Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro is a great, if pricey, accessory — see my review here — but one thing that’s missing is a good way to securely store an Apple Pencil.
However, future versions, as well as the company’s other iPad covers/keyboards, may address this as Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,686,483) for an “accessory device having a retaining feature.”
The patent involves a shell that connects to the electronic device (which could, admittedly, be the iPad Pro itself rather than the Magic Keyboard). The accessory device for storage would sport an inner layer that would somehow allow the Apple Pencil to be charged via a Smart Connector.
Of course, it would be great if such an accessory — should it ever see the light of day — be an add-on to the current Magic Keyboard. I don’t really want to spend US$300-plus for a new keyboard to have such a feature.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “An accessory device for use with an electronic device is disclosed. The accessory device may include multiple layers. One layer may be formed from a plastic. Other layers may include a fabric layer and a silicone layer.
“The accessory device may further include a retaining feature designed to hold or carry an object, such as a stylus for use with the electronic device. The accessory device may include a recessed region suited to receive the retaining feature. This allows the retaining feature to be stored in the accessory device when the retaining feature is not in use. Further, the retaining feature may be co-planar with an interior region of the accessory device such that the electronic device is not disturbed when positioned in the accessory device. In this manner, the retaining feature may be hidden. Also, the retaining feature may be deployed from the recessed region and receive the object.”
