With the revamped 2024 iPad Pro rumored to have a huge price increase, it’s getting more expensive to own an iPad. Even right now if you want to get all 1st party accessories from Apple, you could spend nearly $500 on top of what you already spent for the iPad. But the silver lining is that 3rd party iPad accessories have gotten much better from both a quality and function standpoint. In this article, I wanted to showcase a few budget iPad accessories that help reduce the price of owning an iPad, without sacrificing functionality!
As someone who is an iPad enthusiast and uses their iPad as their main form of computing, I have gone through an abundance of iPad stands. Some good, and some, not so good. The variety of iPad stands we have nowadays is so robust, it’s hard to choose. You can get just a rigid one with a lip to hold the iPad, there are magnetic ones, others that charge your iPad wirelessly, and some that even have USB-C hubs in their base. Depending on the way you go, it seems that you are having to sacrifice something. But Kuxiu’s new X36 foldable magnetic stand might be as close to perfect as it gets.
As an iPad Pro enthusiast, I have always dreamed of a scenario where I can magnetically throw my iPad on a stand and have it just begin wirelessly charging, just as MagSafe does for iOS devices. The M2 iPad Pro was rumored to bring some version of Apple’s MagSafe tech, but it never did…
The Zand is a desktop stand designed to be used with the iPad. It is constructed out of brushed aluminum. To use the stand, there’s no adhesives, clamps or hooks used to make the device stick to it. Instead it uses nanoparticle adsorption to keep the iPad in place.
The base of the stand lifts the iPad a couple of inchesoff of the desk, so that it sits slightly higher at eye level, which makes it easy to see. The base mimics the look and feel(texture wise, obviously it’s a lot lighter at 8.5 oz) of the base of the iMac.
Just like the base of the iMac, there’s a hole on the back for the Lightning cable. Most of the time, I used the Zand in the upright mode so I was able to use Duet Display (review here) on my iPad mini and MacBook Air.
While using the iPad on the Zand, at first I was skeptical about how well the iPad would stay on.
Apple plans to start selling the 12.9-inch iPad Pro on Wednesday, November 11th via both its physical retail and online stores, according to multiple sources. Apple previously only said that the large tablet would become available during the month of November, a couple of months after the introduction in early September. The iPad Pro’s marquee accessories, the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, will also become available for purchase on November 11th. The iPad Pro starts at $799 and comes in both 32GB and 128GB configurations with WiFi only. An LTE-compatible version comes exclusively in the 128GB configuration and costs upwards of $1000. We reported earlier this week that Apple’s support staff is scheduled to complete iPad Pro training by November 6th, less than a week prior to the launch.
Pencil is now available at Apple! For the first time ever, see Pencil up close and get it at your local Apple store.
Pencil is currently available in the US, Canada and Europe, with “worldwide availability coming soon.” If you can’t yet get it from your local Apple Store, it’s also available on Amazon. We are also giving away a couple of Pencils this week as a part of our Made in America spotlight on FiftyThree.
The Paper app was updated in November with Adobe Creative Cloud integration, push notifications and sharing directly with the online community Mix.
ZAGG is known for making high quality gadget accessories and for the next two days you can get your hands on their popular invisibleSHIELD product line with a rare 50% discount. This self-healing skin designed to provide military-grade scratch protection for your valuable gadgets. Check out the video below to see the abuse that an invisibleSHIELD can withstand. ZAGG offers protection for almost every popular gadget including Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac), Samsung Galaxy, Kindle readers / tablets, GPS units, and even watches. To help put your mind further at ease, each invisibleSHIELD is backed by a lifetime warranty which grants you free replacements for the life of the protected device. It’s not often we see discounts this high for ZAGG products, so be sure to jump in now if you were considering protecting your gadget with an invisibleSHIELD. Please note there is a limit of 3 per order for this promotion. US only.
A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to roundup the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal...Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook
As someone with years of experience of pushing the battery-life of laptops to the limit, the iPad was something of a revelation. If we ignore the time I stupidly left the Smartcover auto on/off engaged while it was in a bicycle pannier on a London to Paris cycle ride, I’ve literally never run out of power.
However, since I was reviewing the Digital Treasures Powerflask, I thought I would look at the company’s Props Power Case at the same time. The concept is a simple one: a protective case with a built-in battery. Plug your iPad into the case, and the case provides the power…
While you’ve been enjoying your weekend we have been scouring the net for the best deals in consumer electronics. Most of these deals are only for a limited time so be sure to cash in on these savings if you find a deal you like. Due to Presidents’ Day weekend, we expect to be adding a lot of deals throughout the next two days so be sure to check back.
Also bookmark 9to5Toys.com/Daily-deals for 25+ of the top daily deals across most of the biggest shopping sites in the US including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and many more.
If you think an iPad 2 for $399 is a good deal, how about a 3rd generation iPad with Retina Display for $299? Get over to your local Target quick, these things don’t usually last long. You can see if your store has them in stock using the find a store link. More deals coming your way at 9to5Toys.com
ZAGG, perhaps best known for its invisibleShield screen protector, is adding two new additions to its also popular lineup of keyboards and cases tonight with the unveiling of two super-thin Bluetooth keyboards designed specifically for iPad. The keyboards, ZAGGKeys PRO for $99 and PRO Plus for $129, feature the usual iOS specific functions such as media playback and volume controls, copy and paste keys, as well as keys for the Home button, search, etc.
Think the backlighting might drain the battery? HA! If you use the keyboard for eight hours a day, you will get up to three weeks of normal use…and remember that is the backlit model! The keyboard will come in English, French, and German models at launch.
We got our hands on the new keyboards tonight at the ShowStoppers IFA press event and were quiet impressed with the overall build quality. They do not feel cheap (the opposite), which is not too surprising given ZAGG’s reputation of building military grade screen protectors and other quality protective accessories.
The two models are identical to one another, including a magnetic closure that allows it to act as a screen protector when not in use. However, an extra $20 will upgrade you to the Pro Plus model with a backlit keyboard, which is a feature that has noticeably been missing from the go-to iPad keyboards currently on the market.
Amazon offers the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 for Mac/iPad/iPhone (920-003884) for just $59.99 with free shipping (Amazon Store link). That’s the first time we’ve seen this keyboard marked down from its $80 retail price. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 keyboard charges by sunlight/lamplight and can run for 3 months in total darkness. Users can also immediately switch between iPhone, iPad and Mac (or any 3 devices) with dedicated function keys.
Apple is being sued by a man in Colorado over claims that the company’s $39 iPad Smart Covers violate a “Portable Computer Case” patent originally filed in 2003 and issued in 2005. PaidContentobtained a copy of the lawsuit.
The United States patent in question is 6,977,809. A Colorado man owns it, Jerald Bovino, who is seeking royalties for sales of Smart Covers’ using his invention. An excerpt from the patent seems to describe functionality that is quite similar to Apple’s Smart Covers—at least the ribbed design:
