Look, I get it. The iPad Pro isn’t cheap (though I argue in my review that it’s good value), so I can see why you’d think it might be good to save $299 by using your old Magic Keyboard with a new Pro. My advice: honestly, don’t do it.
The new iPad Pro has a number of design changes, including being unbelievably thin, having a slightly bigger display and a front-facing camera which sits in the landscape edge instead of the short one.
These changes alone have meant that the magnets inside the iPad Pro have moved or changed—Marques Brownlee has an elegant look at how the changes have manifested themselves.
So, while the old and new iPad Pro have similar dimensions, the magnet changes mean that the old Magic Keyboard no longer fits in place.
One user, Jane Manchun Wong, has managed to make this work, as they revealed on X. If you take a look at this video you’ll see that it works… but it looks truly horrible.
Apple’s devices have stunning build quality and immaculate design. Using the iPad Pro so it looks the way it does in Wong’s video is enough to set my teeth on edge.
Nevertheless, dear reader, I tried to replicate what Wong had done. First of all, it took me a long time to manage. The thing is, you need to connect the three connector points on the back of the iPad Pro perfectly to the Keyboard. This is very tricky and each try is accompanied by a disturbing scratching noise at the back of the tablet. As it happens, I didn’t mark the iPad Pro, but doing this every day would surely risk damage.
When I got it in place after, I don’t know, 50 goes, it wouldn’t stay in place because of those magnets being in different positions. So—how’s this for a graceless look?—I held it in place with a pencil eraser. And for a little more stability, a paperweight.
It’s definitely ugly, and precarious at best. Because the iPad has a touchscreen, you alternate between keyboard and direct onscreen input. I don’t believe it would stay in place for long. And then the whole putting it in place farrago starts again. When it did for me, I moved it to a different location and left out the paperweight, but it still looked glum.
My recommendations? The new Magic Keyboard is glorious, and that would be my first choice, but I understand that it’s not cheap. So, how about the excellent new Smart Folio for iPad Pro ($99) and a suitable Bluetooth keyboard, some of which are available very cheaply.
Heck, I’d suggest propping the iPad Pro up securely and pairing it with a Bluetooth keyboard rather than opting for the new Pro and old Magic Keyboard combo. Anything but that.
