At CES this week, Kensington has unveiled what looks like one of the most compelling Apple accessories we’ve seen so far – the StudioDock for iPad Air and iPad Pro. The product aims to bring together a whole lot of functionality with the aesthetic from Apple’s Pro Display XDR stand.
Update 2/3: Pre-orders now open.
The StudioDock is now up for pre-order and starts at a cool $379.99 for the 11-inch iPad Pro while the 12.9-inch model goes for a hair more at $399.99 (spotted by MacRumors).
Pre-orders are slated to ship out in March. Stay tuned to 9to5Mac as we’ll hopefully be getting a review unit soon to go hands-on with the intriguing StudioDock.
A good point from MacStories’s John Voorhees, if you’re really just looking to expand your iPad Pro/Air’s I/O and already have a stand and keyboard, you can pick up great docks from OWC or Anker for between $100-$200 to replicate the ports on the StudioDock.
Kensington has designed StudioDock to work via a magnetic connection with the 2020 iPad Air, and 2018 or later 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro – a nice nod to the beloved functionality of the iPad Magic Keyboard. That connection works in both portrait and landscape mode.
As mentioned above, the StudioDock features the same design as the Pro Display XDR stand, a minimalist pedestal of aluminum and at the base of it, there are two Qi wireless chargers embedded (one up to 7.5W the other up to 5W). Kensington is also going to be selling an optional Apple Watch charger that will attack to StudioDock.
As for connectivity, the back of StudioDock features 3 USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 2.0. One side of StudioDock features a USB-C port for 18W charging. The other side has 1 headphone port (3.5mm) and a fast UHS-II SD card reader.
Kensington hasn’t shared specific price or availability details yet but there is a hint. In the middle of the product page, Kensington says the Apple Watch charging accessory will be “coming mid-2021.” So fingers crossed StudioDock will arrive by summer or maybe sooner.
You can learn more about StudioDock on Kensington’s website here and also sign up to learn when it will launch – look for the “Be the first to know when the StudioDock is available” links at the top and bottom of the landing page).
We’ll also be reviewing StudioDock as soon as we can get our hands on the sharp new iPad accessory, so keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments