Apple has long been trying to push the iPad into the business market, but this use case is probably something the company never expected to see. On Twitter, AfterPad.com owner Kevin shared the above image of Apple’s Adjustable Keyboard, first introduced back in 1993 for $219, connected to an iPad and working nearly flawlessly. Just for good measure, he also attached the numeric keypad Apple offered with the keyboard itself.
As you can see in the image above, a variety of adapters and cables go into powering this set up. The Apple Adjustable Keyboard itself is connected via an ADB cable to the Griffin iMate ADB to USB adapter. From there, the USB end of the adapter is connected to Apple’s official Lightning to USB cable. The keyboard and keypad are connected via a standard ADB to ADB cable.
It’s certainly a wild setup, but the fact that it works perfectly save for a few volume keys is pretty amazing. These technologies were released some 22 years apart. Not to mention, it’s probably far more of a productive setup than the Apple Smart Keyboard. Maybe this is how Apple should push the iPad into enterprise…
Even I’ll admit that this might be a bit much pic.twitter.com/lrDKOIcuOX
— Kevin | AfterPad.com (@AfterPad) February 2, 2016