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Mike Boreham

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 10, 2006
3,904
1,894
UK
Would I be right that the Magic Keyboard has no resistance to spills and crumb ingress? On the videos it looks like the backlight can be seen round the edges of the keys indicating a gap.

The Folio Keyboard has a continuous membrane so I assume it is spillproof to a degree, and crumb proof (good thing for butterfly keys).
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,021
2,897
Correct.

The Magic Keyboard will be just like any other keyboard which doesn't have a sealed membrane. For all the criticism of the Folio Keyboard (and its materials in particular), the keys were bombproof thanks to the membrane.
 

Royksöpp

macrumors 68020
Nov 4, 2013
2,406
4,024
Well for $300 I would expect any decent person to be very careful with it regardless. It's going to have to be treated like a laptop.
 
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Toratek

macrumors 6502a
Oct 10, 2019
520
1,081
Unquestionably, you need to treat it like any other mechanical keyboard.
 

Mike Boreham

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 10, 2006
3,904
1,894
UK
After reading all the reviews this is now the biggest factor holding me back.

With the ASK the iPad is a go anywhere device with a lightweight protected keyboard cover.

With the MK it becomes heavier and more like a delicate laptop, and needs to be treated as such.

It all depends on your usage.
 
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steve217

macrumors 6502a
Nov 11, 2011
542
844
NC
With the ASK the iPad is a go anywhere device with a lightweight protected keyboard cover.

With the MK it becomes heavier and more like a delicate laptop, and needs to be treated as such.

I agree. I think that for mobile, keyboarding in an iOS tablet, an iPad Air 3 with an ASK is the most affordable, durable solution.
 

Fat.tofu

macrumors regular
Mar 24, 2020
121
150
Maybe the next gen MK will be waterproof..

Apple lodged a new design patent back in march for debris & water-proof keyboard.
Flat on the surface and may double as a trackpad, but still use a mechanical keys (has travel)
Its likely for next gen smart keyboard folio as well.

But as you know most patents don’t make it to see lights of day 🙂🙃



Extra: The patent for MK metal hinges were granted last June 2019.. and made it to life 🙂🙃

 

KittyKatta

macrumors 65816
Feb 24, 2011
1,058
1,212
SoCal
The sealed Smart Keyboard is something I never appreciated until now.

After 5 years of using Smart Keyboards then crumbs, environment and light spills was NEVER something I even thought about. In fact, the only durability problems I ever had with Smart Keyboards was due to the external materials. And unfortunately, its the same garbage external skin that they use on my Magic Keyboard.
 
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