iPad 9,7 vs 12,9 Smart Keyboard Size

[iPadDad]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have a side by side or better yet a view of the 9,7 inch Smart Keyboard over the 12,7 Smart Keyboard showing the size difference,

I want to see how much smaller the 9,7 smart keyboard is compared to the 12,9,

Much appreciated,

 

[ZBoater]

 

[iPadDad]

Thanks, it's interesting becuase the 12,9 smart keyboard has additional space around the edge of the keyboard, where as the 9,7 does not, so I am wondering how much different the overall size of the "clickable" keyboard is.

You can see the buttons are a little bit smaller on the 9,7 but there is no border around the keyboard,

 

[spriter]

I wish I'd taken a pic earlier in the Apple Store when I had a play with it.

My personal opinion is that it's a pretty compromised typing experience. It reminded me of typing on those 10-inch netbooks where everything is cramped and you have to type slower to be wary of errors. The keys are still 'islands' but they're notably smaller. If you're used to that size typing experience or can compromise, it'll be OK. It's probably as good as typing on a cramped keyboard gets.

I went for the 12.9 because of the screen real estate and typing fluidity. It stops being 'big' after a few days and the 9.7 ends up looking small.

 

[spriter]

Actually here's a better idea - my Air 2 sat in front of my 12.9 with keyboard. iPP is about 30cm whereas the Air is 24cm from the 'minus' key. So around 80%. However, the 9.7 Smart Keyboard has less space around the edges so probably closer to 85%.

 

[rui no onna]

Personally, around 12-13" screen size is my minimum for a comfortable keyboard. Anything smaller just feels too cramped.

 

[mrklaw]

I wish I'd taken a pic earlier in the Apple Store when I had a play with it.

My personal opinion is that it's a pretty compromised typing experience. It reminded me of typing on those 10-inch netbooks where everything is cramped and you have to type slower to be wary of errors. The keys are still 'islands' but they're notably smaller. If you're used to that size typing experience or can compromise, it'll be OK. It's probably as good as typing on a cramped keyboard gets.

I went for the 12.9 because of the screen real estate and typing fluidity. It stops being 'big' after a few days and the 9.7 ends up looking small.

agree with you. I think its maybe a little better than netbooks, but it has that same cramped feeling. If you're a 'hunter and pecker' and type with two fingers while looking at the keyboard, you'll probably be ok. But if you are a touch typer that types without looking at the keyboard, you may find your fingers squashed together on the home keys. The smaller area, combined with the smaller key size means you feel like you are mistyping a lot.

Usually you aren't, and autocorrect helps too. But it just feels off. And for a £129 device that was too much of a compromise for the price.

 

[Eric5273]

I was at the Apple Store today and I compared both keyboards. The 9.7 ASK has no border around the edges, and the keys along the left side (Tab, Shift, etc.) are much smaller to save space. The main letter and number keys are around the same size, but they have less space between keys than the 12.9 does. Overall I don't think the 9.7 ASK is really that bad, and seems like something you would probably get used to if you do lots of typing on it, but it is noticeably smaller than the 12.9.