one no longer works 100% perfectly.

Oh boy! Here come the conspiracy theories!

All your accessories are belong to obsolete...

Not confirmed whatsoever!

Wonder how wireless charging will be working on the new iPads.

If, not how.

Apple sells Bluetooth keyboards.

Yes, and what's your point?

 

[JayAgostino]

They need to do something with the Face ID unlock camera as I am sick of entering my password as it keeps seeing my hand in the way. I have had a iPhone X for 5 years and never have any problems with that. The camera for the iPad needs to be moved to a better place. And that alone would make me upgrade my iPad Pro m1 as it’s such a pain in the ass.

Your iPhone X doesn't have issues like that because your hands aren't covering the notch where the facial recognition sensors are.

I don’t use the keyboard on iPad Pro. I only use the Apple Pencil. If I need the Keyboard, I will grab my MacBook Pro.

Is there a reason why?

Can Apple please provide a semblance of a stable "standard" for the Smart Connector so that 3rd parties can actually create accessories supporting them (without worries of quick obsolescence)? All I want is an iPad stand that allows Smart Connector charging a la Logitech Base Charging Stand.

Quick obsolescence? The current Smart Connector has existed for seven years now! 🤦‍♂️

Or more likely, they’ll just want you to buy new accessories. Very rarely do they make things forwards or backwards compatible. Remember when the 2021 12.9” M1 iPad came out last year? It “wasn’t compatible” with the Magic Keyboard that came out for the 2020 iPad, for being only 0.5mm thicker.

There are many times in history where Apple has made things forwards or backwards compatible.

I don't think that's going to happen. After all, Apple kill the headphone jack so people would have to buy the AirPods directly from Apple.

I believe they also did it in order to allow for extra space in the device.

Oh bless you and your sweet innocent trusting naivety. Come Adam and take a bite from the Apple and let me show you the horrors of something called "Planned Obsolescence"

A grossly exaggerated "horror" (if you can even call it that)...

Of course its going to have 4 pins. The forth is a special one which makes existing peripherals useless therefore racking in extra cash for Apple!

Nowhere in the article was it mentioned that older accessories would suddenly be incompatible... 🤦‍♂️

This is the internet; complaining without a logical reason is its whole reason d'etre.

👏👏👏

I really don’t see how this will be useful, unless it is similar to MacBooks MagSafe charging therefore freeing up the USB C port for accessories, hard drives, external monitor etc.

I’ll be more interested to see if apple move the or add a camera for better portrait use. Advances in the Magic Keyboard would be welcome after two years now: function keys, and maybe a lighter design.

We'll have to wait and see what it does. I'm sure that Apple will surprise us.

So… you actually believe the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro cannot handle resizing of windows in the UI?

Welcome to corporate brainwashing.

Nobody's interested in your cynical agenda. Shush... 🤫

So a new connector for manufacturers to ignore?
I wonder if Brydge is going to finally fire the bluetooth division?

Why would they "ignore" it? Logitech certainly hasn't been ignoring the current Smart Connector.

*Munches on apple"

There are some things only the devil can offer.

Interesting. I guess I didn't consider that original iPad Pro's connector to be the same thing. I had one of those original models and the connector sat on the edge of the iPad in a curved manner. I had one of Apple's folding keyboard with it too. I thought the later version of the Smart Connector was something different since to my eyes they looked and were positioned differently. It also works better too. I also have a later version of the iPad Pro that uses this type of connector.

Nope, you were thankfully wrong!

This is to lay the foundation for the newer bigger iPads. The rumored 14 inch iPad will clearly need a new MK,

Yeah, good point... 🤔

The smart connector has remained unchanged for close to 4 years now. A magic keyboard released in 2020 can be used on the 2018 iPad Pro, as well as the 2021 iPad Pro or the 2022 iPad Air.

I don't know how much more backwards compatibility you need.

Actually, it has been unchanged for seven years now.

I'm not engaging with salty A12 iPad owners.

Yup! They're not worth your time... 🧂

Yeah. We should just never improve technology. It was such a waste to do away with the floppy drives too, right?

That's the kind of sarcastic attitude we need here! 👏

Guess I will replace mine 2018 iPad Pro for the M1 instead of the M2, there is no way I buy another magic keyboard, those are expensive and mine works just fine.

It hasn't even been confirmed if the "new" Smart Connector will be incompatible with older accessories, so don't worry.

ah yes because they so utilized the current smart connector? I am not against improving technology, but apple half bakes things more often than not these days and then changes it a few years later (which means more new designs and more waste: which they are supposedly so against).

More waste? People aren't throwing their iPads in landfills after just a couple of years... 🤦‍♂️

Logitech makes a ton of accessories that utilize the Smart Connector. Do your research!

Versus living life as a cynic? No thanks. Tech changes, and life moves on.

Cynics baffle me!

Maybe the original smart connector wasn't utilized much because the technology was lacking and needed improved for most functionality they wanted out of it.

Which is exactly why they're creating a "new" version! 👏

Who knows what Apple really has in store, but one thing’s for certain, they need to extend the bus to whatever port they will use for the next Magic Keyboard in order to make the MK a proper dock for desktop use. Using the TB port to connect to your monitor requires two connections to the iPad and MK just to pass power (unless you are lucky enough to have a USB-C monitor with PD that is also compatible with Stage Manager). As for the current 3 pin design on the back, I have only seen the Logitech keyboards as compatible accessories - nothing else.

Apple has their own accessories that are compatible with the Smart Connector. I hope that the "new" one will be able to fulfill your niche use case!

Tim's way of saving the Earth is by stop innovating. I used to upgrade every year.. until iPhone 7. Then I didn't feel like I gain much by upgrading every year, so I upgraded every other year. I'm using iPhone 12 Pro now, but I don't see much difference on iPhone 14 Pro. I'll probably upgrade every 3 years from now on. See how Apple saves me money and saves the environment too! Thanks Tim for stop innovating!

Tim Cook turned Apple into a $2.5 billion juggernaut. That's an innovation in itself.

You can't really expect a saturated market to constantly pump out innovative products. What is there to innovate anymore? Apple can't just press a button and automatically start "innovating" again. Besides, Tim Cook has very little to do with it. 🤷‍♂️

You don’t need an iPad Pro for that… a regular iPad can do the same thing for almost half the price.

The iPad Pro is much larger and has a significantly better design.

Also, the "regular" iPad doesn't work with the Magic Keyboard.

 

[Abazigal]

You don’t need an iPad Pro for that… a regular iPad can do the same thing for almost half the price.

Perhaps, but as someone who uses his iPad both for work and outside of work every day, I find that every little enhancement goes a long way.

There's the improved specs, the redesigned Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, the better display, better speakers, I think their utility has more than paid for itself over the last few years, and I find I don't really save that much compared to the regular iPad once I up the storage and add cellular connectivity.

 

[JayAgostino]

There's the improved specs, the redesigned Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, the better display, better speakers, I think their utility has more than paid for itself over the last few years, and I find I don't really save that much compared to the regular iPad once I up the storage and add cellular connectivity.

I completely forgot to mention those improvements! Thank you!

 

[Karma*Police]

Perhaps, but as someone who uses his iPad both for work and outside of work every day, I find that every little enhancement goes a long way.

There's the improved specs, the redesigned Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, the better display, better speakers, I think their utility has more than paid for itself over the last few years, and I find I don't really save that much compared to the regular iPad once I up the storage and add cellular connectivity.

Sure, there are always outliers. I have an 11” iPad Pro w/smart keyboard and apple pencil 2. But I got it before the iPad Air and MacBook Air M1 completely changed the value dynamic of Apple’s product lineup. I love my iPad Pro but there’s no way I could in good conscience recommend one today.

 

[tobybrut]

Sure, there are always outliers. I have an 11” iPad Pro w/smart keyboard and apple pencil 2. But I got it before the iPad Air and MacBook Air M1 completely changed the value dynamic of Apple’s product lineup. I love my iPad Pro but there’s no way I could in good conscience recommend one today.

I agree that Apple has made the line between the iPad Air and the 11” iPad Pro a bit ambiguous. The only difference between the two are two versus four speakers, Touch ID versus Face ID, and storage. My wife’s 11” iPad Pro broke and I replaced it with an iPad Air.

I think what mainly determines what you buy is your storage requirements. If you are fine with 64GB, which she was, the iPad Air is almost indistinguishable from the Pro. Since she was using only about 31GB on her Pro, I suggested the Air. But if you think you need 128GB or more, the Pro is the better option. Apple sort of forced the issue by not providing an iPad Air with 128GB, but I think that was the idea, to get people to opt for the Pro.

One interesting thing I discovered is that no one in my family besides me uses either Touch ID or Face ID and always unlock with pass code even though it takes less than a minute to set either of them up. I’m an avid Face ID fan, so I will always opt for that, but strangely, it seems that there are those who don’t like using either one. They definitely know how to set them up. They just don’t want to.

 

[Abazigal]

Sure, there are always outliers. I have an 11” iPad Pro w/smart keyboard and apple pencil 2. But I got it before the iPad Air and MacBook Air M1 completely changed the value dynamic of Apple’s product lineup. I love my iPad Pro but there’s no way I could in good conscience recommend one today.

That's the weird thing. The two seem pretty close on paper, but by the time I spec the iPad Air to 256gb and add cellular, it's only a bit cheaper than the iPad Pro. Savings is savings, but I honestly wouldn't mind paying a little more for the enhancements to the 11" iPad Pro.

 

[MJaP]

Versus living life as a cynic? No thanks. Tech changes, and life moves on.

It was a joke, get a sense of humour.

 

[jlc1978]

You don’t need an iPad Pro for that… a regular iPad can do the same thing for almost half the price.

I know, but I wanted teh larger screen since I can use it as a second monitor when traveling as well. Cost was not an issue for me.

 

[darngooddesign]

It was a joke, get a sense of humour.

Either Steve needs a sense of humor, or you're not as good at telling jokes as you think you are.

 

[cvam1985]

Your iPhone X doesn't have issues like that because your hands aren't covering the notch where the facial recognition sensors are.

Is there a reason why?

Quick obsolescence? The current Smart Connector has existed for seven years now! 🤦‍♂️

There are many times in history where Apple has made things forwards or backwards compatible.

I believe they also did it in order to allow for extra space in the device.

A grossly exaggerated "horror" (if you can even call it that)...

Nowhere in the article was it mentioned that older accessories would suddenly be incompatible... 🤦‍♂️

👏👏👏

We'll have to wait and see what it does. I'm sure that Apple will surprise us.

Nobody's interested in your cynical agenda. Shush... 🤫

Why would they "ignore" it? Logitech certainly hasn't been ignoring the current Smart Connector.

Nope, you were thankfully wrong!

Yeah, good point... 🤔

Actually, it has been unchanged for seven years now.

Yup! They're not worth your time... 🧂

That's the kind of sarcastic attitude we need here! 👏

It hasn't even been confirmed if the "new" Smart Connector will be incompatible with older accessories, so don't worry.

More waste? People aren't throwing their iPads in landfills after just a couple of years... 🤦‍♂️

Logitech makes a ton of accessories that utilize the Smart Connector. Do your research!

Cynics baffle me!

Which is exactly why they're creating a "new" version! 👏

Apple has their own accessories that are compatible with the Smart Connector. I hope that the "new" one will be able to fulfill your niche use case!

Tim Cook turned Apple into a $2.5 billion juggernaut. That's an innovation in itself.

You can't really expect a saturated market to constantly pump out innovative products. What is there to innovate anymore? Apple can't just press a button and automatically start "innovating" again. Besides, Tim Cook has very little to do with it. 🤷‍♂️

The iPad Pro is much larger and has a significantly better design.

Also, the "regular" iPad doesn't work with the Magic Keyboard.

Found the Apple employee.

 

[varezhka]

Quick obsolescence? The current Smart Connector has existed for seven years now! 🤦‍♂️

The first iteration has been around for 3 years before Apple replaced it with version 2.
And with the lack of compatibility between the two, forward or backwards, I would call it a quick obsolescence. Please tell me it wouldn't put a dampener on your product development plans if you were a 3rd party manufacturer.

We have all sorts of MagSafe accessories because third party know A) there are a lot of iPhone users and B) the Lightning and the Dock connector has been around long enough that they can expect this one to as well.

Smart Connector lost that trust (even if it was a much improved implementation), and changing things *again* after 3~4 years won't make things any better. The connector has potential, so I find the general lack of third party support is a bit unfortunate.

 

[The Game 161]

MacBook Pro keyboard has spoilt me. MK trackpad on MK too small now

 

[msackey]

The first iteration has been around for 3 years before Apple replaced it with version 2.
And with the lack of compatibility between the two, forward or backwards, I would call it a quick obsolescence. Please tell me it wouldn't put a dampener on your product development plans if you were a 3rd party manufacturer.

We have all sorts of MagSafe accessories because third party know A) there are a lot of iPhone users and B) the Lightning and the Dock connector has been around long enough that they can expect this one to as well.

Smart Connector lost that trust (even if it was a much improved implementation), and changing things *again* after 3~4 years won't make things any better. The connector has potential, so I find the general lack of third party support is a bit unfortunate.

Yeah, looks to me like version 1 (located on the curved side of the iPad) seems different from version 2 which is located around the middle of the back of the iPad. I'd say that version 1 wasn't always reliable and sometimes when connecting the Apple keyboard, I had to re-seat it to get it to work. Never had that issue with version 2.

 

[shanirashid]

No more proprietary connectors! Come on EU! Clamp down on apple again!

...but the iPad has the smart connector IN ADDITION TO, not instead of, the USB-C port, just like the new MacBooks have the MagSafe in addition to USB-C