iPad Pro gets standalone capability normally reserved for Mac

Ben Lovejoy, writing for 9to5Mac:

The iPad Pro quietly gained a new capability in iOS 9.3 beta 2: German developer Stefan Wolfrum tweeted that the device can now update the firmware in devices attached to the Smart Connector. He was offered, and able to complete, a firmware update to his Logitech Create keyboard.

Firmware updates of accessories usually need you to connect them to a Mac, but as the Smart Connector is unique to the iPad Pro, it’s likely this fact that prompted the new capability.

The move also helps support Tim Cook’s contention that, for many people, an iPad Pro could be a complete replacement for a PC.

When you think about an iPad as a full-time device, you usually think about software, about the ability to consume and (more importantly) produce all of your content without relying on a laptop or desktop machine.

But the ability to fully support your satellite devices (like updating the Logitech keyboard’s firmware) is just as critical. Interesting development.