In just over 24 hours, the anticipated event of October 22nd will commence, with Apple unveiling their new iPad 5 and iPad Mini, as well as a whole array of other unexpected announcements. With the Apple invite reading simply “We still have a lot to cover”, it leads the imagination to wonder exactly what they may have up their sleeves.
According to a blog post from a former developer relations manager at Apple called Jamie Ryan, Apple may have a Surface style keyboard cover in the works for the iPad, which they plan on unveiling at the event tomorrow.
Jamie continues stating that the new keyboard cover will likely utilise Bluetooth 4.0 which was introduced in iOS 7 and function similarly to how the Surface works with their keyboard accessory from Microsoft.
Apple-made iPad Keyboard?
Right now the only options are to use the full sized Bluetooth keyboard primarily used for a Desktop, or to purchase a third party option.
Creating a keyboard accessory for the full sized iPad would certainly focus the bigger iPad on productivity, whilst allowing the iPad Mini to be marketed as the portable option.
Ryan continues to state that he’s not sure whether the process is far enough along the cycle to make it into this Tuesday’s event but did say that there have been a few different styles that have been in testing for a while.
Could this be Apple making a firm entry into the accessory market? Whilst Apple have already made accessories for the iPad with the covers that they offer, building a keyboard would represent a big move in keeping the experience in the control of Apple.
Let us know your thoughts in the section below. Whilst there are some awesome keyboards available for the iPad already, would you buy an Apple made on if it was to be released tomorrow?