This is what the magnets in your Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro look like

X-ray of Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
X-ray of Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (Image credit: iFixit)

What you need to know

  • The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro has a ton of magnets.
  • iFixit wanted to see what they all look like.
  • Spoiler: They look amazing in an X-ray.

It's no secret that Apple loves a magnet or two. They get used everywhere from an iPad's Smart Cover to AirPods cases. Magnets are amazing, so what happens when you take an X-ray of them? Well, when they're inside a Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, they look particularly fetching.

We know that because the folks at iFixit took an X-ray of one such Magic Keyboard and then shared the results with us. Because they're awesome like that.

As iFixit points out, there's so much going on here that it's easy to forget that this thing is a keyboard. Sure, there's a trackpad as well. But just look at it!

There is so much going on here, you might never guess that this is technically an accessory to the actual iPad Pro (until you notice the $330 price tag). We've physically torn down the Smart Keyboard before, to, shall we say, messy and inconclusive results. We X-rayed the last generation of Smart Keyboard, which showed some of the design cues you see here. But rarely have we had so much to think about from a single image.

Interestingly, it seems that the trackpad being used here is entirely new. We already knew it wasn't an existing MacBook design – it's a physical clicking trackpad – but the level of engineering involved is super cool.

The trackpad appears to be a new design. It's different from MacBook trackpads, which have no buttons and use haptic feedback to simulate "clicking." Are these multiple physical buttons, catching your finger-pressing intent wherever you place it?

I'd really, really suggest you check out the full rundown over in iFixit's report. It's way more interesting than it has any right to be!

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.