Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro Reviews and Unboxing Videos: Huge Jump Forward in Usability, But Expensive and Heavy
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Totally agree that the price is to high.
Agreed, it is not a high-end accessory and piece of cheap material with an overpriced tool.
Mine arrived not long ago.
It's so much nicer in real life than any of the videos. It's extremely sturdy and well made, I actually like the weight of it. Feels very premium indeed.
The trackpad click itself is very loud though. Substantially louder than the Magic Trackpad or any of Apple's notebooks from the present or past. Will take some getting used to that. Other than that, I think it's sensational.
It's so much nicer in real life than any of the videos. It's extremely sturdy and well made, I actually like the weight of it. Feels very premium indeed.
The trackpad click itself is very loud though. Substantially louder than the Magic Trackpad or any of Apple's notebooks from the present or past. Will take some getting used to that. Other than that, I think it's sensational.
Agreed on both counts. Anyone who is making any comment at all about how this accessory feels to use who hasn’t had one in hand to use for at least a few hours is just making themselves look silly. It’s a totally different tablet keyboard experience than anything else that has ever been produced before.
Yes, the trackpad click is way too loud. An option to tap to click can’t come soon enough.
Agreed - some people on this thread (and forum) have been making themselves look foolish. I've found it really funny!
Tap to Click does exist, you just need to go into Settings for it!
Agreed - some people on this thread (and forum) have been making themselves look foolish. I've found it really funny!
Tap to Click does exist, you just need to go into Settings for it!
OMG thank you! I thought I had read this setting didn’t exist and I was not finding it somehow. SO.MUCH.BETTER!
Mine should be here next half an hour. Can start using it and keep my Magic Trackpad in my bag for now
Not being able to access a brick and mortar Apple Store to try it in person also contributes to taking reviews more at face value, so let's not call people names.
Regardless, feeling or not, €399 in Germany for a keyboard is absolute overkill and I couldn't in good conscience invest this amount in an accessory despite my healthy income. I suspect I'm not the only one.
Last edited:
All joking aside I don't think this ipad keyboard could do any of these positions optimally, it would simply tip and fall forward. I don't think I'm making any major revelations here, it's obviously meant to be something primarily used on a hard surface more like a desktop PC. Here is a very crude video (apologies for kids toys all over the place in my 3 season room) of the surface pro doing all the stuff on my list without any issues.
I'm not saying the SP does these things perfectly, definitely not, but it's quite adequate and I use it like this all the time. You will note that when poking with my finger and the pen I poked pretty hard, I would not poke that hard normally but wanted to make the point that it would be quite stable even with a lot of pressure on the top of the screen. I can also rest the weight of my hand on the screen, allowing me to write/draw more naturally. It gets better, I didn't video it but the SP can 1) be angled back far more allowing a very natural and stable writing/drawing position and 2) the keyboard can be folded under the kickstand again allowing for another degree of stability. Those last 2 points the ipad keyboard cannot do, but even without them the SP is still quite stable and usable.
Now whenever you are ready post up videos of you doing the same type of work, make sure you poke fairly hard with your finger/pen as I did, make sure you put the weight of your hand onto the screen when writing/drawing and make sure you don't use your other hand to stabilize the ipad.
Last edited:
Mine just arrived!
Mine's still in the 'processing' stage. *sad emoji*
Hi Doc, I am just one of the people who said touch screens for laptops or tablets, when typing on a keyboard / trackpad, makes no sense because it’s wildly inefficient and your arms get tired as you need to shift them from the supported horizontal plane in front of you, to an unsupported vertical plane, then back down again.
It’s not the same as holding an iPad and interacting with a touch based input.
Since iPadOS 13.4, my interaction with my iPad Pro 12.9” is mainly keyboard and trackpad input while at my desk (with zero screen touches), and touch input when away from my desk. It’s what Microsoft had tried to do, but failed as they attempted to make their keyboard/mouse based applications (and OS) work as is with touch input.
I never thought that Apple’s initial implementation of external keyboard and screen touch input worked well enough to be an efficient daily driver for content creation. It worked well enough for email and texting, and could even be used for writing documents, but spreadsheet work was a complete mess. That’s not the case any longer. It’s now both the classic iPad that can be held and interacted with via touch input on the screen AND an effective and efficient keyboard and trackpad driven device that requires no touch input.
Couldn't agree more about Sara! She is by far the best reviewer I've seen. She gives real information unlike most of these so called "reviewers".. of course they don't really review anything.. just say the same old same old.. oh Apple.. OH WOW.. It's GOT MAGNETS!! .. yeah yeah we get it justine.. So glad Sara doesn't do that nonsense.
Oh wow, I’ve tagged him numerous times whe re-tweeting critical (but justified) tweets of Apple. I’m surprised he hasn’t blocked me.
[automerge]1587481677[/automerge]
Which no one is forced to buy.
Cool, I appreciate your thoughts. I still disagree, but that only depends on the context. For example, if I have a laptop on my desk or counter my arms are resting on the desk/counter, I'm not lifting my entire arms to touch the screen, just my forearms/hands. If it's on my lap then the touchscreen is even more useful, as the screen being so close really works well and my arms are already supported. I can see your point more on a larger display such as on a full desktop setup. I also think Microsoft has done a very good job of integrating touch into Windows, not perfect by far, but very usable on a surface pro sized screen or above, it always puzzles me when others say it's so difficult.
I can only assume we have differing levels of strength and endurance as I can do this all day long without my arms getting tired in the least. If I don't have a touchscreen and have to use the trackpad all day then I do feel as if I am injuring myself by contorting my hand/wrist all day long, it's a big risk for repetitive stress injuries from an ergonomic perspective and I treat these all day long (same goes for a mouse). Although in reality I use a combination of touch, mouse, a bit of trackpad and keyboard input depending on the context. I suppose I don't really understand how you are using your device where your arms are raised all the time enough to get tired.
Also my apologies if I come across as combative, I definitely respect the way you use your device. I just don't think the entire category of touchscreens should be thrown out in terms of usefulness. Personally I find having a touchscreen incredibly useful, I cannot even begin to list the ways it increases my productivity at work, or just enjoyment when not working. But once again everyone is different.
The iPad is still an iPad, even with a Magic Keyboard
Nice hardware doesn’t change limiting software
www.theverge.com
So is the iPad a laptop or still an iPad? Dieter can’t seem to make up his mind. 🤔
Is it a prerequisite for Youtubers to pose with a silly dumb ass look for the thumbnail image?
It’s what you want it to be really with different usage cases.
The iPad is still an iPad, even with a Magic Keyboard
Nice hardware doesn’t change limiting software
So is the iPad a laptop or still an iPad? Dieter can’t seem to make up his mind. 🤔
The iPad is still an iPad, even with a Magic Keyboard
Nice hardware doesn’t change limiting software
So is the iPad a laptop or still an iPad? Dieter can’t seem to make up his mind. 🤔
He answers that question right in the title, it's still an ipad. Of course this is not just black and white, it highly depends on who, what, where, how, etc. I think what people miss is he's simply discussing his own experiences and opinions which are highly subjective. For his needs the magic keyboard does little to elevate it from being an ipad, but I can certainly see someone else having the opposite conclusion.
You can flip the keyboard around so it's flush with the keys facing the back of the tablet.
So, it’s remove keyboard, reattach backwards, the fold keyboard back? Wonder why Microsoft doesn’t show that?
[automerge]1587493331[/automerge]
Yes, it makes people click on their dumb ass look, apparently.
Except his tweet from the day before says the magic keyboard turns the iPad into a laptop.