The Logi Base fixes one of the glaring problems with Apple’s otherwise excellent 12.9-inch and 9.7-inch iPad Pro — the fact that the excellent tablet, designed for the landscape orientation, doesn’t have a charging Lightning connector on its long edge. It does have the pogo-pin Smart Connector, though, and that’s exactly what this Logi stand uses to charge your tablet while it’s playing a movie or working as a very expensive nightstand alarm clock.
The $149.95 Logi Base is a stand for your iPad Pro — it fits both the oversized 12.9-inch and the more portable 9.7-inch iPads, and the combination of a non-slip rubber grip pad and a set of the three Smart Connector pads means you can drop your iPad Pro onto the lean-back aluminium stand and have it fall into place straight away.
It’ll also work when your iPad is wearing a silicon Apple smart case, too, although you’ll obviously have to disconnect the keyboard if you’re using one. If you’ve got a magnetic Smart Cover attached to your iPad Pro, there’s enough room in the curve behind the Logi Base to store it temporarily.
Logitech is already one of the only companies building third-party keyboards using the Smart Connector — its Create keyboard case adds backlighting and a more tactile key feel than Apple’s own keyboards — and it’s nice to see the Smart Connector pins being used for another purpose too. The Logi Base is already out in stores in Australia, and will set you back $149.95. [Logitech]