Brydge Keyboard?

[Ybersetzer]

I pre-ordered one (for the new 12.9), did my due diligence and am looking very much (!) forward to taking a hold of it. The only thing (I am not so concerned about the hinge-system harming the screen etc.) is this:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...pro-beats-apples-offering-in-nearly-every-way

Watching the accompanying video it seems to me that there is quite a bit of vibration/wobble of the screen when typing. The new Brydge pro keyboard don't rest flat on their four rubber feet when in use, which is inherently less stable. On the other hand: Jason Snell has had his for quite some time now and does not seem to have noticed this effect/isn't bothered by it.

I sure hope the stability of the screen when typing does not turn out to be a problem. Otherwise, I'm pretty stoked and looking forward to it. As of now, I use the Magic Keyboard in conjunction with Studio Neat's "Canopy". Works fine, but I like the idea of being able to "close" the screen and have everything in one package, instead of doing the setting-up-the-Canopy-dance when I move between locations, plus the ability to better use it on my lap/on the go.

 

[OldCorpse]

So AI did a review of the new Brydge keyboard and they think it's "the best". But the review is kind of a mess, what with quotes like "We think that the Zagg Slim Book Go feels way better in terms of overall feel, but only by a little bit." - I mean, really guys, is it "way better" or "only by a little bit"?

https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...pro-beats-apples-offering-in-nearly-every-way

Looking at this, I'm steering clear of this keyboard. They go on and on about how it's like a macbook, but if I wanted a laptop, I'd get a laptop. The whole point of a bluetooth keyboard is that you can detach it - I bought a stand where I put the iPad on in portrait mode, can adjust the height, and the bluetooth keyboard works from wherever I place it, wherever is most convenient. I don't want to be tied 100% to the iPad in only one position. At least the ASK has the excuse that it doesn't need a battery and gets its juice from the iPad - what's the Brydge excuse?

Bottom line, I think this keyboard kinda misses the whole point of an iPad. If I need a macbook, that's what I'd get, and the Macbook Airs are quite light and mobile and not as clumsy a solution as this keyboard/iPad combo. It's a CLUMSY imitation of a laptop, and on top of that, it's not easy to separate the iPad, which at least is easy with the ASK. IMHO, Brydge missed the boat by a mile. Of course, YMMV, and to each his/her own.

 

[richpjr]

So AI did a review of the new Brydge keyboard and they think it's "the best". But the review is kind of a mess, what with quotes like "We think that the Zagg Slim Book Go feels way better in terms of overall feel, but only by a little bit." - I mean, really guys, is it "way better" or "only by a little bit"?

https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...pro-beats-apples-offering-in-nearly-every-way

Looking at this, I'm steering clear of this keyboard. They go on and on about how it's like a macbook, but if I wanted a laptop, I'd get a laptop. The whole point of a bluetooth keyboard is that you can detach it - I bought a stand where I put the iPad on in portrait mode, can adjust the height, and the bluetooth keyboard works from wherever I place it, wherever is most convenient. I don't want to be tied 100% to the iPad in only one position. At least the ASK has the excuse that it doesn't need a battery and gets its juice from the iPad - what's the Brydge excuse?

Bottom line, I think this keyboard kinda misses the whole point of an iPad. If I need a macbook, that's what I'd get, and the Macbook Airs are quite light and mobile and not as clumsy a solution as this keyboard/iPad combo. It's a CLUMSY imitation of a laptop, and on top of that, it's not easy to separate the iPad, which at least is easy with the ASK. IMHO, Brydge missed the boat by a mile. Of course, YMMV, and to each his/her own.

Im glad I'm not the only one who thought that review was kind of strange. Seems like a lot of trying to justify purchasing it with some odd takes.

 

[JD2015]

Excited to get mine this month (hopefully) and along with iOS 13 cannot wait to unleash my Ipp 2nd gen 12.9 inch full power and use case.

 

[maflynn]

But the review is kind of a mess, what with quotes like "We think that the Zagg Slim Book Go f

Look at the reviews of Slim Book Go on amazons, it seems the hinge is a flawed design and will not hold up. I love the concept of the Zagg Slim Book Go, but it that many single star reviews is enough for me to stay away.

Regarding the Brydge keyboard, I noticed one review who stated the clamping mechanism is uses rubber to help keep the iPad in its grasp, but if you detach the keyboard frequently that wears away some of the rubbery material and may loosen the mechanism. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, but does anyone remove the keyboard often and have they noticed any loosening of the hinges that hold onto the iPad?

 

[JayMysterio]

Regarding the Brydge keyboard, I noticed one review who stated the clamping mechanism is uses rubber to help keep the iPad in its grasp, but if you detach the keyboard frequently that wears away some of the rubbery material and may loosen the mechanism. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, but does anyone remove the keyboard often and have they noticed any loosening of the hinges that hold onto the iPad?

I haven't had the keyboard long enough to notice that yet. My original intent was to remove the iPad flip it, and work on top of the keyboard. Because of the weight though, I tend to just remove the iPad, and work on it as is. So my removing it & replacing it was basically cut in half from what I imagined. Thus, so far I haven't noticed any loosening or marring from the plastic yet. I will keep eye on it though.

 

[millydog]

My Brydge keyboard arrived 2 days ago for my iPad Pro 12.9” 3rd gen. I can really only provide first impressions so far as I haven’t had much time with it yet. I have a glass screen protector on the front of my iPad and I did have a clear film protecting the back, but I found the fit too tight in the hinges of the Brydge to keep the rear skin. So I have taken the rear skin off now.
I have the Apple Folio Case that I can use if I want to take my iPad out of the house without the keyboard and I can use the Brydge rear magnetic cover on the iPad when I am using the keyboard. So this is fine.

The keyboard feels great to type on and I would say that the feel is similar to my Apple Magic Keyboard and the keys have more travel than my 3 week old MacBook Pro (2019), although I do like that keyboard too.

I like how I can just press the space bar twice to unlock the iPad as it uses Face ID. I am sure that the Apple Smart Keyboard Cover does that too though.
I like having dedicated buttons for the home button, brightness control, volume control, etc.

I am still getting to learn the shortcuts, but do like how I can press cmd-option-D to bring up the dock from the keyboard and that double-pressing the home button on the keyboard brings up the recently used apps (app switcher?).

My iPad feels secure and safe in the hinges. I am confident that it wont fall or be knocked out. The hinges are tight and hard to move on their own, but move more easily once the iPad is seated. Prior to buying, I was concerned about opening the iPad back, like a laptop lid, with potential bending issues. But I do not feel the iPad at all bending while opening it in this manor. I have been watching it, but I don’t think that there is an issue. There is just not enough force required in opening the iPad that it would cause bending.

The Brydge does add a lot of weight to the iPad. This is the only downside that I can see to this keyboard. The weight is necessary though to be able to hold the iPad back in a laptop position without a kickstand. I much prefer this to having a kickstand as a kickstand is likely to be flimsy, add more depth to the desk space required and be uncomfortable in lap mode. So the result is a solid laptop feel, just like a MacBook. The aluminium body adds to the premium feel.

So, I really like the Brydge keyboard. I can use my iPad Pro 12.9 with the keyboard, like a laptop, or pull out the iPad and use it as a tablet, without the keyboard. It’s great to have these options. I am a programmer and see the need for myself to have a Mac still, but for a lot of people, the combination of iPad and keyboard might be all the computer that they need. I actually wish that I was there, but I would like to see XCode and a few other apps on iPadOS first.

 

[chrism_scotland]

I bought a 12.9 Silver Brydge to go with my iPad and while in conjunction with iPadOS 13 it truly makes the iPad a full time work device for me, I am however having an issue with a couple of keys that seem to intermittently not work; the left cmd key which is used for almost all shortcuts and the Tab Key.

I’ve asked for a replacement as it seems a much nicer unit than the Logitech Slim Folio that I also tried - yes it adds weight but this thing really is a rival for the Surface Pro now in my opinion.

 

[millydog]

Mine is space grey since my iPad Pro 12.9 is space grey. It matches really well. I got the space grey MacBook Pro too, so they match.
I installed iOS13 Beta 2 on my mini 5 and iPad Pro 10.5 as trials, but not my iPad Pro 12.9 or iPhone XS Max yet as I depend on them being reliable. Having said that, the apps that I depend on all seem to be working, so no noticeable issues.
Tonight is the first time that I have really given the Brydge keyboard some real usage, other than just my initial testing. So far so good, I haven’t noticed any issues with it.
Do you have a different device, running iOS 12, that you could pair the Brydge with to check if the issues with the keys are to do with iPadOS 13? It might be worth checking that before returning it.

 

[happyslayer]

I got my silver Brydge 12.9 last week and have been using it off and on for the last 6 days and so far, I really like it. I have noticed that compared to my 2018 15" MacBook Pro that I do have to hit the keys on the Brydge harder or I miss the occasional letter. Not a deal breaker at all, though. It does definitely add weight to it since the keyboard has to be heavy to keep the iPad Pro from tipping backwards, but again, not a deal breaker. (It's lighter than my 15" Pro and definitely heavier than my wife's 12" MacBook.) It is also pretty easy to remove when I just want to kick back and read on the Kindle app. So far, I'm very happy with it.

 

[chrism_scotland]

I haven’t had a chance to test this on another iOS 12 device but I did try my Logitech K380 on this with iOS13 and it seems to work flawlessly as I’d expect it to, Brydge are arranging an exchange for me though as I really do like the keyboard.

 

[JayMysterio]

I went to go check the serial number on my 2015 Macbook Pro to see if it was under the battery replacement program. I was shocked to see how big it seems, now that I've been using the iPad Pro with the Brydge keyboard. Sheesh!

 

[iPunish901]

I went to go check the serial number on my 2015 Macbook Pro to see if it was under the battery replacement program. I was shocked to see how big it seems, now that I've been using the iPad Pro with the Brydge keyboard. Sheesh!

I was just wondering this. I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I love but it’s heavy. Felt super light when I first got it.

Pretty sure my wife is getting me an iPad Pro for my bday in a couple weeks and I’ve been looking at the brydge keyboard. If it is lighter than my MBP, I’m sold.

 

[TotalMacMove]

I was just wondering this. I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I love but it’s heavy. Felt super light when I first got it.

Pretty sure my wife is getting me an iPad Pro for my bday in a couple weeks and I’ve been looking at the brydge keyboard. If it is lighter than my MBP, I’m sold.

Definitely lighter haha. I have had one for two years now, still works like a champ on my 9.7”

 

[happyslayer]

An update: After a week of use, my Brydge Pro 12.9 started to have a lot of issues. Several of the keys would often miss when I hit them and I had to hit them really hard to make them work at all. Also, I noticed that the Bridge seemed to be bent in the middle - I really never seemed to fit quite right from the first time I took it out of the box, so I think it was a factory defect. Anyway, I contacted Brydge and they setup an RMA for me, I returned it (with a Brydge-supplied FedEx Ground label) and just got my replacement today. It is many times better than my first one! I took it from my mailbox, opened it, went immediately to a Starbucks and spent a solid two hours typing on it in Scrivener. So much better! The only errors I made were caused by me, not the keyboard. Again, light years better than the first one.

I was very happy with the Brydge support people. They were on top of things and sent me more than one email with the status of the RMA and shipping & tracking info. Sad I got a bad one first, but very happy with support and the second one.

 

[ejin222]

I had the 2017 12.9 iPad Pro and used the Logitech Slim Combo with it. Loved it, and hoped Logitech would release something similar for the 2018 iPad Pro. It's close, but didn't have the same features as I wanted with the 2017 model.

I purchased the Brydge Pro for my 2018 iPad Pro because it's important for me to detach the iPad from the keyboard often. This is something the Brydge allows me to do easily and the reason why I chose it this time around.

I agree with some of the other users above. The keyboard takes much more effort to type and makes me think that I should have listened to the other reviewers. I'm so used to the thinner key travel of my other Mac keyboards that this will get some getting used to. I had no problem typing on the Logitech, but it does take noticeably more effort to type on the Brydge. If you type a lot and are used to the butterfly keys' short travel, you will not like the Brydge's keyboard. It feels "thicker."

I hope with some usage that the keys will soften up a bit and not feel like I have to press down so intentionally. Other than that, I don't mind the added heft of the keyboard and I love the build quality. The back cover, for me, is definitely an added plus (though I'm sure that's included with the increased price from the 2017 model...).

I don't think I'll return it so I hope to review it again after some time.

 

[A.R.E.A.M.]

First production units are probably not the best. Assembly line has perhaps been retooled and now later units are better.

The brydge looks good but I’m really in love with the Logitech. Ive had each iPad Pro version and they have all been solid performers. This one hasn’t failed me thus far and dont expect it to.

Thanks for the feedback brydge owners!

 

[millydog]

Just checking in with an update on my Brydge keyboard for my iPad Pro 12.9 2018. I find the keyboard to be quite good and enjoy typing on it.
I do find it quite heavy, but for me, it’s great to use around the house, on a desk or on my lap in the lounge. I prefer to take my iPad without the keyboard to work though since it’s quite heavy and I use my iPad for personal use in my lunch break, not for work purposes. I haven’t picked up the courage to install the profile required to allow access to work accounts in the Microsoft apps, otherwise I’d love to use it for work. I’m worried about privacy with the work profile.

So I like how it is easy to attach and detach the iPad quickly when I want to use it or go without it.

I have a glass screen protector on the front of my iPad and I had a BestSkinsEver skin on the back of my iPad, which I had from before buying the Brydge. I found that the rubber holders on the Brydge were quite a tight fit with the protectors on both sides of my iPad. The rubber holders actually put indents into the back protector over the first couple of uses and I ended up taking it off. The fit was then a bit better, but still very tight with only the front glass protector. Since then though, I had regrets about removing the BestSkinsEver protector from the back as I really do like to just use my iPad without a cover around the house. So I’ve just ordered a new one for the back..and I’m considering whether to put it on the back whole and see how it goes when inserting and removing it from the Brydge or to cut out the corners of the skin before covering the back so as I can insert it and remove it without it damaging the skin.

The first option would protect the back better, but the skin might not last long or could become completely damaged. The second option leaves the corners bare, but would be out of the way when inserting and removing the keyboard. The third option would be to use the skin and just not insert the iPad into the Brydge when using it, but that defeats the purpose of having the Brydge and I like using the Brydge as a laptop, it’s the whole point..so I’m back to option 1 or 2.

 

[ascender]

So far the only downside of this keyboard (I'm using the 11" one) is the weight. But the positive is the footprint - its much smaller than my 13" MBP, so if I'm running or biking to work its so easy to put in my bag. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the Apple folio keyboard, but being able to use this on my lap or at my desk for longer periods of time is a real bonus.

Build quality seems excellent, very pleased with it so far.

 

[JayMysterio]

So unnecessary, possibly stupid observation of the day...

I have a very specific use of iPP that I like, that makes me prefer the smart folio / external keyboard combination. When I use an app like Notability that allows for drawing & typing on the same piece easily I prefer a separated keyboard for easier access. When I am just writing I really like the form factor of the Brydge. I was using iPP in portrait mode starting some work, when I got the idea to see if the BT would connect and allow me to work in that orientation. Well, it's a BT keyboard, DUH! on me. The keyboard can act as an external if needed. Drawing with the Brydge attached & access to the keyboard is NOT practical. This does make it practical. I have no idea why I hadn't thought of trying this before.

Which makes the Brydge an even more attractive option for me personally.

 

[GDF]

I have tested the Brydge for the last week and have really enjoyed it. As others have said the only negative is the weight. I suppose the other could be it is not as easy to take off as the Apple Keyboard. It is extremely well made and does seem like my iPad has turned into a mini Macbook Pro.

Still not sure I will keep it, as I like the lightness of the Apple Keyboard, but the Brydge seems like it will be more durable long term compared to my Apple Keyboard that looks worn after 8 months.

 

[A.R.E.A.M.]

If i had to pick over those two, it would be brydge hands down. Mind you i dont own brydge (they lost my money to Logitech because they came out first and I didn’t want my pre order money sitting in their bank collecting interest) but I DID briefly own the Apple offering. My opinion and experience, it is pure junk and unbelievable the premium apple charge for that...

 

[ascender]

I've been using the 11" Brydge a lot over the last while due to an issue with my laptop. You do get used to the smaller keys, but I still find myself missing the RETURN key a bit due to its size. For some reason I still seem to be making more typing mistakes on this one - I can type quicker and more accurately on the Apple Keyboard Folio which has surprised me.

The backlight is a really nice feature and battery life has been good.

The weight is a really deal-breaker though - I'm genuinely baffled as to why its this heavy. Is it to balance out the weight of the iPad itself, to make it very stable for lap-typing?

When I'm trying to pack light, I end up going back to the Apple Folio keyboard to be honest.

 

[JayMysterio]

I've been using the 11" Brydge a lot over the last while due to an issue with my laptop. You do get used to the smaller keys, but I still find myself missing the RETURN key a bit due to its size. For some reason I still seem to be making more typing mistakes on this one - I can type quicker and more accurately on the Apple Keyboard Folio which has surprised me.

The backlight is a really nice feature and battery life has been good.

The weight is a really deal-breaker though - I'm genuinely baffled as to why its this heavy. Is it to balance out the weight of the iPad itself, to make it very stable for lap-typing?

When I'm trying to pack light, I end up going back to the Apple Folio keyboard to be honest.

It's heavy because they decided to go with a keyboard in slab of aluminum which adds a 1.5 lb. I don't know if it was for stability or what, but does make it feel premium. But you will NOTICE that extra weight.

If I know I will be moving around a lot & I am not sure how I will be working, I will go the folio / external keyboard route. At home though, or if I know I will only be writing, the Brydge wins there.

 

[ascender]

It's heavy because they decided to go with a keyboard in slab of aluminum which adds a 1.5 lb. I don't know if it was for stability or what, but does make it feel premium. But you will NOTICE that extra weight.

If I know I will be moving around a lot & I am not sure how I will be working, I will go the folio / external keyboard route. At home though, or if I know I will only be writing, the Brydge wins there.

Totally agree, it feels like a premium product and a perfect match for the Pro, but boy is it heavy (relatively speaking).