Apple considered launching a low-cost plastic iPad that would come with a keyboard in the box, according to a recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in a recent edition of his newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple had plans to launch a new, low-cost iPad model with a plastic casing instead of aluminum, for a price below $500. The device was reportedly set to come with a physical keyboard included in the box. Plastic was the material of choice for devices like the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 5C, but there has never been an iPad with a plastic casing. Likewise, all iPad keyboard accessories have always been available separately, adding up to $349 to the overall cost of the purchase.
"The idea was seemingly abandoned, but that was probably Apple's only real hope of ever giving Chromebooks a run for their money in most schools," Gurman added. The information came after the announcement of the 10th-generation iPad and the Magic Keyboard Folio, so it seems possible that this plastic iPad was once envisioned as an early version of the 10th-generation iPad.
