Future iPad Pro Magic Keyboard will use MacBook-like aluminum enclosure
The revamp of the Magic Keyboard will make the iPad Pro seem even more like a MacBook Pro, a report offers, with a switch to aluminum to the top of the case bringing it more in line with the MacBook design aesthetic.

Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
Apple's update to the iPad Pro is expected to occur in early 2024, with the switch to OLED being the main talking point. However, Apple is keen to update the Magic Keyboard, a signature accessory for the product line.
Previous rumors said a change was on the way that would add a larger trackpad to the Magic Keyboard. In Sunday's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman offers more detail about the overhauled accessory.
As part of the redesign, Gurman claims the top case, namely the area around the keyboard, will use aluminum that matches recent Mac notebooks.
The change will also make the keyboard sturdier compared to previous incarnations, as well bring the entire assembly closer to the MacBook aesthetic in general. The exterior shell of the Magic Keyboard will use the same material as the current model.
As well as the shift to aluminum for some sections, the case will also have a USB-C port.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Meanwhile, the iPad is set to gain the M3, which does indeed give it potential capabilities matching MacBook Pro branding, even as a "fridge/toaster" that you describe it.
And if you ask me, from a hardware POV, the iPad Pro with M1 has been very capable. But iPadOS is a different story to use as a notebook replacement. Like I said in a previous post, iPad is a better tablet, but the Surface Pro is a better device when you connect the keyboard. I would love to have a Surface Pro with a M2 / M3 SoC. We'll have to wait and see what Qualcomm does with the Oryon processor.
And, the synthetic soft material on the outside deteriorates along the corners after a few years of use. It needs to be plastic or aluminum.
The iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirTag are all examples of product types that were introduced into markets that already had products that purported to solve the same problems that Apple set out to solve with their design approaches. Apple succeeded, or greatly exceeded what the others had done, by breaking with convention, pushing aside assumptions, and taking a system level view of the problem to be solved. “Think Different” is about leaving the door open for new approaches and new ideas to enter.
Music players didn’t have to be built around ripping CDs and downloading pirated music when individual songs, only the ones you liked, could be purchased for less than a dollar with the full blessing of the content owners. Smart phones with texting as a front line feature didn’t need to have physical keyboards. Web browsers on smart phones didn’t have to be austere stripped-down versions of their desktop counterparts. A tablet device could actually be little more than a much larger version of the vendor’s smartphone and still possess sufficient appeal to attract millions of new buyers. A watch didn’t have to run for weeks on a single charge to be accepted. An inexpensive tracking tag lacking GPS could be used beyond the limitations of Bluetooth.
I have no doubt that Apple’s competitors can be as inventive and as innovative as Apple, especially when it comes to new product design, new features, and creating new markets. Apple does not and will never have exclusivity on having all of the very smart people on their team. But in some cases some of those competitors with great ideas and impressive innovations still got hamstrung by their conventional thinking and assumptions that were instilled in their perspectives by excessive inward focused thinking, listening to so-called market experts and pundits, moved on to other things, or simply getting lazy and complacent once the money started rolling in and the cash cows were happily grazing in the field. They closed the door and assumed that the problem was solved and required little or no new thought. Those are all behaviors that are the antithesis of “Think Different.”
It looks like they found out they were wrong and did the right thing by copying the competition. Now customers have the option of using iPads as tablets or as 2-in-1 devices, same as the Surface Pro. If you ask me, looks like customers won.