Apple gets plenty of coverage with its Keynotes, so frankly they don’t need some more free advertising. By now, you should already know about the latest iPhone SE (if you’re shopping for a 4 inch smartphone, that is) and the confusingly named 9.7 inches iPad Pro (still without 3D Touch and quite expensive, if you ask me).
That said, Apple has also launched a new Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter ($39/45€) that features a standard USB port (with USB 3 speed) AND a Lightning port. This item immediately sparked the interest of the iOS music-making community.
After its launch, many users wondered if it’s really possible to use it to charge the iPad while using a USB device. Early reports last night were controversial.
The adapter is not available at the local Apple Store so we couldn’t test it yet, but I just had an online conversation with an Apple representative that should shed some light on the issue.
In short, after double-checking with the tech department, she confirmed that the adapter is indeed capable of charging the following items:
iPad with Retina display
iPad mini
iPad mini 2
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
iPad Pro (12.9-inch)
However, quicker charging and USB 3 data transfer speeds are only available with the ‘big’ 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Not a big deal, if we can use the item to charge our older iPads. More on this later once we get ahold of the new Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.
