Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro Reviews and Unboxing Videos: Huge Jump Forward in Usability, But Expensive and Heavy

[jcshas]

The point here is that iPad in its original design was positioned by Apple as a laptop replacement. It failed at that. Then Apple essentially turned it into a laptop (size, price, weight, keyboard, mouse etc.). With all these changes it somewhat approaches laptop functionality but what's the point? Now it became just another laptop.

i think youre wrong on this. The ipad was originally unveiled by Steve Jobs as a device that fits in between an iPhone and a Macbook.

 

[mrex]

Suppose the question has to be asked is there a need for a pencil with a built in trackpad? Should the pencil be used more using it as just a tablet?

there are work that needs both pencil and keyboard to be able to use ”simultaneously.”. apples idea is a cumbersome: use the keyboard or use the pencil, because you cannot tilt the ipad back enough to make is useful - attach-detach-attach-detach. and if you are going to use it on your lap, it is quite near while not tilting back enough to use the pencil at all.

 

[inkswamp]

$300.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Suppose the question has to be asked is there a need for a pencil with a built in trackpad? Should the pencil be used more using it as just a tablet?

EXACTLY. Which is why it's unbelievably easy to detach the iPad.

That said, I would love a mechanism or even a detent that allows it to be used almost like a drafting table, and that this would fold all the way over like a 2-in-1.

Microsoft got it right with the Surface, but the Windows trackpads and multitouch implementations are AWFUL.

This device keeps people like me from going over to MS. Smart for Apple to address this.

And now, third parties can go buck wild with alternative designs/solutions. The magnetic connection is killer.

 

[LovingTeddy]

who thinks to buy an ipad pro with the need for the magic keyboard, should go for the macbook instead....the weight is gone, the dimensions are near...but one runs just ipadOS....the other ipadOS apps, macOS apps, windows apps and linux
So if you need in general a keyboard clear go for macbook air or wait for the 14" Mbp

Exactly. The price point, the weight and generally usefulness is no where comparable with Mac....

 

[Currry]

I feel like Apple didn’t include a row for controls and media on the keyboard is so that way they can make another magic keyboard with it. :/

 

[LovingTeddy]

Exactly this. The point, surely, is that this optional, expensive accessory meets needs of those people who want a more desktop like experience for a certain subset of tasks.

By necessity, it is heavy because they Apple wanted to make it easy to detach with one hand to turn it back into being a tablet.

So describing its weight as a bad thing while simultaneously noting as a plus that it’s sturdy, seems entirely contradictory. If it was light and flimsy and you need two hands to take it out of the keyboard it would be the folio keyboard. If you want light and flimsy - get that keyboard instead - it’s still available.

This makes no sense. If you want desktop like experience, why not just get Mac instead. You are paying same amount money.

 

[lyngo]

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‘m not sure if you are trying to be sarcastic or not, but there are times that I use the iPad and do not need a mouse / trackpad or even hardly a real keyboard. Are you saying that I am not doing real work on my iPad?

 

[Rogifan]

The point here is that iPad in its original design was positioned by Apple as a laptop replacement. It failed at that. Then Apple essentially turned it into a laptop (size, price, weight, keyboard, mouse etc.). With all these changes it somewhat approaches laptop functionality but what's the point? Now it became just another laptop.

I don’t think Steve Jobs ever positioned the iPad as a laptop replacement.

I don’t think Tim Cook is trying to turn iPad into laptop. iPad doesn’t require a keyboard and can still be used as a mostly consumption device for those that want.

 

[Plinga]

I didn’t get that review. Sites like the Verge have been complaining about the iPad not being a real computer, just being a consumption device for years and now with this review the complaint is it makes the iPad too much like a laptop. Even though the screen is apparently very easy to detach from the keyboard when you want to use the device just to consume.

Apple, not primarily sites like the Verge, forces the the debate about if the iPad is a real computer with nationwide pr campaigns like ‘What’s a Computer?’ and the iPad is the best computer etc. However let’s not forget that Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a third category and the real question is if the Magic Keyboard with trackpad is a better iPad a better iPad i.e. a better transformational tablet

 

[Darth Tulhu]

This makes no sense. If you want desktop like experience, why not just get Mac instead. You are paying same amount money.

*Sigh*
If you want the best tablet experience, why not get an iPad instead? You can draw on it, it comes with a touchscreen, everything* works like the iPhone you already know and love, it's lighter, modular, and in many cases, you can use it as a computer too.

You are paying the same amount of money.

 

[Aston441]

For $400 after tax it should be made of carbon fiber and weigh almost nothing

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Apple, not primarily sites like the Verge, forces the the debate about if the iPad is a real computer with nationwide pr campaigns like ‘What’s a Computer?’ and the iPad is the best computer etc. However let’s not forget that Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a third category and the real question is if the Magic Keyboard with trackpad is a better iPad a better iPad i.e. a better transformational tablet

That's one way of looking at it.

I see it as Apple asking the question: Do you really need a pickup truck? We ALSO make this thing called a car...

Google "Post-PC Steve Jobs" for his position on it. He was SPOT ON.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I use mine as a tablet but mainly as a laptop replacement. My iPad rarely leaves the ASK and soon to be magic keyboard. I find the 12.9 too big to use in hand apart from on the sofa with my knees up so for me it’s always on a keyboard...sounds like you have the 11 inch model and use it as just a tablet. Depending on your usage I don’t think you need it

How did you come to the conclusion, I have the 11" iPad? I'm using a 12,9 iPad Pro. 🤷‍♂️

 

[erasr]

If you think about it, the camera hole on the back has very limited use. Is it even needed?! It just makes it look ugly when you have the 2018 iPad Pro.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I hope this is sarcasm.

Do graphic artists not do real work? You can create a masterpiece, and attach a copy to a text document you composed, and send it to your team at a creative agency with more ease than ever before.

Pretty sure people get paid for this.
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Now THIS is a valid argument against the keyboard. That is the trade-off of having the iPad "float".

Another thing I see is, iPad protection when NOT on the keyboard.

I guess you can only have a skin on your iPad? Does that interfere with the operation?

No no no, it's not sarcasm. People said they want a keyboard/trackpad so they can do real men's work now.

 

[nylon]

Love the debate. Keyboard is expensive no doubt. Most of the reviews indicate how much more of laptop experience the keyboard makes the iPad. In my view that's a good thing. It can be a tablet when you want, just yank it off the keyboard, and also provide a great typing experience. Best of both worlds IMO. It's almost like the versatility is the point. /s

 

[Braderunner]

Why oh why not to find a spot for holding and charging Apple Pencil. Im loosing them constantly as they detach in the bag!

That’s better than misplacing it.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I don’t think Steve Jobs ever positioned the iPad as a laptop replacement.

I don’t think Tim Cook is trying to turn iPad into laptop. iPad doesn’t require a keyboard and can still be used as a mostly consumption device for those that want.

That image sums it up nicely. The iPad a DIFFERENT way for doing the stuff in the middle column. If drawing is your primary, ahem, draw, the it's the ONLY way.

 

[D.T.]

I don’t think Tim Cook is trying to turn iPad into laptop. iPad doesn’t require a keyboard and can still be used as a mostly consumption device for those that want.

Yep. This is an accessory, not a required peripheral.

 

[petvas]

Steve Jobs envisioned a device that would be easy to use and intuitive for everyone. We don't know what his plan was, but I think that he wanted the iPad to become the computer for everyone. He called desktop computers trucks, and that is still true. His analogy was correct. Most people find it difficult to use a computer device based on a desktop OS. The iPad is just incredible easy to use and maintain.
It has become more capable each year and I think in 2-3 years we will see much more from the platform. We are at the beginning.
Having said that, I personally prefer macOS, but that doesn't mean I don't see the merits of using iOS. I actually enjoy it most of the time.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

No no no, it's not sarcasm. People said the want a keyboard/trackpad so they can do real men's work now.

I don't need a keyboard/trackpad to perform covert ops in a foreign country or call-in an airstrike in support of ground assets in a theater of war (which leaves a Mac out), but I sure could use an iPad...

What real men's work were you referring to?

 

[Mr.Blacky]

there are work that needs both pencil and keyboard to be able to use ”simultaneously.”. apples idea is a cumbersome: use the keyboard or use the pencil, because you cannot tilt the ipad back enough to make is useful - attach-detach-attach-detach. and if you are going to use it on your lap, it is quite near while not tilting back enough to use the pencil at all.

What work does need both the pencil and a keyboard?

 

[johnnylarue]

For $400 after tax it should be made of carbon fiber and weigh almost nothing

I take it you skipped Physics in middle school?

 

[The Game 161]

How did you come to the conclusion, I have the 11" iPad? I'm using a 12,9 iPad Pro.

To use a Device often in portrait I assumed it would not be the 11 inch