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Apple May Release Backlit Smart Keyboard With Scissor Switches Alongside 2020 iPads [Updated]
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Personally I’m not surprised that the first set of non-self-powered keyboards built for thinness for Apple tablets did not have a backlight. It would have been nice if they did, but I wouldn’t have necessarily expected it for the initial iterations.
My guess is they will either be the same price or else be within 10% of current pricing.
Yep. Mine looks like it’s been through a washing machine. Some of the keys no longer have visible letters printed on them. The outer surface is scuffed, scratched, and in some places wrinkly. Putting it down on recently-wiped restaurant tables that are slightly damp, carrying it everywhere I go, and typing on it so much have taken their toll
The way I look at it, it just adds character
I wish I could agree with that. For me it feels like I’ve bought a product that didn’t undergo prolonged use testing.Yep. Mine looks like it’s been through a washing machine. Some of the keys no longer have visible letters printed on them. The outer surface is scuffed, scratched, and in some places wrinkly. Putting it down on recently-wiped restaurant tables that are slightly damp, carrying it everywhere I go, and typing on it so much have taken their toll
The way I look at it, it just adds character
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But damn, I love the typing feel!
This is interesting. I have the smart keyboard for the first-generation iPad Pro 12.9, which I've had for about four years. The first keyboard started having connection issues about two years in and Apple, at that time, replaced it (though the first replacement was DOA). The good replacement is now starting to fail. I looked on apple.com and it appears that the one compatible with my iPad is no longer even available (at least in English). So I started looking for other sources and discovered the Logitech unit, which Amazon had on for $99. I have had that one now for a couple of days. It's thicker and heavier (and seems to pull more power) but it also has lots of nice features including a nicer feel, backlighting in two levels (or off). It also has an adjustable angle stand, which is a GREAT improvement. Since the keyboard portion is removable, one can also stand the iPad up in portrait mode, which they call FaceTime mode.
That the keyboard is also detachable also means that if you want to use the iPad without using the keyboard you have to take it off, you can't just fold it behind as with the Apple smart keyboard. If you try, it comes off anyway. My original use case is with ForScore—a sheet music app—and now I'll have to take the keyboard off and stick it somewhere to use the iPad this way, instead of just folding it behind as I have been doing for most of four years of use now.
I've also had to disconnect/reconnect the Logitech keyboard to wake it up a few times already, but without it doing what the Apple one does when it needs it (pinging the "I'm charging now" tone first once or twice and as things deteriorate many times and finally endlessly).
Time will tell if it unit holds up. For what I use it for, I've no compelling reason to buy a new iPad Pro. Maybe when this next iteration comes out I'll think about it, particularly if the Apple keyboard this article is about isn't any more expensive than the current one (which, in turn, is more expensive than the one I've been using all this time).
That the keyboard is also detachable also means that if you want to use the iPad without using the keyboard you have to take it off, you can't just fold it behind as with the Apple smart keyboard. If you try, it comes off anyway. My original use case is with ForScore—a sheet music app—and now I'll have to take the keyboard off and stick it somewhere to use the iPad this way, instead of just folding it behind as I have been doing for most of four years of use now.
I've also had to disconnect/reconnect the Logitech keyboard to wake it up a few times already, but without it doing what the Apple one does when it needs it (pinging the "I'm charging now" tone first once or twice and as things deteriorate many times and finally endlessly).
Time will tell if it unit holds up. For what I use it for, I've no compelling reason to buy a new iPad Pro. Maybe when this next iteration comes out I'll think about it, particularly if the Apple keyboard this article is about isn't any more expensive than the current one (which, in turn, is more expensive than the one I've been using all this time).
I wish Apple would bring back the genuine leather Smart Folios. I have the 3rd generation 12.6” iPad Pro and would much prefer a genuine black leather Smart Folio over my current Charcoal Gray Polyurethane one. I do prefer the style of the new Folios over the older two-piece designs, I just wish they made them in leather too, like they used to do. The polyurethane just feels cheap for a $1,000+ iPad.
Of course they release this now that I’ve just recently purchased the current version. 😭 And if the rumors regarding the new camera are indeed true, that would most likely make the new keyboard incompatible with the 2018 iPad Pro’s.
Well it’s not like we didn’t all know this was coming. Rumors of this have been out there for 6 months at least.