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Six Colors

by Jason Snell & Dan Moren

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By Jason Snell

iPad Pro accessory odds and ends

Note: This story has not been updated for several years.

Hello from accessory central! We’ve got a kitchen scale and a bunch of cases and nothing but time. So here are some facts about how the 9.7-inch iPad Pro interacts with accessories:

  • There’s a reason Apple is selling an iPad Pro Smart Cover separate from the iPad Air Smart Cover. They’re not compatible. I was able to get the magnets on an iPad Air Smart Cover to attach to the edge of an iPad Pro, but the latching magnet would not connect. (In fact, it repelled the connection from the cover.) Do not attempt.

  • I couldn’t find any weight information about the accessories on Apple’s web site, so I weighed them all myself. The 12.9-inch Smart Keyboard weights 340g (.75 pounds); the new 9.7-inch Smart Keyboard weighs 225g (.5 pounds). The 9.7-inch iPad Pro Smart Cover weighs 110g (.24 pounds). For completion’s sake, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro Smart Cover weighs 164g (.36 pounds). The Apple silicone case for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro weighs 84g (.19 pounds).

  • So if you’re planning on toting around a 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a Smart Keyboard, that will weigh about 665g or 1.5 pounds. That’s a half a pound lighter than a MacBook. (The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, similarly loaded, weighs roughly a kilogram, or 2.3 pounds—heavier than a MacBook.

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