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In the past two years, I’ve typed almost every word I’ve typed while traveling on the iPad Pro Smart Keyboard Folio. For more information on why you can view my iPad Pro review here.
However, for the purposes of this look at the new Magic Keyboard, you should probably only know two things:
- It was reliable, incredibly durable, and never failed me.
- It sucked in any other way.
The plastic-coated surface of the Folio keyboard made it impervious to spills, but it also made the keys much less responsive. It made them unable to give their fingers the necessary feedback to confirm that a key had been hit, leading me to adopt a technique in which I simply pressed each key with maximum force at all times.
The new Magic Keyboard is as different from that device as the new low-key MacBook Pro keyboards that have dominated headlines in recent years. It’s a breakthrough in usability for the iPad Pro, and also for last year’s model.
I am very relieved that I no longer have to tap the plastic keyboard with my fingers, because during the long and fast typing sessions I could feel numbness that would start to radiate a little from my fingertips. A kind of enervation. It wasn’t exactly painful but it showed.
The Magic Keyboard offers a beautiful backlit cover that holds up against the 16 “MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air for the best laptop keyboards. The key travel is excellent, between the two laptops in my opinion, and the feel is tight, Responsive and Accurate This is a first-class writing experience, full stop.
I have been testing the three keyboards side by side for the past few days and cannot stress enough the stability of the keys. Even the MacBook Air allows a little key change if you touch it with your finger and gently wrap it around, although the MacBook Pro is better. There is such a small amount of that here that it is almost imperceptible.
It’s a bit more fluffy than the 16 “MBP but firmer than the MacBook Air, which has a bit more return and travel. In my opinion, this keyboard is” stronger “(because the plastic case is more resonant than aluminum), than the 16 “MBP, but almost the same as the MacBook Air. However, the launch feels similar at 16 “, with the air being a little deeper but” more sloppy. “
Thus, a hybrid between those two keyboards when it comes to feel, but a clear descendant of the work that was done to change those offerings.
One of my biggest concerns was that Apple would get too smart with the hinge design, making typing a wobbly exercise. I’m happy to say that they took the clear path here and made it as rugged as possible, even if that was at the cost of variability.
The hinge is a simple limit stop design that opens much less than would be expected and then allows a second hinge to engage to open in an arc between 80 and 130 degrees. The fully open, 90-degree positions basically mimic the angles offered by the keyboard folio slots, but now you can choose any intermediate position that seems natural to you.
Obviously, Apple has set this rigid folding limit to keep balance on boards and turns, and its clever use of counter forces with the second hinge combines to limit tilt and make typing on a turn finally something entirely viable. . The fact that you don’t have to press the keyboard to type also makes this a better proposition.
At the same time, the new design that floats the iPad in the air allows you to quickly take it out with little effort with your left or right hand. This makes the Magic Keyboard adopt the use case of a desktop dock, something that never felt good with Keyboard Folio.
The touchpad physically moves here, and it’s not a touchpad, but it can be clicked on its entire surface. It’s also a portable class trackpad, proving that Apple’s engineering teams still have a better idea on how to make a trackpad that works smoothly and as expected than any other piece of hardware.
I love the soft-touch coating on the case, but I think it will be used similarly to these types of surfaces on other devices. You will likely develop bright spots on both sides of the touchpad in the hand rest areas.
Responsive half-arrow keys are extremely welcome.
The camera placement situation is much improved here as you are less likely to hold the left side of the iPad to keep it stable. The elevation of the keyboard (sometimes about an inch and a little) means that the eye line, while not yet ideal, is improved for zoom calls and the like. Less double chin effect on the nose. Apple should still move the iPad Pro camera in future versions.
early test. “data-reactid =” 135 “> The keyboard backlight brightness is decent and adjustable in the settings panel once it is connected to the iPad Pro. The unit used more battery in my tests, although I did not have enough time to allocate it any number. I noticed during a recent Facetime call that the battery was draining faster than it could charge, but that’s so far anecdotal and I haven’t had time to reproduce it in testing. The charging port puts power on however through the device at full speed, according to some early test.
This is not the case that artists have been waiting for. This case does not rotate backwards like the keyboard foil, which means you will take it out of the case if you are going to use it. In a way, the ease of removal feels like an Apple concession. “Hey, we couldn’t fit all of this and a way to put it at a drawing angle, so we made it really easy to drop it.” It works, but I hope more magic happens between now and the next iteration to find a way to serve both writing and drawing in a protected configuration.
Little treat: When you lean far back to the end point, I sometimes tap the bottom edge of the iPad with my fingers when I press the numbers; It could be my way of writing or bigger hands, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
very well-built. The “data-reactid =” 154 “> is a bit heavy. At 700g for the 12.9” keyboard, it more than doubles the weight of the entire package. The larger iPad Pro and keyboard are basically the weight of a MacBook Air. Get 11 “if weight is a concern. This keyboard makes iPad 12.9” feel like a bundle very well-built. the
At $ 300 and $ 350 for each size of Magic Keyboard, pricing is something to think about up front. Since it is now easily the best keyboard available for these devices, I think you should consider it as part of the device package price. If you can’t change that, consider another option – it’s so good.
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