Razer today announces a whole new ultra-low-profile mechanical switch, designed for and making its debut in the company's first mechanical keyboard case for the iPad Pro. The gaming peripherals champion is clearly taking the idea of the iPad Pro as a PC replacement seriously, and so it's making sure its products are ready for the next generation of ubiquitous devices. Needless to say, this is the first mechanical keyboard created especially for the iPad, and it's to Razer's engineering credit that the company has managed to shrink the requisite components down to a size where it can serve as a reasonably thick cover case as well.

In classic Razer fashion, the new Mechanical Keyboard Case for the Apple iPad Pro (to give it its full, capitalized title) is an all-matte-black affair, with a detachable polycarbonate case wrapping around your 12.9-inch iPad and a metal kickstand supporting it while typing. Connecting to the Razer keyboard is achieved via Bluetooth, not the Smart Connector that Apple uses for its own keyboard case, and battery life for the new peripheral is rated at 10 hours with the backlight at maximum or 600 hours without it.

There's not much in the way of specs with this thing, though Razer notes the keyboard has true actuation and reset points, just like its much bigger mechanical siblings, and requires 70 grams of force to register a press. Because it's such an unprecedented product, this keyboard case will certainly stand out — but that also makes it highly questionable until we've had a chance to try it and find out if it truly feels like a shallower mechanical keyboard or if it's just a clever marketing gimmick. The good news is that there won't be long to wait, as Razer is releasing its mechanical keyboard case right away, pricing it at $169.99 in the US or €189.99 across Europe.

Importantly, Razer also acknowledges plans to expand the use of the new low-profile mechanical switch in other keyboard products — so if you like the shallower key travel of chiclet keyboards, but appreciate the hard precision of mechanical switches, the company should have more options to offer you after this first keyboard.