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So you think that someone who has already spent hundreds of dollars if not over a grand on an iPad Pro should “just get a Mac” in order to have a keyboard with a trackpad?
Yes, if they expect to do creative work. Even with an accessory keyboard, the iPad is not suited for everyday work tasks. A MBA or MBP will get the job done faster.
 
Yes, if they expect to do creative work. Even with an accessory keyboard, the iPad is not suited for everyday work tasks. A MBA or MBP will get the job done faster.

Says you. Many people successfully do real work on an iPad and many people don’t use iPads for work. This is obviously aimed at those people.

Always gotta be someone trying to shoot down a product THEY are not interested in. :rolleyes:
 
Looks great, but the price is too high. I would love to see Apple develop a clam shell book based on two iPad Pro's joined by a hinge and magnets to avoid the screens touching. Touchscreen keyboard that adapts to the app you are using on the bottom half. This is something I would buy easily day 1. I used macOS the other day and hated it, everything was slow and dated - iOS beats it in every way for me.
 
Everybody with this response is missing one important fact... iOS vs macOS.
I use both daily (along with W10 occasionally). MacOS and W10 earn me money, iOS helps me waste time.
BTW it’s possible to buy an entire, fully-functional Windows laptop for less than the price of this keyboard thing.
 
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Again the only problem I see with a product like this is iOS's terrible utilization of "non-finger" input devices. Mouse support is still treated like a secondary ... tertiary option. If the iPad and iOS ever got top notch mouse support and the interface to utilize it then I could see this as a way to turn your iPad into a Surface competitor.

Nevertheless, the iPad still isn't as standalone as Apple seems to think, so they'd still have a long way to go before competing with the Surface Pro.


I’ve had plenty of success with an older Brydge keyboard paired with an iPad running remote desktop apps.

It’s very convenient to be working on a touch-enabled desktop with all the home connectivity options iPadOS offers at one’s fingertips. The addition of a trackpad to the new Brydge keyboards would be brilliant for this particular use-case.

The only issue I’ve noticed with Bluetooth keyboards in general is the initial lag when the re-pairing signal is sent from the device to the iPad. Other than that it works just fine.
 
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I’ve had plenty of success with an older Brydge keyboard paired with an iPad running remote desktop apps.

It’s very convenient to be working on a touch-enabled desktop with all the home connectivity options iPadOS offers at one’s fingertips. The addition of a trackpad to the new Brydge keyboards would be brilliant for this particular use-case.

The only issue I’ve noticed with Bluetooth keyboards in general is the initial lag when the re-pairing signal is sent from the device to the iPad. Other than that it works just fine.

Same here. I use a 12" iPad for just that. The small station I engineer is all web-based and i can watch the stream coming in or being broadcast or remote into the transmitter or the EAS system, etc.

It's just mouse / trackpad support that stinks, and on the iOS side.

Yes. And?

But I think that's the point. The reason users would want to have a keyboard and mouse functionality in an iPad is that you can take the keyboard off and have a tablet.
 
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I love traveling with *only* my iPad Pro. It's super-light - even compared to my MBA - can be more easily used for media consumption and is more powerful than my MBA. I can do everything I need for work with the exception of editing Affinity Publisher docs (and I'm hoping Affinity sorts that out this summer 🤞).

However, I've tried lots of attached keyboards and they all cause the iPad to wobble when typing. So, I travel with an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse. They connect just fine, take up next to no space/weight, do the job, and can live in my carry-on when I don't need them.
 
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Yes, if they expect to do creative work. Even with an accessory keyboard, the iPad is not suited for everyday work tasks. A MBA or MBP will get the job done faster.
It would be the opposite of that dependent on the creative work you are doing. If the work you are doing involves screen input such as drawing/painting, an accessory keyboard is a complement that allows me to do everyday tasks. To draw with a MBA or MBP I need an accessory tablet or luna display or duet, or sidecar.

The appeal is having a laptop when needed, but a removable tablet screen for specific creative uses.
 
I'm in.

note: Brydge threatened litigation with the kickstarter project Libra, and now we can see why.

Libra grabbed $300k from people, who could have bought this. Maybe those people will get refunded, but there's no legal obligation, which means basically 'fat chance'. But you neva know.

Also, the likelihood of this Brydge project happening is good, and even if there was up-front payment it's legit.

As far as the naysayers saying the mouse-ness is gimped on these, the Apple magic trackpad tracks very well, even though it's functions are basically nonexistent. Point is, they could make an attractive product.
 
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$229? Yeh no. Once you buy the $1000+ iPad and for the bulk just get a Macbook.

The pricing makes no sense either (not the Apple's keyboard does either) Most of these iPad keyboards are WAY to overpriced.

Apple's should be $100-125. But I get the draw, its super thin and doesnt make it feel more than a cover. A lot goes into getting that to work and as a stand. $199 is nuts IMO, but I get the worth in portability.

This should be $150. It's a chunky keyboard at the end of the day with 2 clips to hold the ipad, nothing special to it. Paying 1/4 the price of the base 12.9" retail price for a keyboard just makes no financial sense and puts you into Macbook Air territory
But if the buy in is over $1000, why are you quibbling over $50? If someone really wants a physical keyboard and doesn't need to run MAC OS X apps, isn't this a much better deal than spending $1500 on a full laptop?
 
When the MacBook Air is a thing, why does this have to be ?

Because, people like me, prefer our iOS workflow. I know how crazy that sounds, but it's true. Partly because of the always connected LTE. For my work, my MacBook is limited compared to my iPad. Especially when I'm in the field/on the go.

I will say this, I returned the 2018 12.9 Brydge keyboard because it was heavy. I don't use a mouse but I'll try this new keyboard.

Apparently a lot of people buy these or the company wouldn't still be in business?
 
I tried the current Brydge keyboard with an 11” Pro, but couldn’t believe the weight of it. i can definitely see the attraction of this if your iPad is your primary machine though.

If Apple improve mouse support in the next version of iPadOS, I’d like to see them do an updated version of the Smart Keyboard with a built-in trackpad as I think that could be a great ultraportable device.
 
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Just in time for a new iPad release :rolleyes:
Hopefully Apple can go one year without changing form factor. Although they love selling everyone $200 keyboards now, so that might be part of the plan.

iPad Pro 9.7", iPad Pro 10.5", iPad Pro 11" - that is $500 in pure keyboard upgrade profits...what do we get in 2020?
 
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