Apple Smart Keyboard poor durability?

[Tozovac]

Has anyone else experienced fraying and just poor durability of their Apple Magic Keyboard? If so how did you repair it and how did it turn out?

Used mine with my iPad Air 3 for less than 1.5 years, under moderate/gentle use, and it’s disappointingly starting to fray & fall apart.

Now I’m investigating how to seal the frays effectively without rendering my iPad keyboard to look too Farmer Bob-ish.

The $expensive new iPad Pro Magic Keyboard isn’t made of similar soft/cloth-like material, is it??

 

[barkomatic]

The magic keyboard is so new it's hard to say how it will hold up over time, but mine seems like a better build quality than the smart keyboard I used with old 9.7 pro. However, the smart keyboard I used it only occasionally and it never frayed like yours.

 

[ssledoux]

I used my ASK on a daily basis with TWO 12.9 iPads (first 2 generations), and it still looked like new. I have also purchased used ones that looked like new. In fact, my daughter is using one with her 7th gen that I bought used, and then used with an Air 3 before passing to her. It still looks like new.

Yours looks like it’s been a bit more than gently used.

 

[GuruZac]

FYI, you might want to rename the title of this thread. It insinuates the new Magic Keyboard will fray like the older style smart keyboards, which you have attached photos of, or is already not holding up in build quality. Since the Magic Keyboard has plastic keys and trackpad, and no cloth like material in its construction, I would guess that it should hold up cosmetically well, if taken care of in a practical manner.

 

[Tozovac]

FYI, you might want to rename the title of this thread. It insinuates the new Magic Keyboard will fray like the older style smart keyboards, which you have attached photos of, or is already not holding up in build quality. Since the Magic Keyboard has plastic keys and trackpad, and no cloth like material in its construction, I would guess that it should hold up cosmetically well, if taken care of in a practical manner.

Thank you I did; I intended to title it “smart” not “magic” and I just made a mistake. Glad you mentioned it.

Definitely interested in hearing whether others ran into a similar situation as me with their smart keyboard and/or came up with a solution before I try it.

 

[Tozovac]

Yours looks like it’s been a bit more than gently used.

Thank you for the judgment. Yes it looks that way but was cared for during regular use, thus why I posted. Could be a manufacturing defect. Curious if others experienced similar.

 

[ssledoux]

Thank you for the judgment. Yes it looks that way but was cared for during regular use, thus why I posted. Could be a manufacturing defect. Curious if others experienced similar.

I wasn’t judging - just stating that it doesn’t look like one that’s been gently used, or ones I’ve seen that have been gently/moderately used anyway. So I guess I’d have to say no, that hasn’t been my experience.

 

[Abazigal]

Here’s mine. Seams starting to come apart at the top. Got it together with the 2018 iPad Pro.

But it should still hold itself together till it’s time to upgrade to the next iPad Pro update.

 

[madrigal77]

Wow. My wife and I had the SKF for our 10.5 and 2nd gen 12.9's for almost two years, and they still looked like new. We just upgraded to 2020’s and got SKF for them also. I hope they hold up as well as the old ones did.

 

[sky87]

I have had two Smart Keyboards for my iPad Pro 10.5" - first one died within warranty (had the "accessory not supported" issue) and was swapped out by Apple. Second replacement one still going strong after a year of use. Both did not have any major signs of wear on the exterior or around the edges, but did show some wear on the keyboard (it is painfully obvious where I hit the space bar in particular since one part of it is shiny!).

Recently upgraded to the 11" iPad Pro and got the Smart Keyboard Folio as the default option (since I really liked my previous Smart Keyboard), but for some reason it feels flimsier to me than my previous Smart Keyboard. Not sure why exactly. So going to return the Smart Keyboard Folio in favour of the Logitech Slim Folio Pro which is way heavier but feels more solid...

 

[Solomani]

Such a shame that they (apparently) don't make "Thin Skins" for these sorts of iPad keyboards.

My iMac's Magic Keyboard (Wireless and Extended!) has a "thin skin", a generic nickname for thin silicon keyboard protectors that have been sold since the 1990s, and underneath the thin protector, my keyboard remains in mint condition after 3 years. Thin Skins was the original trademarked brand of the US company that sold these for Mac/PC keyboards decades ago. The company and brand disappeared when a horde of Chinese copycat manufacturers started selling the same things for much cheaper.



Sample image below:

 

[Tozovac]

Such a shame that they (apparently) don't make "Thin Skins" for these sorts of iPad keyboards.

Hola, I would say, in some way, the ASK is kind of a skin, in that the keys aren’t discrete but are covered by a cover/membrane of sorts. It’s the seams and sides that are not holding together at all after not-rough use.

 

[salamanderjuice]

I've had two too because of warranty replacement. Neither looked that bad, the first was a few weeks under a year old when it was replaced and there was some fraying. The second one is close to a year old now too and it also has some fraying but nothing has split apart yet. Nothing close to the wear there.

 

[Tozovac]

Here’s mine. Seams starting to come apart at the top. Got it together with the 2018 iPad Pro.

But it should still hold itself together till it’s time to upgrade to the next iPad Pro update.

Looks similar. How old? 2 years? I checked my buy date; my ASK is only 10 months old. Purchased late July 2019. The one fraying area is where I naturally lift it open with my thumb, I realized today. Still shouldn't have worn out that quickly IMHO.

 

[Abazigal]

Looks similar. How old? 2 years? I checked my buy date; my ASK is only 10 months old. Purchased late July 2019. The one fraying area is where I naturally lift it open with my thumb, I realized today. Still shouldn't have worn out that quickly IMHO.

I bought it together with my iPad Pro somewhere around November 2018. So about 1 year 3 or 4 months. Probably started fraying earlier, but that was the earliest I noticed it.

The weird thing is that this is on the top of my ipad. When I keep this in my backpack, the bottom part of the Smart Keyboard which gets rubbed against the sleeve of the tablet compartment is still fine. It’s the top part which should have been subjected to less friction that is wearing out faster.

I like the typing experience. I just wished Apple would use a material that wasn’t so prone to getting grubby and grimy so quickly.

 

[Tozovac]

I like the typing experience. I just wished Apple would use a material that wasn’t so prone to getting grubby and grimy so quickly.

Agree 100% on both counts. Besides this wear, the other thing I dislike is the proximity of the top row #'s to the iPad — it's too easy to accidentally tap the screen. Unless the design is changed, this is only going to get worse as bezels decrease but I can adjust since I use the keyboard not nearly as much as on my MBA.

So I reached out to Apple via chat to inquire about the ASK's 1-year warranty and any possible coverage for this premature wear. I purchased the ASK from Amazon. The Apple rep informed me my ASK purchased from Amazon does not have the same 1-year warranty that ASK's do purchased directly from Apple. I was rather shocked to say the least and asked her if other Apple products purchased from somewhere other than Apple might have less or no warranty and she replied “Yes.”

She referred me to reach out to Amazon for warranty support. When I looked up the very order and selected “Get Product Support” via the Amazon App, of course it said to contact Apple. Apple chat support “gets it right“ more than 90% of the time so I can deal with this seemingly incorrect/inconsistent advice. Going to try again, fingers crossed but not too hopeful.

Meanwhile has anyone come up with a robust repair method for these seam issues that holds well and does not look too Farmer Bill cobbled/hack-job?

 

[Gary321]

Apple keyboards are crafted with premium aluminium, which adds to their exquisite appeal. Not only are the internal components cheap, but they are also of extremely low quality. I am the proud owner of an iMac paired with a top-notch mechanical keyboard. Even if Apple keyboards or mice were priced at just £1 each, I still wouldn't consider buying them.