I was reading another great piece by Matt Birchler this morning, about the things he (an Apple fan) loves about the Microsoft Surface Go.
But when I read this little section, something about the iPad clicked in my head:
Connecting to an External Display
I keep asking for Apple to allow this on the iPad, because the ability to plug this into my 27″ screen and use it at that higher size and resolution is wonderful. This wouldn’t work on the iPad of course unless you had a larger touch screen, but it would totally work if you had one of those (not that this is impossible, of course).
There was this rumour recently, about how the Smart Connector on the iPad is going to be moved to the bottom. But there’s no real solid proof that it’s true, and there are tons of differing opinions, including one that it isn’t a smart connector, but instead, a moved Touch ID sensor.
Mac Rumors have a great page about the related Smart Connector rumours, and you can find the source CAD image below:
Just got my hands on a purported 2018 iPad Pro CAD showing a unknown thing located on the back of the tablet… NB: I can’t confirm the accuracy of that CAD I share for discussion purposes only because of that weird and yet unexplained detail… 😉 pic.twitter.com/9R7jeLDfLV
— Steve H. (@OnLeaks)
But what if it had something to do with extra connectivity, rather than simply moving an already existing port.
The original idea of a Smart Connector on the bottom (in portrait) was met with jokes about how the keyboard would look, and how unusable it would make it. But the image showing the Surface Go in landscape mode, with the USB C connector visible, made me think that it is, in fact, the perfect position for a connector that is designed to add more functionality while working.
I think the reason why people were originally mocking the idea of this new position for the connector, was because the majority agree that the time these ports are needed are when the device is in landscape mode, connected to a keyboard and while they’re doing real work.
So what if this allowed them to do more?
Maybe connecting to another display, accessories like cases that come with batteries, or things like an SD card reader.
However, just like the rest of these posts, this is pure speculation. And my attempt at creating a different perspective, that I don’t think has been made that much. What if, instead of simply moving a port, they were adding one, and making the experience better, rather than worse.
Further Speculation
While I’m speculating on this rumour, I’ll go a step further for a second.
What would happen if Apple added a USB C port to the iPad?
It would, of course, have to be alongside the Lightning port in my opinion. But that would open up a whole new bunch of possibilities:
- You could charge your iPad while having EarPods plugged in, meaning they could remove the headphone adapter.
- Fast charging would be standard, (if they included the USB C charger).
- Connecting to portable storage, batteries, and monitors, would be extremely trivial.
- Only one charger for your MacBook and iPad.
- Another type of port means more chances of third-party manufacturers making accessories. It’s easier to adopt a standard connector like USB C than creating a one-off product that uses a Smart Connector.
- It would boost the USB C world just slightly more. Or at least move in the direction of having a single port that’s available on all Apple devices. For example, you’d get one external drive, and maybe an external display, but you’d be able to connect your Mac or iPad. It sounds super simple, but that’s what it should be.
Anyway, this has probably gone on longer than it should have done. But I hope I’ve got a different perspective across, and maybe spawned some more speculation.