Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
With its trackpad , fulfill backlit key , passthrough charge port , and adjustable viewing angle , the Magic Keyboard case for the iPad Pro has almost everything we want from an iPad keyboard case — except a course of part key .
Best Prices Today: Magic Keyboard for 12.9-inch iPad Pro (4th Generation) – US English
Apple ’s keyboard case for the iPad tend to emphasize protection . The keyboard itself often feel like an afterthought . Even in the sound cases , it come off as a grudging conceding to those of us who really do n’t need to expend the digital keyboard for long typing sessions .
But Apple ’s newMagic Keyboard for iPad Prois the first one that actually feels as though you were meant to work on it . The backlit key have great key travel , and they ’re wide-eyed enough to call back the ones you ’ll find on a MacBook . These features would have been telling on their own , but Apple go a step further and include a trackpad and a dedicated charging port that greatly enrich the experience .
take together , these are signs that Apple is not only change its idea of what constitute a good iPad keyboard case , but also in how the view the intention fo the iPad itself . For those of us who require to use Apple ’s tablet in a work mount , that ’s good news — although , as we ’ll see , it come with a powerful price .
As with theSmart Keyboard Foliobefore it , “ instal ” the Magic Keyboard causa require nothing more than slapping the iPad Pro on the strong magnets inside the case . It pairs instantly just by touching the Smart Connector , so — unlike with a Bluetooth keyboard — you’re able to already employ it when you ’re , say , go in your Wi - Fi parole while arrange up a brand - new iPad Pro .
The Magic Keyboard case ( left ) next to the Smart Keyboard Folio . Both tablets are 12.9 - in iPad Pros .
The real betterment , though , come along once you spread the case all the way . With the Smart Keyboard Folio , you simply propped the iPad into one of two grooves , which did n’t take into account for a lot of options for viewing angles . The Magic Keyboard , though , features a organisation of two hinge that make the iPad “ float ” about an column inch above the keyboard , allowing you to tilt the screen until it get back into the perfect consider angle . It ’s quite stalwart . Apple released an advert show a hummingbird pitch the presentation back just by tapping it , but in my experience it ’s go to take a fleck more force than that .
I ’d go so far as to say that I like this kind of display arrangement more than the traditional laptop layout alternative , were it not for the fact that my fingers sometimes bump into the bottom of the iPad while I ’m typing . If you have big hand , it ’s something you ’ll require to watch out for .
Nor does Apple limit the flexible joint to one job , as you could also charge the iPad itself through the USB - C / Thunderbolt 3 port on the left end of the largest one . You ca n’t use this port for anything else , but as luck would have it it release up the USB - C port on the pad of paper itself so you may hook up all the outside drives , camera , and other gimmick now supported with iPadOS .
I like how you ’d barely live the passthrough lodge port was there unless you were look for it .
This is all great news for anyone who ’s been wanting to employ their iPad Pro more like a laptop . It ’s not an ideal event , though , if you ’re an creative person or frequent Apple Pencil notetaker . Because of the hinge and the need for balance , the Magic Keyboard case only opens to a specific angle , as the other hinge handles the actual tilting . As a result , there ’s technically no “ drawing board ” predilection for this slip , although you’re able to chance a few examples of users sort of making it work online . It looks dorky , to be certain , but at least it ’s an choice . At the very least , you could easily take it out of the type .
See ? Dorky . This is n’t really all that feasible , either , since the hinge jump moving with only a fragile turn of pressure sensation .
Keys to success
But most people are more likely to be excited by the keyboard itself — apart , that is , from the lack of any kind of “ function ” keys above the number headstone . Such keys are all but standard on most third - company iPad keyboards as they ’re handy for dim the backlit keys ( which is a monolithic pain here that involves a trip into the preferences app ) , and it ’s left to see this additional run-in missing on a gadget from the same fellowship that give us the Touch Bar . I would have ideate that if any society would understand the toilet facility of that extra row , it ’d be Apple .
The actual Key go a longsighted elbow room toward making up for it . They ’re big , backlit , and they finger a circumstances like the keys on a MacBook , which is a welcome switch from the unknown , virtually bland canvas - covered key on the iPad Pro . Without overstatement , it ’s the best typewriting experience I ’ve ever experience on an iPad keyboard from Apple — or any other company , for that matter . I like it so much that I find myself wishing Apple ’s normal , standalone Bluetooth Magic Keyboard was a bit more like this .
The real star of the Magic Keyboard is the small , two by four - inch clickable trackpad rest below the keyboard , which greatly improves the experience of using an iPad in its “ laptop computer ” orientation . need to head back to the home base screen at any time ? Just cabbage up with your three of your fingerbreadth and you ’re done . Want to scroll through all of your apps from the domicile screen ? Swipe bequeath or right with two of your fingertips
It ’s beautifully antiphonal , too .
Because a trackpad so neatly allows for the diversion of many of iPadOS ’s core gesture , I already find it more utilitarian than I do on my Mac . ( This may be controversial , but I also prefer the smaller sizing of the Magic Keyboard trackpad . ) Most surprisingly at all , it works so well that I have n’t felt the urge to cabbage up a mouse . Its primary appeal lies in the way it removes the pauperization to keep reaching up to dig the iPad screen in the middle of a task , as you may now perform a similar gesture without worrying about travel your hand too far from a typing position . Over sentence , the irregular you save become minutes . It ’s also simply less distracting when you ’re zoned in on your work .
The Magic Keyboard is beautifully designed for a keyboard case . And if it cost about $ 50 less than it does right now , then I ’d be telling everyone to go and get it decent now . But even considering its USB - C embrasure , even considering its grippy and sufficiently tough outside , the Magic Keyboard is still essentially just a keyboard with a trackpad . The presentation might be innovative , but the individual persona are nothing unexampled .
Just to be clear , this is as far as the Magic Keyboard open if you do n’t move the second hinge . In other words , you wo n’t be flipping the keyboard behind the iPad with this model .
And that ’s why it ’s hard to stomach the fact that Apple is bear down $ 349 for the 12.9 - inch model I ’m using , and $ 299 for the smaller 11 - inch model . To put that price in some linear perspective , Apple ’s service line but able 10.2 - inch iPad starts at $ 329 . Yes , if that did n’t come home , this keyboard case be more than an iPad . And once you saddle this thing on the least - expensive 12.9 - column inch iPad Pro , you ’re look at a minimum damage of $ 1,349 . For more perspective , you could purchase a 512 GB MacBook Air and it ’d still be less money . The catch , of course , if that you ca n’t just take off the keyboard on a MacBook Air . That ’s potential here .
Then there are other condition to keep in mind , too . With the iPad Pro sequester , it weighs a whopping three pounds , for one affair . It ’s good for auspices , but only to an extent — as with the Smart Folio Keyboard , there ’s no protection around the edges , so too high-risk if your iPad Pro plummets to the cement on its side . On the brilliant side , I do like that it ’s still compatible with the 2018 iPad Pro . The Magic Keyboard partner off fine with that unit , and the only actual downside is the slimly with child hole for the camera regalia since the 2018 model had a smaller lens .
The Magic Keyboard on top of the Smart Keyboard Folio . You wo n’t find much remainder in thickness , but the Magic Keyboard is well heavy because of the hinge .
Bottom line
The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is the best keyboard compositor’s case for the iPad that Apple has made to day of the month . Its backlit samara make type sense more fun than forced , and its adjustable showing make it easy to find a comfortable viewing angle — so long , that is , as you do n’t want it tilted too far back . Already after a few day I happen it really hard to recommend the Smart Folio Keyboard in billet of this .
The only genuine exceptions I can think of are if you ’re an artist or if you work in a gritty environment where sand and other particles could slip under the keys — but in that case , you probably should n’t be carrying a lozenge as expensive as the iPad Pro there in the first place .
