Then you wouldn't use the keys in that configuration. So why not just grabbing the iPad in your hand? With the magnetic attachment, it's so easy to grab it.
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Leaker Suggests iPad Pro Magic Keyboard Coming to More iPad Models
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I love the MK. It does add weight and bulk, but it works as well as a laptop for me (with iPad attached 
When I want to use the iPad in ‘iPad mode’ and move it around the house, I just take it off the MK.
As for haptic trackpad, it might be nice but it’s a trackpad - it points and clicks and does so accurately - it needs do no more for me.
When V2 comes out I only want it to have function keys and it will be perfect.
When I want to use the iPad in ‘iPad mode’ and move it around the house, I just take it off the MK.
As for haptic trackpad, it might be nice but it’s a trackpad - it points and clicks and does so accurately - it needs do no more for me.
When V2 comes out I only want it to have function keys and it will be perfect.
You can only ”push” it back by adjusting the angle to 90 degrees (or near) which means you’d have to be eye level with whatever surface it’s sitting on for it to be comfortably viewable. Once it’s angled, it begins to interfere with the top row keys already as it is. There really is no room. That’s also why they couldn’t include function row keys with the current design.
The only alternative with the current design is a case that would overlap the iPad or make the keys smaller. Both of those are compromises I’m sure they didn’t want to make and I think most people would agree.
If they designed it with only one hinge like a laptop instead of the “two hinge” system they have now, then it would of course be possible to have whatever you wanted such as full size trackpad and function keys. The reason they did what they did though is because the iPad makes whatever keyboard you attach “top-heavy” and you couldn’t only have the center hinge without adding significant bulk to the bottom since the iPad would just make it topple over.
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I have had many generations of MBP, iPhone and now a MS Surface Pro (2017) tablet.
I fail to see the use case for this - it becomes more expensive than a MS Surface Pro tablet + keyboard - about the same weight and with way less functionality. At this stage I would just hold out for an MBA or a Surface Pro - and skip this "half solution".
I am sure that there are some use cases - but not for me... and not at that price*
* I can afford any of it, cash no problems, but I don't like the feeling of being taken for a ride which is what Tim's Apple is the aftertaste that Tim's Apple is has been leaving me with with increasing frequency
I fail to see the use case for this - it becomes more expensive than a MS Surface Pro tablet + keyboard - about the same weight and with way less functionality. At this stage I would just hold out for an MBA or a Surface Pro - and skip this "half solution".
I am sure that there are some use cases - but not for me... and not at that price*
* I can afford any of it, cash no problems, but I don't like the feeling of being taken for a ride which is what Tim's Apple is the aftertaste that Tim's Apple is has been leaving me with with increasing frequency
I would argue that the iPad Pro is a more capable machine. It can do everything a MacBook Air can do, plus a load of other things a MacBook Air definitely can’t do..
Lack of shortcut keys is a definite drawback, but I'd be 90% happy with just function keys using the number row with the globe button. Hopefully that's coming.
We both know that isn’t true. The iPad is a great device and I’m glad the gap is closing but it just isn’t true.
I can’t code on an iPad (natively...and there’s definitely no Xcode).
I can’t listen to multiple audio sources at once.
I can’t have multiple apps/tabs open without something inevitably leaving RAM.
I can’t drag my open apps wherever I want.
The files system still isn’t there yet. Many basic features (such as file transfer progress) that we’d want are not there.
Video editing, while good for what it is, is still not as fully featured. LumaFusion is great and probably adequate for a lot of people, but not everyone.
There is no music production software that comes close to what you’d find on MacOS or Windows.
External display support is still terrible. Only mirroring.
I could go on of course.
I am not here to argue why you shouldn’t buy an iPad or why you should buy a laptop. That’s stupid. I own both. The iPad is great. I am fully aware there are things the iPad can do that a MBA can’t (touch input and use of Apple Pencil being the main draw) but it’s just downright wrong to say that the iPad can do everything a laptop can do.
All I’m saying is if your goal is to fully replace a laptop with an iPad + MK, we still aren’t there yet for everyone. For a lot of people, sure.
Yeah, I understand what you're saying. You have a point about weight balance. I was indeed thinking of something closer to a laptop, but still with two hinges.
Anyway, if I were to switch to an iPad rather than a MBP, I wouldn't want to take the MKB with me while on the go/on the couch. So, I'd be better off with an external keyboard + trackpad and buy a stand while sitting at my desk.
All true. I'm really hoping some day most if not all of these features get added. I'm using a 9.7 pro for a lot of note taking lately, but even with a keyboard and track pad or mouse I couldn't get everything done in my day. But I'm also not a typical user.
I specifically said ‘macbook air’, the only really relavent thing you mentioned is natively coding on it, which is because no app is available yet, and not a general limitation. I’m not sure many people would buy either an iPad or a MacBook Air to code on anyway.
Files is limited compared to finder, but there isn’t anything that can’t be achieved on it, or an alternate such as file browser for business, that a general computer user would want.
Luma on an iPad is far far more efficient than Final Cut Pro on a MacBook Air.
I don’t do music, so you maybe right.. for my field of photography/videography though, there are plenty of amazing and extremely professional apps, so it’s up to an app creator to developer the app.
External display, agreed.
It’s a brand new platform, iPadOS, it just needs some time.. and it needs a different way of looking at things than that of a traditional os. I certainly wouldn’t give up mine for a MacBook Air. It would be a downgrade.
iPad Air is a very good spec iPad with its internals. And hard to imagine people will buy a new air just for the magic keyboard.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
You talking about the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro?
Magic Trackpad 2 (silver): $129
Magic Keyboard (for Mac, silver): $99
Smart Folio for iPad Pro 12.9: $99
Total: $327
Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 12.9, which consolidates all of the above into one sleek unit, weighted so it's stable, with a backlight for the keyboard, AND pass thru USB-C charging: $23 more
No. It is NOT overpriced.
Personally, I'd use the separate components, but for grab-and-go-ability, the MKFIP can't be beat.
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One does not replace the other. The MBA on-screen drawing capabilities are ZERO. The MBA is incapable of detaching the screen and leaving the keyboard and trackpad at home for lighter travel. The MBA is incapable of running iPadOS, which is more familiar to iOS users than macOS is.
For those that want the above, the MBA is the less capable device.
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Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Let's make something clear: not everyone uses computing devices for work.
The iPad is (according to Steve Jobs) first and foremost a post-PC device. So in his cars vs trucks analogy, the Mac (or PC) is the truck, and the iPad is the car.
Why should I buy a truck when I don't need to haul anything, fill the truckbed with stuff, etc?
It's OK for me to get a Camry and call it a day. It's also OK for you to get the most versatile vehicle out there: a pickup, because you need or want to make a Home Depot run for yourself OR a client (personal AND work use).
I can also use my Camry to Uber people around or Doordash food to my neighborhood, or just to deliver food or my family to/from the house.
Now, I can use a pickup truck to Uber people around, but my fuel costs would be higher, my passengers less comfortable, etc.
Thus, there is no right or wrong here, just different tools for different (and sometimes intersecting), er... jobs.
Let's make something clear: not everyone uses computing devices for work.
The iPad is (according to Steve Jobs) first and foremost a post-PC device. So in his cars vs trucks analogy, the Mac (or PC) is the truck, and the iPad is the car.
Why should I buy a truck when I don't need to haul anything, fill the truckbed with stuff, etc?
It's OK for me to get a Camry and call it a day. It's also OK for you to get the most versatile vehicle out there: a pickup, because you need or want to make a Home Depot run for yourself OR a client (personal AND work use).
I can also use my Camry to Uber people around or Doordash food to my neighborhood, or just to deliver food or my family to/from the house.
Now, I can use a pickup truck to Uber people around, but my fuel costs would be higher, my passengers less comfortable, etc.
Thus, there is no right or wrong here, just different tools for different (and sometimes intersecting), er... jobs.
People can do what they want, but considering that with sales tax the cheapest combination of iPad Pro and the current magic keyboard is US$1300, a more fancy (expensive) keyboard will probably add another 100 bucks I just don't see that many casual purchases...
It still seems like a very poor value proposition.
PS Never been a fan of most American cars either, prefer European hatchbacks or station wagons for their practicality and in my opinion better looks - (Unless one goes for classic American cars)
For me the MK was definitely an epic purchase, coverting my iPad Pro into a device I can actually use for work whenever I don’t feel like hauling the MBP 15. Thanks to that setup, I have the iPad + MK at home to consume media, reply to emails, chat on Slack, do some work-related social media, and the big MBP sits in the backpack until I’m back in the office. iPad + MK also fits in my small shoulder bag, so I tend to prefer it when I do some light work from a coffee place.
Without MK (I got it delivered a month after the iPad, so I was “forced” to use just the iPad for a while) I still tended to switch to my laptop whenever I had to type more than a couple of sentences. I am too used to arrow keys, cmd+z and other shortcuts to be efficient on a touch screen keyboard. And the trackpad makes it much easier to select text, put the cursor between words etc. It’s a much smoother transition between the two devices now.
I still unhook it to use the Pencil (I scribble a lot of work related stuff, trying to go paperless) but fortunately there is no workflow in my life where I need both Pencil and Keyboard. Thanks to the magnets it’s super easy to take it off and put back on.
Can’t speak for anyone else, but I knew I wanted it when I saw the announcement, and I love every bit of it. I only miss the fn key to be able to do the ”backward delete“ of text (when the text is deleted from the right, not the left of the cursor).
I’d definitely recommend it for anyone who doesn’t mind the price and wants to use both a real computer and a tablet, or someone for whom the iPad is enough and they still want a laptop-like experience.
Without MK (I got it delivered a month after the iPad, so I was “forced” to use just the iPad for a while) I still tended to switch to my laptop whenever I had to type more than a couple of sentences. I am too used to arrow keys, cmd+z and other shortcuts to be efficient on a touch screen keyboard. And the trackpad makes it much easier to select text, put the cursor between words etc. It’s a much smoother transition between the two devices now.
I still unhook it to use the Pencil (I scribble a lot of work related stuff, trying to go paperless) but fortunately there is no workflow in my life where I need both Pencil and Keyboard. Thanks to the magnets it’s super easy to take it off and put back on.
Can’t speak for anyone else, but I knew I wanted it when I saw the announcement, and I love every bit of it. I only miss the fn key to be able to do the ”backward delete“ of text (when the text is deleted from the right, not the left of the cursor).
I’d definitely recommend it for anyone who doesn’t mind the price and wants to use both a real computer and a tablet, or someone for whom the iPad is enough and they still want a laptop-like experience.
Only for MacBooks. It would be a nice feature for the iPad, but it would takeaway the portability of the Magic Keyboard.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
You’re still hung up on the money part. It doesn’t matter that my Camry or Accord costs the same, or more, or less than an F-150 or a Colorado or whatever pickup truck.
Some people just don’t need or WANT a pickup truck. They want a car. An F150 cannot directly replace an Accord, even if it “does more.”
People that buy iPads buy them because they WANT the device, not because it’s cheaper, or that it’s a casual purchase. The buy it BECAUSE of what it is, and HOW it is used.
My wife will NEVER touch a Mac. Believe me, I tried. She literally doesn’t know where to start.
She LOVES her iPad and iPhone, though. She ONLY does computing on those two devices.