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Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro Reviews and Unboxing Videos: Huge Jump Forward in Usability, But Expensive and Heavy
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An iPad is good for tablet stuff, but it is not good for creating spreadsheets, doing serious RAW image processing, or many other things that require computer style apps and a lot of horsepower and RAM. The iPad apps simply cannot get the job done for those kind of applications. I don’t care how great this tracking keyboard is, it doesn't address the fact that iPad apps are not in the same league as MacOS apps, and iPadOS is not in the same league as MacOS. If you really need this keyboard, then you probably need a MacBook. This will never turn any iPad into a MacBook replacement...
Someone over on Reddit (forget who so props to that person) said that this should be thought of more as a dock than a folio keyboard. The thinking being that the folio compromised on keyboard quality to be a foldable accessory. If you can take the iPad off easily enough, it no longer needs to worry about table top/pencil/couch surfing content use. This is where you dock your iPad if you want to do some work on it.
Pretty astute I thought. Also, this now gives the optionof choosing to work with OSX (on the Air) or iPadOS on the iPad. There's a lot to be said for the iPadOS experience, and I think this is where Apple is playing around most to get a sense of where the OSes will go going forward. It's actually pretty fun to work on an iPad and in some ways better as I find it more single-purpose driven and less distractions.
YMMV, but I've already got one on order. Call me a sucker, but I get a lot out of my iPad as a mobile device.
Pretty astute I thought. Also, this now gives the optionof choosing to work with OSX (on the Air) or iPadOS on the iPad. There's a lot to be said for the iPadOS experience, and I think this is where Apple is playing around most to get a sense of where the OSes will go going forward. It's actually pretty fun to work on an iPad and in some ways better as I find it more single-purpose driven and less distractions.
YMMV, but I've already got one on order. Call me a sucker, but I get a lot out of my iPad as a mobile device.
It will for many people just not everybody,
And with the apps maybe coming in IOS 14 it’s clear apple are trying to turn this into a good option for pro apps.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Fellas, enough with the "MacBook is better" tropes as a disqualifier for this thing. It may be better for YOU. And that's fine.
The MacBook and iPad are FUNDAMENTALLY different products.
You cannot draw on a MacBook like you can on an iPad. Many people prefer interacting with their device like they do with their iPhone.
This keyboard AUGMENTS the iPad's capability. It's not an argument AGAINST laptop ownership or use for EVERYONE.
I LOVE that you don't need it for you to coax the full potential out of the iPad (unlike Surface products that work better with a mouse). It merely allows you to do things a bit differently, if you choose to.
I don't draw, and I prefer and am more efficient on macOS, so I'd pick an MBA in a heartbeat over this.
But my daughter LOVES to draw and her iPad is her primary device. This keyboard gives her the extra functionality she can use without having to shell out another $1K for an MBA. From that perspective, it SAVES me $700.
What's not to like?
The MacBook and iPad are FUNDAMENTALLY different products.
You cannot draw on a MacBook like you can on an iPad. Many people prefer interacting with their device like they do with their iPhone.
This keyboard AUGMENTS the iPad's capability. It's not an argument AGAINST laptop ownership or use for EVERYONE.
I LOVE that you don't need it for you to coax the full potential out of the iPad (unlike Surface products that work better with a mouse). It merely allows you to do things a bit differently, if you choose to.
I don't draw, and I prefer and am more efficient on macOS, so I'd pick an MBA in a heartbeat over this.
But my daughter LOVES to draw and her iPad is her primary device. This keyboard gives her the extra functionality she can use without having to shell out another $1K for an MBA. From that perspective, it SAVES me $700.
What's not to like?
Biggest question now - can we run StarCraft (preferrably 2, Brood War is acceptable though) on it?
Many of us prefer to have a keyboard and a trackpad because (among other things) we need to write a lot with the iPad but we don't use it for "heavy" tasks like the ones you're referring to...Everyone has different needs.
These are two completely different devices, so you can't really compare them. Someone could easily say "Crazy to think this HomePod costs almost as much as the Magic Keyboard! Sounds great, but I really can't justify spending $300 for it!"Crazy to think this keyboard case costs more than the HomePod. Looks great but I can't justify spending $350 for it
TouchéSurface Book. I believe that the Surface Book 3 release is just around the corner.
I can see having it docked at the desk and getting work done. When you get up to walk away are you leaving it or taking it with you. Once leaving my desk I might sit at the table out back to enjoy the weather when its nice or I might be on the couch. Once everything clears up I will be away from the house. Are you taking it with you and will it be a good fit on the go? Will you need to go someplace with a table or plan to pull it off and on and use it mostly as a carrier on the go. Will you pop it off and go to another room just to get up, walk back to the office and grab it so you can use it again for typing or haul it around even when you might be in tablet mode the rest of the day or maybe thats something you have to decide before you walk away. Point is, folio for all its faults can go with you and fold away waiting for a need to type. If only they would have made it to fold back it would be the one accessory. Better keyboard and trackpad but, with weight and form factor its limited to a specific task.
The irony here is that you'll be replacing a laptop with a desktop. People are saying that the new keyboard does not really work well on the laps.
I think the dissonance youre detailing is a product of comparing the verge as an entity with the reviewers opinions as an individual . I dont know if he said that in the past, but he mightve. Even if he did, however, i dont think its a damning contradiction. Apple has long operated under the idea that users’ requests aren’t carefully contemplated enough and that their job as designers is to understand the root of their requests and make a product that dodges the compromises of the user’s idea and delights them in a way that they couldnt have envisioned. This keyboard seems to be a product of criticism rather than that vision.
Actually reviews are saying it works far better on the lap than the surface and the old Smart Keyboard. Which to me was never a big issue on the lap. It was more of an issue using the Magic Trackpad on the sofa. Now that problem is gone with the built in trackpad. So no It will be just fine
I cancelled my order. Unfortunately, you cannot use the iPad as a tablet while in the case, like you could with the previous smart keyboard case. I often flip the keyboard onto the back and use the iPad in portrait mode to write with the Pencil. With this case, you have to remove the iPad from the case to use it like that. I find that to be a drawback as it makes it less versatile for me. I don't want to remove the iPad from the case, and then have to keep track of the case separately.
This argument is getting old and tired. Anyone who's used Luma Fusion (and there are many, many positive video reviews of this powerful app made by video pros who earn their living using Final Cut Pro on the Mac) knows that the iPad Pro is capable of professional quality video editing, while making the task far more enjoyable. (And that's only ONE category of computer work.)
iPad doesn't work for you? Fine, just don't use it. Trashing it is not a good use of time, especially when so many others are using their time being productive on this forward-looking platform.
I think you're lying. You most definitely need a keyboard and mouse/trackpad for REAL work. If you don't use a real keyboard and mouse/trackpad, it's just a toy.
I've ordered one & look forward to receiving it this week.
A lot of my work is (was) two-days a week travelling to see clients - two hours each way on a train with wifi & table (MS Outlook, Teams & Excel), two full days going from meeting to meeting (Pencil handwritten notes in Agenda), typing-up actions and creating documents (Word) and maybe some Netflix / YouTube / iPlayer / eBay / Facetime / Photos editing / Zoom overnight in a hotel. Constant usage, but all very lightweight requirements in sequence, not parallel.
The keyboard & trackpad will enable me to leave my MBP at home & travel much lighter vs taking both devices. Either would be fine, there's a lot of overlap between both, but I like the iPad better & this accessory addresses the few shortcomings it had *for me*.
A lot of my work is (was) two-days a week travelling to see clients - two hours each way on a train with wifi & table (MS Outlook, Teams & Excel), two full days going from meeting to meeting (Pencil handwritten notes in Agenda), typing-up actions and creating documents (Word) and maybe some Netflix / YouTube / iPlayer / eBay / Facetime / Photos editing / Zoom overnight in a hotel. Constant usage, but all very lightweight requirements in sequence, not parallel.
The keyboard & trackpad will enable me to leave my MBP at home & travel much lighter vs taking both devices. Either would be fine, there's a lot of overlap between both, but I like the iPad better & this accessory addresses the few shortcomings it had *for me*.