Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I bought the whole iPad Pro + MKB + pencil pro shebang and I am thoroughly unimpressed, mostly because of the silly limitations Apple places on iPadOS.

You can’t even stream 2 audio sources at once — a feature any 90s windows machine could do. And it’s an Apple-designed limitation, as is everything in iPadOS.

300+ for a keyboard is whack.
 
I bought the whole iPad Pro + MKB + pencil pro shebang
I don't know why this struck me as funny. I guess it's the "shebang". I admire the willingness to admit that you got caught up in some of the hype because we all do it! I am not immune. There are definitely purchase that I regret....we live and learn.
 
I have a Logitech iPad Pro … MS Surface style and love every bit except it’s a bit heavy and bulky but some likes it. I hope Apple comes with a better keyboard as this one for iPad is a bit weak and fragile
 
I don't know why this struck me as funny. I guess it's the "shebang". I admire the willingness to admit that you got caught up in some of the hype because we all do it! I am not immune. There are definitely purchase that I regret....we live and learn.
It will be my primary device for the next several years in an apparent attempt at masochism, so I don’t completely regret it. I’ll likely switch back to the Mac when it’s time to update unless Apple makes iPadOS workable.

Its capabilities are truly only locked behind Apple’s laziness and refusal to let it be the device it could be.
 
Why don’t you design, manufacture and market one?
I will break it down for you (since clearly you like being ripped off by apple). If another company can produce an extremely similar keyboard for a good deal cheaper, apple is ripping you off. I guess you enjoy spending more than needed on items but most don’t. Still does not change it’s not worth $300 (And hence why they always seem to have sales on them shortly after launch).
 
  • Like
Reactions: thebryceman
I bought the whole iPad Pro + MKB + pencil pro shebang and I am thoroughly unimpressed, mostly because of the silly limitations Apple places on iPadOS.

You can’t even stream 2 audio sources at once — a feature any 90s windows machine could do. And it’s an Apple-designed limitation, as is everything in iPadOS.

300+ for a keyboard is whack.
You knew the limitations and price before purchase.
 
I will break it down for you (since clearly you like being ripped off by apple). If another company can produce an extremely similar keyboard for a good deal cheaper, apple is ripping you off. I guess you enjoy spending more than needed on items but most don’t. Still does not change it’s not worth $300 (And hence why they always seem to have sales on them shortly after launch).
I am familiar with those MKB look-a-likes on Amazon, and they might be the better choice for many people. But, there are some not so subtle differences. For example, most of these KBs do not have Apple's proprietary connector, so they are bluetooth keyboards and need to be charged. Also, these third party keyboards don't provide a connector for charging the iPad. Finally, some people take comfort in Apples warrantee and reputation for generally building quality products. These things may or may not be important to a buyer, and that's the reason there is market for lower priced keyboards. Only the individual consumer can decide if these features are worth $300 to them....so, it's subjective.

As for the price, yep it is high in comparison to other KBs, but that's really nothing new for Apple. You are going to pay a premium for their stuff.
 
Last edited:
As noted here the typing experience with every Apple keyboard is really incredible. However, the 299€ price for this keyboard is way too high, especially compared to the price of the product it's actually made for. it should be 200€-220€ imo.

I myself own the Magic Keyboard with my M2 iPad Pro, but I only got it a year after it launched and I got it for 200€ brand new from a second hand website here in Belgium while the price in stores was 339€, I simply refused to pay that much money for it. 3 years in, I'm very satisfied with it, except for the fact the USB-C port on the keyboard doesn't work anymore, it will make the charging sound 30x per second basically charging and stop charging all the time.
Ha, I keep forgetting that my keyboard has that USB-C. My iPad pretty much lives in its keyboard and I always just charge directly into the iPad. So now I'm wondering if it even still works.
 
If you need a keyboard for your iPad, you really need a laptop.
I feel the same way, so I exclusively use my iPad in tablet mode (occasionally w/Pencil) and use my MBA when I need a keyboard. I feel this combination allows me to be more productive.

However, my wife uses an iPad Air plus MKB for mobile and light computing and uses an iMac for more demanding stuff. She loves this combo. For some reason, she does not like laptops but she likes the simple iPadOS interface and the ability to use touch occasionally....even with the MKB. So, there you go. Two people with similar use cases but different preferences. Different strokes different folks.
 
They should re-introduce Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro. It's dust proof and palm rest is as big as your table.
 
You knew the limitations and price before purchase.
It actually didn’t occur to me that the iPadOS software was BAD enough to only be able to run 1 audio stream at a time. It’s truly a pathetic experience, especially when music you are listening to inevitably pauses when a vid or ad on a website or app starts running.

It becomes a whack-a-mole game and Apple really should do better for the user experience there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Premium1
It actually didn’t occur to me that the iPadOS software was BAD enough to only be able to run 1 audio stream at a time. It’s truly a pathetic experience, especially when music you are listening to inevitably pauses when a vid or ad on a website or app starts running.

It becomes a whack-a-mole game and Apple really should do better for the user experience there.
More than likely, wanting to listen to two audio streams at once is non-typical usage as far as Apple is concerned.
 
I bought an iPad Pro M4 11" from Apple, with their keyboard, tried it out, packed it back up, and returned it. The iPad? Nice. The keyboard, nope. I use the Smart Keyboard Folio with my M1 iPad Pro 11". I'd love to get a newer iPad, but my use case requires the Smart Keyboard Folio. If Apple isn't going to make that, maybe some other vendor will. In the mean time, I'll get by with my M1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Premium1
More than likely, wanting to listen to two audio streams at once is non-typical usage as far as Apple is concerned.
Some people like to watch sports & listen to music at the same time - can’t do that with ipad but it‘s pretty common. Also, it’s the overall experience of listening to music or a video in the background, and Apple forcing it to pause and stop playing simply because a second audio stream opened somewhere else.

It is not an “Apple-like” experience, but it is the route Apple continues to go down. A 90s Windows machine could do it. All of my prior Macs could. But this “Pro” device cannot, which is bizarre.
 
So focused on creating a keyboard for iPad, they never thought to just add Apple Pencil support and a Touch display to a MacBook.

"But iPad and MacBooks are two different products", I hear the defenders say.

Yeah, look at iPad Pro with the latest Magic Keyboard for iPad and tell me how it's not just a MacBook running iOS that isn't allow to run macOS? Or why you can't use Apple Pencil on a MacBook? Why?

All these nonsense, beyond over-priced accessories for iPad is on such an extreme level of fence riding that you'd almost think Apple is out of ideas for iPad.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.