Apple’s new Magic Keyboard makes the iPad Pro feel ‘just like’ a MacBook

Alongside the long-expected OLED iPad Pro, Apple has also released a lightly updated Magic Keyboard with an aluminum palm rest and a larger trackpad with haptic feedback — and finally, a function row.

The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (M4) comes in two colors (black and silver) and two sizes: one for the 11-inch Pro and one for the 13-inch model. They cost $299 and $349, respectively, and like the new iPad Pro models, they are available for preorder today, shipping next week. They are not compatible with the new 11- and 13-inch iPad Air models announced today or with previous iPad Pro models. Those still use the first-gen Magic Keyboard, now called Magic Keyboard for iPad Air (M2). Rolls off the tongue!

This is the first major revision of the iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard since its launch in 2020. It keeps the cantilevered double-hinged design and single USB-C port (power only), upgrades the palm rest to aluminum from plastic, and adds a larger glass trackpad with haptic feedback. Unlike the original, it finally has a function row — a feature Apple granted the base-model iPad back in 2022 with the Magic Keyboard Folio.

Since launch, the Magic Keyboard has helped make the iPad more like a laptop, and a nicer finish and bigger trackpad don’t hurt. But to whatever extent the iPad still isn’t a laptop, that’s not really down to the keyboard, is it?