9 add-ons to get the most from Apple’s monster tablet
The iPad Pro is sure to be topping many a Christmas wish list this year. With prices ranging between £679 and £899, however, Apple’s monster 12.9-inch tablet might be a bit rich for Santa’s pockets. It’s probably better then to save up, buy the thing yourself, then pester the big man for some of the best iPad Pro accessories currently doing the rounds instead – because it’s not all about the Apple Pencil, y’know.
From cases and covers to keyboards and styluses, the iPad Pro is already one of the best-served slates on the market. Whether you’re after 12.9 inches of tablet goodness for work or pleasure, these are the add-ons you need to enhance your iPad Pro experience.
1. Apple Pencil
OK, let’s start with the obvious. Sure it’s got a daft name, but Apple’s official stylus is the iPad Pro accessory we’ve all wanted to get our mitts on since it made an unexpected appearance back in September. The iPhone maker’s answer to the Microsoft Surface Pen and the Samsung S-Pen, the Apple Pencil is larger and more traditionally pencil-sized than its rivals.
It’s just as smart as its long-established rivals though. Playing host to pressure sensitive tech, the Pencil suffers from virtually no lag – ideal for creative types. There are even two tilt sensors built in to enable shading when it knows it’s intentionally been thrown off kilter. Your app-based colouring books just got serious.
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We might still be waiting for Apple’s official Smart Keyboard to hit British shores, but that doesn’t mean you have to be without a QWERTY-loving accessory. Logitech is filling Apple’s void with its own plus-sized keyboard case, the Logi Create.
Transforming the slate into a MacBook Air-rivalling hybrid of sorts, the keyboard-boasting protective cover plays host to a keyboard that would make BlackBerry fans green with envy. We’re talking full-sized, backlit keys – oooh. The case’s woven fabric finish offers a hardwearing level of protection and comes in a trio of colour options: black, blue and red. There are even built-in iOS shortcuts for a speedier, more natural input.
3. Mophie Powerstation 5X
Every mass tech owner needs a portable battery booster to keep their smartphone, ereader, smartwatch and fitness tracker going between nightly charges. The iPad Pro, though, is going to need something meatier. So in the absence of a portable fusion generator, cue the Mophie Powerstation 5X.
Storing enough spare juice to completely recharge your oversized iPad’s oversized battery, the 10,000mAh battery pack could also refill your iPhone 6S almost six times over, or keep yourApple Watch going for well over a month. Impressively, it’s not too big, lining up barely larger than your smartphone.
4. Twelve South Compass 2 Stand
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When your wrist gets tired from holding the oversized Pro – an inevitability we’d give about 20 minutes – you’re going to need a safe place to plonk it down while still enjoying its sharp visuals.
Compacting down for easy portability, the Compass 2 Stand lets you display Apple’s latest tablet wares in either portrait or landscape modes and can recline back for a more natural on-screen typing angle. There’s no prising off cases and covers, either. This thing’s capable of holding your slate in all manner of bulk-adding tablet clothing.
5. Apple Lightning Digital AV Adaptor
Unless you simply need this oversized bit of kit to aid your chronic short-sightedness, the chances are your iPad Pro is going to be a largely business-centric device. So what’s more business than a near 13-inch tablet? One with an AV adaptor plugged into its base of course.
Letting you display your presentations and weekly charts on a screen even bigger than that of your new slate – yes, bigger screens do exist – this HDMI-introducing adaptor takes your formerly tablet-locked content to the TV. It might make your meetings easier, but sadly it won’t aid boardroom boredom.
