Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The Smart Keyboard for 9.7 - inch iPad Pro is a solid add-on , albeit one that represents a compromise compared to conventional keyboards . Typing on it is in our experience sluggish and less precise than on a full - size of it keyboard , but to a degree that ’s an inevitable corollary of its sizing , and it ’s still one of the better miniskirt - keyboards we ’ve try out . We like the tone of the fabric cover under the fingers , and while the shallow key legal action make it less satisfying to use than a full - sizing or conventional keyboard , it ’s more satisfying than such a lightweight accessory has any right to be .
The Smart Connector is one of this twist ’s trump cards – you do n’t need to worry about battery life , or a Bluetooth connection , because everything is handled through that porthole . But there will be alternative keyboard that also use that connection : we look Logitech to release a 9.7 - in variation of its pop Logitech Create Backlit Keyboard Case before long , and that will probably be a routine cheaper .
This is our review article of the 9.7 - column inch variant of Apple ’s Smart Keyboard , for the9.7 - inch iPad Pro . For the larger model , read our12.9 - column inch Smart Keyboard critical review .
you may buy the 9.7 - column inch Smart Keyboarddirect from Apple .
Apple Smart Keyboard for 9.7-inch iPad Pro review: Design & build
The Smart Keyboard is an attractive and slimline iPad cover that doubles up – triple up – as a keyboard and tolerate .
In many deference it ’s like the previous Smart Cover : it cover and protects the iPad ’s screen when closed ; it lies flat against the back of the machine when open ; and if you fold it up into a triangular prism , it imprint a uncomplicated but sturdy stand that prop up up the iPad ( in landscape orientation ) at a commodious viewing slant for working . The difference is that , in this last attitude , there ’s a keyboard in front .
If you’re able to cope with the distraction of that keyboard , it ’ll service as a perfectly decent stand for watching movies or FaceTime calls ( you’re able to actually fold the keyboard out of sight in stand musical mode , but it ’s quite fiddly to do and a little less stable because of the weighting of the keyboard ) , but it ’s apparently point mainly at workers .
( The Smart Cover had a fourth position : set against the back of the iPad but with one of its segments folded back so you could utilize the camera . That is possible with the Smart Keyboard , just about , but the keyboard section makes it much more awkward – it either stick around out on the lefthand side or has to be fold into a triangular form or else of pose flavourless . )
The keyboard itself is unseamed : unlike conventional keyboards , with separate cay and crevice for crumbs and spilled liquidness to disappear down , it ’s completely covered in springy , custom - woven fabric . It ’s still to type on – more on the typecast action in a moment – but also long-lived , and should cope well with grimy fingers . The keyboard and inner lining of the older and larger 12.9 - column inch Smart Keyboard has stood up well to six months of reasonably regular usage , so we expect the 9.7 - column inch model to last well too .
When being used as a case ( and again like the Smart Cover ) , the Smart Keyboard swathe the iPad ’s CRT screen with a soft microfibre lining , while its outside is drape in a polyurethane material . We found it slightly disappointing that it ’s not made of leather , considering the damage , and we know from experience that , unlike the keyboard and cushy lining , the polyurethan outside will start to reckon worn after a few months of being carried around in a bag . ( It ’s only available in blue greyness at the moment , too – we ’d have liked a navy blue option . )
As common with covers ( as opposed to cases ) , the Smart Keyboard offer incomplete protection for the iPad . When it ’s closed , the back of your gadget is vulnerable to dents and scratch . But blanket are less bulky and lighter than all - over covering , and the Smart Keyboard is imposingly svelte : it librate just 225 g.
That low weighting might be part of the reason why the two revue samples we tried both had thetiniesttendency to elevate up at the front . The 12.9 - inch version of the keyboard that we tried did n’t do this .
The 9.7 in Smart Keyboard ( left ) lean to plagiarize up very more or less ; the 12.9 in Smart Keyboard ( right ) does not
A couple of last Scripture on layout : the Smart Keyboard is presently only available in US English , and does n’t feature the media playback key – play , pause , volume controls etc – that you get on a Mac keyboard , or on theLogitech Create keyboardfor the 12.9 - inch iPad Pro .
Read next : Best iPad keyboard
Apple Smart Keyboard for 9.7-inch iPad Pro review: Typing experience
We found type on the 9.7 - column inch Smart Keyboard less than ideal , but it ’s still better than most keyboards of this very low size of it .
For reasons of weight and slimness , the keys have a shallower action than those on a standalone keyboard for a desktop Mac – instead of a pleasing butterfly or scissor mechanism , the Key are keep in location by the stress in that covering cloth we mentioned earlier – and this makes them less satisfying to apply . But it ’s not horrible , as micro - keyboard can be : it still feels self-coloured under the finger .
The layout of the keys should be generally familiar ( await for the unfortunate deficiency of a UK - specific model ) , but the keys are both a slenderly dissimilar configuration ( more rounded ) and significantly smaller and more cramped together than most typist will be used to . Indeed , the keys are fractionally smaller than the stamp pad at the end of this reviewer ’s fingers , whereas the 12.9 ’s keys are slightly larger than them , which feels like a significant remainder .
These factors mean that typing on the 9.7 - column inch Smart Keyboard is quite slow and inaccurate , at least at first : switching from the 12.9 in Smart Keyboard , or certainly from a ceremonious keyboard , is painful .
drill will be pay back , however , and considering its size this surely is n’t a disaster : reducing the size of it of the keys , and pushing them closer together , was absolutely necessary so as to fit the whole thing into an accessory of this size , and Apple has done the best with what is usable . If you desire a 10 - inch keyboard , you ’re only not going to get a slick , super - accurate typewriting experience right aside . And this is one of the better mini - keyboards we ’ve tried .
Apple Smart Keyboard for 9.7-inch iPad Pro review: Battery
Unusually for a tablet keyboard accessory , the Smart Keyboard has no matter with battery life . It connects magnetically to the iPad Pro 9.7 via the Smart Connector , and habituate conductive textile to reach data from the keyboard to the iPad and power from the iPad to the keyboard .
Apple Smart Keyboard for 9.7-inch iPad Pro review: UK price
The Smart Keyboard for 9.7 - column inch iPad Pro cost £ 129 if youbuy direct from Apple .
