Apple explores a possible ‘Smart Keyboard 2’ for iPad Pro, with built-in share button and Emoji key
A patent filed with the US Patent & Trademark Office shows Apple could be considering an updated ‘Smart Keyboard 2’ to launch alongside their range of new iPads this year, with the new accessory offering a built-in share button, Emoji key and and Siri trigger.
While this is the first we’ve heard about Apple’s plans for an updated Smart Keyboard, last month we reported that Apple was said to be developing a ‘second-generation’ Apple Pencil, with Bloomberg suggesting Apple is developing a much larger range of their stock apps to be compatible with the iPad Pro accessory.
Apple’s current Smart Keyboard was launched in November 2015, with becoming available in alternative keyboard formats such as Spanish, Italian, British English, Dutch and Arabic in August 2016.
The products are still in planning, with the 9.7-inch model expected to enter mass production in the first quarter, and the other two in the second, according to sources from the related upstream supply chain. – However, these tablets may not be announced or even released in the market until the second half of 2017, the sources said.