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

[C. Robert]

Yes and that is you.

I think MacOS is uninspiring. I do not like to manage multiple windows and I cannot seem to find the window that I want always. File management is great for OSX if you like managing files. I do not like managing files. I want to go to my app and open my most recent files.

(Anyway, even for me using a Mac, my folders in OSX are just one hot dumpster fire of files. There is no file management for me at all, just feels too lazy to keep everything sorted).

I do not want to spend $1000 dollars for a Mac that is now in 2020, a watered down version of iOS. Just look at the new features of the last two OS versions, all they have now are watered down versions of new iOS features.

Those laptops that have a touch screen and 120 fps screens, they suck as tablets, and frankly they also suck as laptops.

Mouse and keyboard is better when it comes to some computing applications. Do pilots needs a mouse and a keyboard to look at flight paths, or for doctors going through medical charts? These people are more professional than most of us (in terms of years of professional training), yet for their most critical tasks when they are up an about, they can use the iPad.

This is the best post ever. Macs are great for doing all the things in life that are boring. If you like doing boring things then buy a Mac and do them. I’d rather have an iPad and when it’s time to do boring things, I’ll do them at work or on a desktop.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

five different keyboards for iPads.

5?

In tablet "mode" it's a cumbersome solution, it is just not comfortable.

I had assumed that, like all the iPads, the cover actually laid flat on the back of the Surface. It doesn’t. I see what you mean by not comfortable.

 

[satchmo]

Dieter Bohn reviews always stand apart from the rest. He’s not a fan boy so his reviews are balanced, thoughtful and fair.
The others are simply not in the same league.

 

[cmaier]

Question: Is there any chance in the future that there will be a layer added to iPadOS that allows MacOS apps to run? Akin to how there is movement in being able to port iOS apps to MacOs?

Technologically possible, but unlikely to happen. Apple considers iOS to be the better operating system, and what it wants is for developers to develop apps for iOS that also work on MacOS.

 

[AppleInLVX]

Which is great, UNLESS you want a trackpad and a case to carry. If the folio design had a tackpad then sure, this is more of a dock. The current folio wont work by its design though as half the cover is taken up by the ipad itself.

But there are zero options if you want a portable case and trackpad; the feature Apple has been touting up-front for months in its marketing.

I believe Logitech made one but only for the 10.2 for some reason. So zero options right now for a bigger iPad.

I'm not sure what it is you're looking for. You want something like the folio, but with a trackpad, but there seems no good way to do that given the size restrictions. I think this thing only works like that because it 'floats' which opens up some space, and allows for the various angles that the folio does not. I don't think it'd be possible to give this kind of typing experience at the same time as allowing a folio-like experience and have it be nearly as good. Now, granted, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm totally looking forward to it. From the reviews, I think it's made for folks like myself whose main use case outside of content consumption (like youtube videos, reddit surfing, etc) is writing and word processing. I'm really looking forward to it and seeing how much more I will hopefully enjoy using my iPad when I hit the cafes to do some writing.

 

[TomaxXamot]

Crazy to think this keyboard case costs more than the HomePod. Looks great but I can't justify spending $350 for it

Whoah I thought you were joking. Checked the Apple Store app and it’s $449 CAD. Wtf??

 

[LovingTeddy]

Yes and that is you.

I think MacOS is uninspiring. I do not like to manage multiple windows and I cannot seem to find the window that I want always. File management is great for OSX if you like managing files. I do not like managing files. I want to go to my app and open my most recent files.

(Anyway, even for me using a Mac, my folders in OSX are just one hot dumpster fire of files. There is no file management for me at all, just feels too lazy to keep everything sorted).

I do not want to spend $1000 dollars for a Mac that is now in 2020, a watered down version of iOS. Just look at the new features of the last two OS versions, all they have now are watered down versions of new iOS features.

Those laptops that have a touch screen and 120 fps screens, they suck as tablets, and frankly they also suck as laptops.

Mouse and keyboard is better when it comes to some computing applications. Do pilots needs a mouse and a keyboard to look at flight paths, or for doctors going through medical charts? These people are more professional than most of us (in terms of years of professional training), yet for their most critical tasks when they are up an about, they can use the iPad.

In what term do you think MacOS is uninspiring? If you can't manage multiple windows and cannot seem to find the windows you want, then it is safe to assume you are not well organized. It is your problem, not macOS's problem. I don't know what is your profession, but if you have deal with lots of paperworks and short them through, you will have lots of difficulty.

If you think pilots and medical profession looking at charts or flight path is professional work, then you are underestimate what profession work is. iPad can't help pilots deal with emergency, it is just a paper replacement for flight chart. It can be done with any kind of computing devices, including a real computer. Medical professional will do their research on real computer and publish their research on real computer. They are likely to deal with lots of data, lots of papers to look, they are likely to open multiple browser windows and multiple documents at same time, good luck doing that on iPad.

 

[Rogifan]

I guess on some level, I was hoping against hope that it could fold back and Apple simply didn’t show this in the promo shots. Which is a shame, because the reviews all point towards this magic keyboard offering an excellent typing experience (even more so than the Smart Keyboard).

Watching iJustine’s review video has whetted my appetite for the 12.9” iPad Pro though. Staying at home and preparing HBL resources for my students means a lot more time spent behind the desk and that larger screen is looking mighty tempting...

I have a 12.9” iPad though I don’t use a physical keyboard. I would never go back a smaller screen. I love the big screen. iPad OS multitasking is so much better on the larger screen.

 

[Rogifan]

Gruber gets a Schiller re-tweet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1252426100237451265

 

[satchmo]

Gruber gets a Schiller re-tweet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1252426100237451265

What a shill. 😏

 

[nylon]

I have a feeling Grubers take is going to be many people's experience.

 

[Rogifan]

What a shill. 😏

He’s been pretty anti iPad (or iPad OS at least) for a while so I suppose he felt it was time to dial it back a bit.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Frankly, I don't know how inspiring iPadOS is. It is very lacklustre in terms of multitasking, file management and running professional applications. Spending $1000 dollar into iPad Pro that runs watered down version of macOS and spend even more money just to make it as a laptop is frankly laughable, not motion it is more heavier than MacBook Air.

There are so many laptop out there has touch scree, 120fps screen and more powerful and capable than iPad Pro could ever dreamed of.

Tell me old school. Mouse and Keyboard is better than touch when comes to computing devise. Touch screen makes sense to phones. Mouse and keyboard is much more accurate and more efficient. Complete file system with proper file management is key for any professional settings. A real multitasking capable OS should be basic for any Professional devices.

And yet Microsoft, THE mouse and keyboard folks, have put a touchscreen on damn near EVERY PC out there.

I agree on the file management thing though, and would love for iPadOS to make it more robust and Android-like.

A tablet is a handheld device primarily, and is far less unwieldy than a laptop. Touch is the only thing that makes sense for it, because it's DIFFERENT device altogether. So now you have accuracy when you need it, AND an OS designed from the ground up to use your finger when you don't. Microsoft has this backwards, which makes the iPad a better tablet.

 

[luccalabs]

Sara Dietschy's video is the only one that really properly reviews this imo. Everyone else's video would be a little better served with just saying "get a macbook air"; while they mention the cons, they are generally glossed over to dote on what apple has gotten right... but has already perfected in the macbook air.

- This (12.9") weighs more than the macbook air, costs more, and is less versatile from a laptop's point of view. (Missing keys, running iPadOS vs MacOS, hardware etc...)
- You have to physically remove the iPad from the case to take serious notes or draw as the keyboard doesn't flip behind the iPad like the current folio keyboard.

The pencil input and being lightweight are arguably what sets the iPad apart from a traditional laptop, this case decreases the effectiveness of both of those features. It might be amazing at what it does, but what it does isn't necessarily amazing.

 

[cmaier]

Sara Dietschy's video is the only one that really properly reviews this imo. Everyone else's video would be a little better served with just saying "get a macbook air"; while they mention the cons, they are generally glossed over to dote on what apple has gotten right... but has already perfected in the macbook air.

- This (12.9") weighs more than the macbook air, costs more, and is less versatile from a laptop's point of view. (Missing keys, running iPadOS vs MacOS, hardware etc...)

Whereas a MacBook Air makes a piss-poor tablet.

Versatility depends on your point of view.

- You have to physically remove the iPad from the case to take serious notes or draw as the keyboard doesn't flip behind the iPad like the current folio keyboard.

Whereas your macbook air doesn’t suffer from that issue?

The pencil input and being lightweight are arguably what sets the iPad apart from a traditional laptop, this case decreases the effectiveness of both of those features. It might be amazing at what it does, but what it does isn't necessarily amazing.

How’s the pencil input on your MacBook Air?

 

[dingclancy23]

Whereas a MacBook Air makes a piss-poor tablet.

Versatility depends on your point of view.



Whereas your macbook air doesn’t suffer from that issue?



How’s the pencil input on your MacBook Air?

I agree. It does not make sense how one on end they say it does not make it a better tablet, so.. their ridiculous recommendation is just buy a laptop?

 

[luccalabs]

Whereas a MacBook Air makes a piss-poor tablet.

Versatility depends on your point of view.



Whereas your macbook air doesn’t suffer from that issue?



How’s the pencil input on your MacBook Air?

True, and this is why I said Sara Dietschy's video is the best of the lot. She mentions the Windows based approach of going from Laptop->Touch/Tablet vs Apple going the Touch/Tablet Device->Laptop route and suggests it might make more sense to just carry a magic trackpad or physical mouse with you than going with the Magic Keyboard.

so yeah, the comment about saying that they should just recommend "buy a macbook air" was a hyperbole

 

[dingclancy23]

In what term do you think MacOS is uninspiring? If you can't manage multiple windows and cannot seem to find the windows you want, then it is safe to assume you are not well organized. It is your problem, not macOS's problem. I don't know what is your profession, but if you have deal with lots of paperworks and short them through, you will have lots of difficulty.

If you think pilots and medical profession looking at charts or flight path is professional work, then you are underestimate what profession work is. iPad can't help pilots deal with emergency, it is just a paper replacement for flight chart. It can be done with any kind of computing devices, including a real computer. Medical professional will do their research on real computer and publish their research on real computer. They are likely to deal with lots of data, lots of papers to look, they are likely to open multiple browser windows and multiple documents at same time, good luck doing that on iPad.

You can keep your windows and files. I get it, organized people likes to manage windows and files, or the tedious and boring task of lining them up properly.

If your "real computer" can be used as flight charts, that is their choice. It is an asinine tool to use to replace paper.

Medical professionals did research on paper before "real computers" were invented. Medical research done on laptops were great for the last 30 years out of the hundreds of years that medical professionals have been doing research.

You insist that your real computer is the only way to do professional stuff where the paradigm has only been useful for the last 30 years. Actually, your real computer became important in the last 15 years only, and before then there were desktops.

Laptops as real computers won't last long. Especially now that iPads has a legitimate clamshell mode. The software inside it won't take long to change how we do work.

 

[Scream And Fly]

As has been the case with Youtube reviewers for a while now, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Or at least, most of them. I really wonder about the objectivity of some of these Youtubers. “It’s amazing!” “Definitely the best keyboard ever!” “Expensive but worth it!” “OMG! OMG! OMG!” “If you can afford it, you should get one for sure!”

Yeah yeah, I know.

 

[jonnyb]

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

Because I want a tablet experience 70% of the time, and a desktop experience 30% of the time. Does that not make sense to you?

 

[hansheiner]

I am shocked how great this keyboard is to type on.

I have the 11‘ version.

Normally I use a mechanical keyboard with blue switches for work and writing and have also been using the 2017 Butterfly Macbook Pro 13’.

I thought the keyboard would be nice but still small. I am quite tall with large hands.

The truth is, I can type faster on this thing then on any of my other keyboards. It’s amazing.

Also, the trackpad in conjunction with ios is a game changer for me.

I have been hammering out E-Mails and Word docs, writing in scrivener, flying between apps, its just a joy. (proof reading contracts while doing research and taking notes on a screen this small is of course still a pain but you can’t have everything)

Sorry for the hype. It’s just that I am very surprised how much I like it.

 

[SimonMScott]

iJustine has just posted an update / Q+A type video which is actually a really good and honest watch.

She goes into all the questions asked of her review video, gives honest criticism where needed and shows quite a few tips and tricks!

Even has an (albeit awkward) workaround for if you quickly need to draw or take notes!

 

[imlovinit]

If this was $100 cheaper there would be a ton more love for it.

 

[otternonsense]

Function keys are mostly useful on a desktop OS, but on the iPad I don’t really see the use. I don’t see any apps that support function keys. I would prefer though to have a dedicated multitasking (expose) button.

Weighs more than a MacBook Air and costs more than one too. And has less functionality! Where do I sign up?!

Only the geniuses at Apple would make a keyboard built specifically for their own devices and leave off something as important as function keys. And then charge 300+ dollars for it. Line up, suckers.

My problem, as an owner of a 16" MBP, Magic Keyboard 2 and a Smart Keyboard for the 10.5 iPad Pro is they're three different keyboard experiences which instead of converging keep living separate lives. That's one of my first gripes, that key sizing and placement varies in small yet real ways that break habit forming when you switch between devices.

By far my least favourite keyboard is the Smart Keyboard, even if it can be the most handy (e.g. when I want to pencil down some notes during traveling or conducting user interviews), it's also the most annoying because of the following:
- Lack of custom keyboard shortcuts (iOS drawback)
- Lack of fn key. I tend to use fn+delete a lot when writing and it makes me grate my teeth whenever I hit the globe button instead of what I expect
- Lack of function row and escape button. Even if I'm firmly on the anti-touchbar team, I do use these keys a lot, whether on the MBP or MK2. I don't care if "the iPad doesn't really use these" or not because someone who uses a keyboard does. And if Apple is serious about turning the iPad into a computer of its own merit, they'd better think with their users for once and move on from the toaster fridge phase already. I'm also aware you can set a different modifier key as escape but it's wonky and the habit doesn't stick when you move back and forth from a Mac
- Modifier keys are a half measure and miss options like fn
- Is there now an indication if caps lock is on or not? Because there sure wasn't before

Until Apple addresses these pure usability issues, no amount of better materials or fancy hinge mechanics can turn this fundamentally compromised keyboard into a daily driver, especially for that price.
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Gruber gets a Schiller re-tweet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1252426100237451265

Hah! I got a Schiller block for telling him they shouldn't have photoshopped the iMac bezels on their promo photography last year. This guy is such a tool.

 

[BMox81]

This Keyboard makes me not want to buy anymore Apple products.

There has to come a time where enough is enough and I think I've reached my limit.

That is not a peripheral worthy of being £300 imo.