Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro Review

Apple'siPad Prois an amazing piece of hardware that’s gated by its software. With a 120Hz display, powerful speakers, and support for the unparalleled Apple Pencil stylus, it’s a gorgeous18beplay for reading, writing, and creating art, and its processor measures up to the ones in most365beplay体育手机 。神奇的键盘(11 -起价299美元inch model) finally turns the iPad Pro into the gorgeous convertible laptop it’s been trying to become for years. Snapped into the keyboard like a cockpit, the iPad’s hardware is second to none. But it still doesn't have the full productivity apps it needs to supplant similarly priced Mac laptops.

Gorgeous Hardware

Like Apple'sSmart Keyboard(which doesn't have a trackpad), the Magic Keyboard snaps onto your iPad magnetically. The tablet hangs off at an adjustable angle, floating a bit in midair. It’s a useful and gorgeous effect, once you get used to how sturdy it is.

The keyboard has 64 roomy, full-sized keys that use the same mechanism as Apple’s new laptops: scissor switches with a satisfying bit of throw that makes it easy to type quickly. The keys are subtly backlit without noticeable light leaking out from under or between them; you can alter the light level in settings. The trackpad is satisfyingly clicky, and supports multi-touch.

The key layout is very basic. There are arrows, command, control, and option keys, as well as a “globe” key (which I set to escape), but no dedicated media keys or function keys. The cursor keys are half-height.

Since it uses the iPad’s Smart Connector, the keyboard is perfectly responsive and accurate. I’ve had some issues with lag and double-typing on Bluetooth keyboards, but I didn’t have that here.

In the case, the iPad is firm and balanced, as easy to use and as stable on a lap as aMacBook Pro, to the point that you can sort of forget it isn’t a laptop. That isn’t true with kickstand-based solutions like the Microsoft Surface devices or the Logitech Combo Pro case, which can wobble on your knees.

The case isn’t entirely protective; unlike withLogitech’s Bluetooth cases, there is no rubber bumper that goes around the edges of the iPad, meaning if it’s dropped on the wrong edge, the impact may damage it. But at least it folds together and protects the screen, with a rim around the camera on the back, protecting the iPad’s two main glass elements.

There’s a pass-through USB-C port on the keyboard’s sturdy metal hinge, which can charge your tablet while leaving the main USB-C port open for peripherals like headphones.

The Magic Keyboard appears to have a negative impact on your iPad Pro's battery. I lost about 50 percent of battery life in three hours when using it nonstop with a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Without the keyboard, the iPad lasts nearly eight hours on a full charge, so there's definitely a bit of extra battery drain happening here.

Not Quite a Mac

Apple has been improvingiPadOSby leaps and bounds recently. Trackpad support means you can now ergonomically use your iPad as a laptop, without the reaching-and-pointing that you used to have to do. Multi-window support lets you take notes on a web page or webcast. There are a lot more ways to exchange files between applications than there used to be.

But the flexibility for complex, multi-application professional workloads still falls behindmacOS。Take the two pillars of the Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office and apps. They’re both good on the iPad, but neither has the full set of features in the macOS versions. OurPhotoshop for iPad reviewhas a long list of features we’re waiting for, like effects, a history brush, a blur/smudge tool, and batch operations.

iPadOS’s application sandboxing also just keeps getting in the way. Taking notes on an Ericsson webcast, I found that it would pause every time I threw it into the background to check something on a different web page. That doesn’t happen on a Mac. The Mail application doesn’t properly push my Gmail. And moving files from one application to another still involves a do-si-do with the share panel or a cloud file storage service.

This would all be fine if the iPad Pro/keyboard combo didn’t cost so much. A base model 11-inch iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard costs $1,198, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with keyboard costs $1,348. Apple’s base 13-inchMacbook Aircosts $999, while its base13-inch Macbook Procosts $1,299.

Are there things the iPad can do that the Mac can’t? Sure. They’re mostly associated with the Apple Pencil (another $129) or with the tablet’s rear camera. But looking at the devicesaslaptops, there’s so much more a Mac can do simply because its software is still more capable.

Conclusions

Apple’s engineers should be celebrated for designing the best tablet keyboard cover I’ve ever used. Rarely have I had a tablet experience that’s quite so solid and stable when kicking back on the couch.

但是,如果you have $1,200 or more to spend on an Apple product, I still say get a Mac. If you’re looking to use an iPad as a laptop replacement, the $499iPad Airwith the $149 Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard Case With Trackpad totals $648 and brings you almost all of the capabilities we see here.

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably married to Apple's platforms, but I’d like to point out that the pricing here is out of whack with Windows competitors, as well. TheMicrosoft Surface Pro 7costs $1,060 with an Intel Core i5, 128GB of storage, and a Type Cover With Trackpad. That’s about as powerful as the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard combination hardware-wise, but like a Mac, the Surface Pro can run full desktop versions of popular business software.

Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro

3.5

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$349.00at Adorama

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MSRP $349.00

Pros

• Responsive and easy to type on
• Excellent build quality
• Trackpad makes iPad much more usable as a laptop
• Pass-through USB-C port

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Cons

• Expensive
• Uses some iPad battery

The Bottom Line

Apple's beautifully built Magic Keyboard turns your iPad Pro into a laptop with satisfying keys and a trackpad—at a very high price.