A new iPad Air is on the way, and it has a design similar to the iPad Pro. Will it take the same accessories?
There’s a new iPad Air on the way, and it’s arriving with a new design language that looks an awful lot like the iPad Pro. Noticeable edges, an obvious line, and even that magnetic side where you can attach the Apple Pencil.
In fact, just going on the size and specs found on Apple’s own product pages, the iPad Air and 11 inch iPad Pro come off as being very similar, sporting the same 247.6mm length and 178.5mm width. The thickness is different, the bezels appear a touch distinct, too, but the overall physical dimensions outside of thickness, well, they’re the same.
And that means something: accessories should be fine.
With Apple’s iPad Air moving to the same rough design as what you find on the iPad Pro 11 inch, it means if you want to use the iPad Pro 11 inch Smart Keyboard Cover with the 2020 iPad Air, you can.
It also means Apple’s more expensive version of the idea, the Magic Keyboard, will also work on the 2020 iPad Air, provided you find the 11 inch version.
There is no 12.9 inch version of the iPad Air, so finding a Magic Keyboard for the 12.9 inch iPad Pro will not line up with the iPad Air in the slightest, and while it might be able to mount with the keyboard accessory dots, it won’t line up properly, and may not fit.
Essentially, if you want the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air, you need to use the 11 inch version, as that’s the size being offered in the Air.
The Apple store website has already been updated to support that, and we suspect Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Cover packaging will change shortly to include a reference for the iPad Air, confirming it even more.
Right now, however, the dimensions give it away: with almost identical specs — and identical where it matters — the 2020 iPad Air will work with the 11 inch iPad Pro Magic Keyboard.
