Ever since the iPad first launched, users have been begging for a physical keyboard. It's one of the few differences that keeps Apple's killer tablet from replacing laptops, but for whatever reason, the company just never saw fit to include such a functionality in their tablets.
Until now, that is.
Announced at Apple's iPhone event earlier today, the latest versions of Apple's tablet, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, will launch with built-in support for physical keyboards. It's surprisingly simple, too: instead of actually plugging the keyboard into the side of the tablet (as many transforming laptops do these days), Apple's new "Smart Keyboard" simply connects to a few pins on the iPad's side. Basically, instead of having to plug the keyboard in and hope nothing happens to the pins, all the Smart Keyboard and the iPad have to do is touch.
The keyboard also works like a case on its own – it's something similar to Microsoft's Surface tablets. Even better is that the connector pins power the keyboard, meaning you'll never have to worry about extra power cables. Whether or not this has any effect on the battery life is still up in the air, but it's easy to assume that any drain the Smart Keyboard has on the battery will be negligible.
For all the other news from today's press conference, just head on over to our Apple event coverage hub!
