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2018 11" iPad Pro - leather smart folio?

J

Jim Lahey

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Apr 8, 2014
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Hi folks. Good day to you all. The official Apple smart folio for my 2018 11" iPad Pro has seen better days. The silicon is starting to delaminate on the back and the whole thing is looking tatty. It's not been heavily abused so I'm disappointed, but that's a another conversation for another day.

With that in mind I'm now looking for a nice brown leather alternative. I'd like it to be of very similar function and be attached with magnets just like the Apple folio. I like patina so am after something in the saddle brown sort of colour range or maybe darker. Ideally readily available in the UK.

All suggestions welcome and appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read.
 
stanza.richi said:
I’m thinking about take the magnets from my ruined smart folio and use it as frame for an handmade leather folio.
Click to expand...

Did you find your folio to be not very hard wearing? Mine has only been used around the home and I look after my gear, but the back is falling apart and feels like elephant skin. I love Apple products but they're losing their mojo a little bit. Too focused on social justice and climate alarmism.
 
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I haven’t seen any leather alternatives but there are skins available. I’ve put one on both my Smart Keyboard folio as well as the Magic Keyboard case. I only put them on the side that the case/folio sits on a surface. I found those sides to be the only ones that become scuffed up. There are a variety available and look quite nice on the cases.
 
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I know nomad makes one that I want but it’s pricey, and I won’t allow myself to buy it. But check them out. Great products.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Did you find your folio to be not very hard wearing? Mine has only been used around the home and I look after my gear, but the back is falling apart and feels like elephant skin. I love Apple products but they're losing their mojo a little bit. Too focused on social justice and climate alarmism.
Click to expand...
Very poor quality. Too focused on profits.
 
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I got mine replaced with the my 2018 11" with apple care few months ago, both were bought together not by me but i was given the receipt when i bought it, they accepted that for the cover.
Both were 17 months old.
 
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Can't believe Apple are still charging £70GBP for these things when they must know they barely last a year of normal use without disintegrating. Something is wrong at Apple these days. They've never been cheap but at least I could always be confident in the quality of their products.

Very disappointed that I'm unable to come across a third party leather smart folio that attaches OEM style. There's some lovely cases out there but they all appear to attach at the corners with unsightly and bulky lugs. Definitely not paying Apple prices for a silicon replacement that will suffer the same fate.
 
So in the end I went for the exact opposite of what I was looking for. Nomad leather Rugged Folio which is neither attached by magnets, or cheaper than Apple's plastic offering. However, the price actually works out a little better than it might have, with the exchange rate.

Unlike buying Apple products in the UK, where it’s pretty much always a 1:1 dollar-to-pound rip-off, buying from Nomad directly in the US means I am paying about £50 (inc. shipping) more for a proper quality leather case that's far more likely to stand the test of time. For you US guys, of course, this is close to double the price of Apple's expensive tat, but importing to the UK is a little easier to swallow.

Link below for anyone interested.

Nomad Rugged Folio (direct link)
 
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Oh my. The Nomad rugged folio in rustic brown is fabulous. Extremely high quality and looks and feels great. Gave it a buff with the supplied conditioning cream and already it has a lovely sheen and smells amazing. Great packaging also. A very impressive company. Highly recommended.

Only question now is do I also buy the case for my iPhone 12 Pro while the Mac Rumors promo code is still on...
 
Jim Lahey said:
Oh my. The Nomad rugged folio in rustic brown is fabulous. Extremely high quality and looks and feels great. Gave it a buff with the supplied conditioning cream and already it has a lovely sheen and smells amazing. Great packaging also. A very impressive company. Highly recommended.

Only question now is do I also buy the case for my iPhone 12 Pro while the Mac Rumors promo code is still on...
Click to expand...
My question regarding the Nomad iPad folio is with the buttons. Hard to push? One nice quality with the apple branded cases is their buttons work great.
 
Wags said:
My question regarding the Nomad iPad folio is with the buttons. Hard to push? One nice quality with the apple branded cases is their buttons work great.
Click to expand...

The power/sleep button is perhaps a little squidgy, but the volume buttons are exposed by the Apple Pencil cutout. Personally I don't often use the power/sleep so it's not important to me. The folio cover supports automatic sleep/wake as per Apple OEM.

Be aware this case does add weight and bulk to the device, but it offers very good protection and...oh my goodness it's just lush. Smells like a tannery and feels worth every one if it's £120. Do not regret purchase. Adds organic luxury and class to the technically brilliant iPad Pro 👍
 
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Wags said:
My question regarding the Nomad iPad folio is with the buttons. Hard to push? One nice quality with the apple branded cases is their buttons work great.
Click to expand...
My Nomad has been my daily driver for four months.

The power button is too stiff, and one does need to grip the edge while pressing it, or otherwise brace the iPad so that sufficient force is applied to the button for actuation, but otherwise, it's a nice case, and the cover's sleep/wake takes care of most use cases.

Compared to my Speck, and a lot of other cases marketed as "rugged" (Zugu, UAG, "Armor"), the Nomad is actually very slim and light in comparison. It's not as slim as the typical mm-thick shell type cases all over Amazon, but it could not be characterized as bulky. A very reasonable middle-ground.

The smell of the leather is fantastic, though it does dissipate over time, and it does build a patina. Those who are looking for leather that wears like vinyl would be better off with a PU "vegan leather" case.

As I've written before, the execution is on a higher level than the typical cheap, and not so cheap, cases, but perhaps not worth the full $150 price tag. Sign up for Nomad's mailing list, or spot the occasional 20% promo, or maybe wait until BF, when they might repeat the additional percentage off they ran last year.
 
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I've just noticed that Torro is about to ship new magnetically-attached folios, which should avoid the review complaints about the quality of the shell molding of their previous model, relating to sloppy flashing and fit/shape retention (seen in the review pictures).

That's also another respect in which the Nomad excels. Its molding is clean, with no excess flashing at the seams, and precise, with a nice foldover lip that gives the screen/case edge intersection a finished look, but doesn't interfere or lift the screen protector I have installed.
 
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TheIntruder said:
I've just noticed that Torro is about to ship new magnetically-attached folios, which should avoid the review complaints about the quality of the shell molding of their previous model, relating to sloppy flashing and fit/shape retention (seen in the review pictures).

That's also another respect in which the Nomad excels. Its molding is clean, with no excess flashing at the seams, and precise, with a nice foldover lip that gives the screen/case edge intersection a finished look, but doesn't interfere or lift the screen protector I have installed.
Click to expand...
Received the torro today, really nice case.
 
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TheIntruder said:
I've just noticed that Torro is about to ship new magnetically-attached folios, which should avoid the review complaints about the quality of the shell molding of their previous model, relating to sloppy flashing and fit/shape retention (seen in the review pictures).
Click to expand...

Struggling to decide between the two Torro cases at the moment. Wish the magnetic one had more colour choices like the other one.
 
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