Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Review

Perfectly Tailored For Your iPad Pro!

I’ve had a love hate relationship with my iPad ever since it first appeared some ten years ago (really cannot believe how time has flown!).

At first it was, as Steve Jobs said, a “magical device” - a flat sheet of glass that felt great in your hands, you could interact with it and watch things with it. It was infinitely more portable than a laptop but that’s where the magic disappeared and frustration began. Because it definitely was not a laptop replacement - it never has been and (SPOILER ALERT!) - in my opinion it still isn’t.

I’ve used every iteration of Apple’s own keyboard cases with my iPads over the years, as well as some third party ones by the likes of Logitech, but combined with the limitations of iOS and these often awkward add-ons, I’ve not been able to embrace the iPad as my daily working driver and my trusty MacBook has retained it’s place on my desk.

The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro has shifted the balance somewhat (though not totally) and it gives a glimpse of what the future could someday look like if Apple can just decide what it wants to do with it’s mobile operating systems. But maybe that’s a story for another day.

The Magic Keyboard & Apple Folios

Getting back to the Magic Keyboard - this was announced earlier in Spring 2020 and immediately I was interested. Having had a 2016 MacBook Pro with Apple’s Butterfly Keyboard (which failed a few times and was horrible to type on), I finally gave into my frustration and got rid, upgrading to a new MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard in January this year. Which sounds crazy given the keyboard was the main source of frustration but trust me, when you type a lot it makes a huge difference.

The new MacBook keyboard is just so tactile, I have gone back to typing without having to glance at the keyboard at all as I get feedback from the keyboard and the keys. There is a satisfying “thunk” when you strike the keys and the whole thing with just that little bit of key travel feels much more solid and reliable.

Apple’s iPad Keyboard Folios over the years have been, quite frankly, downright disappointing. The soft, fabric covered keys offered no typing satisfaction whatsoever and given a choice between using those or typing on the glass screen, I just gave up using my iPad for much meaningful work. 90% of my iPad Pro’s use has been for content consumption and showing things to clients (as a bespoke tailor helping people improve the way they dress, image and therefore visual storytelling is very important).

iPad’s are not exactly cheap devices and not being able to WORK properly on the thing has just made me feel somewhat cheated - and I am one of those people that could make do with the lowest spec version of the iPad probably for the reasons just mentioned, but I’m always wanting to have the extra power both for longevity and for the promise of potential.

So when the rumour started that the 2020 iPad Pros would also have a brand new Apple Smart Keyboard Cover which would have a Magic Keyboard built in, I was immediately interested. When the announcement came and we got to see the new accessory for the first time, it blew me away. It just looked so beautiful - the Magic Keyboard was there alright, but then what’s that just below the keyboard? A touchpad… what the heck?? Could my totally overpowered and therefore under-utilised 2018 iPad Pro be about to get a new lease of life and finally realise it’s full potential as both content consumer and producer?

Groundhog Pre-Order Day

Of course the new Magic Keyboard was delayed with no real due date visible… the 2020 iPad Pro was released around March and the Keyboard didn’t become available for pre-order until sometime in late April I recall. There wasn’t much fanfare when it finally appeared on Apple’s site - in true Apple fashion I guess it didn’t need any because a few million Apple customers were probably checking the Apple Store every day! Not me mind you - we were a few weeks into lockdown due to Coronavirus and I was somewhat pre-occupied with having to close the business temporarily and everything that came along with that.

I did manage to order sometime in May (it was a two week lead time) - but the price was bugging me. £349 just seemed to not instinctively represent great value. So after a few days I cancelled the pre-order.

Then I tried to make do with my existing set up, got frustrated with the folio keyboard and so pre-ordered the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard again. And then a few days later cancelled my pre-order.

And repeat another 2-3 times… I just struggled to reconcile spending that much money on a keyboard cover, especially with our household income being so severely reduced.

I resolved to put it out of my mind and struggle on until a friend of friend mentioned that they knew someone who was a designer, had bought the Magic Keyboard for their iPad Pro and having used it for a couple days decided it was not for them. As a designer she mostly used her iPad flat on the table and didn’t like having to lift the device off to do it every time. We did a deal at £270 and I took it off her hands, feeling infinitely better about it from a value point of view (especially as I then sold my Keyboard Folio for about £100 a few days later so even more justified!).

Love At First Type

The moment I unboxed it and popped my iPad on to the magnetic stand I was hooked. It just felt amazing. I immediately went through my email inbox looking for any excuse to message people… I opened iMessages and sent a flurry of texts out to friends… I just wanted to keep typing and typing!

The trackpad was an unexpected bonus too - no longer did I have to keep poking my finger at the screen, I could mark, highlight, select, point and click at things just as I’ve always done with my MacBook. I was so happy!

And to a point, three months later, I still am. I now use my iPad Pro every single day and I would say for actual work it’s gone from 90/10 in favour of my MacBook to about 60/40 maybe even 50/50.

It has made the iPad heavier to carry around - the case weighs about as much as the iPad Pro does - but it doesn’t bother me so much. That comes with the territory when you have such a satisfying, well-built accessory such as this!

When I do need to use the iPad Pro flat on the table with the Apple Pencil, it’s no big deal, I just lift the iPad off the stand and get on with it. Same for when I’m just using the iPad to read a magazine, browse the web or proof read. It’s actually really nice to hold the iPad “naked” in the hand rather than having enveloped in that horrible Keyboard Folio thing.

Speaking of which that is one slight disappointment I have is that the iPad Magic Keyboard is still covered on it’s outer side by the same mesh fabric material that the Keyboard Folios have used in the past. My previous Folio started to look a little tired after just a year of use, so what I’ve done with my iPad Magic Keyboard is get an additional carry pouch (so the iPad + Keyboard go inside) and that protects it from any potential damage while in my bag. Come on it’s a £349 accessory, it should be treated as such right?

But being that the iPad is portable device I wish Apple had thought about this and gone for amore durable option for the outer skin.

But those are minor gripes. The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro has transformed my iPad from something I mainly looked at and drew on to something I can now do serious work on - I’m typing this article on it right now after all!

Does The Magic Keyboard for iPad Mean You Can Replace Your Laptop?

This is another piece of the puzzle in Apple’s quest to turn the iPad Pro into a laptop replacement. However it’s not there yet and that’s now nothing to do with the physical hardware… it’s down to the limitations of iOS. I don’t know about you but I cannot get to grips with or remember all the swipes and gestures needed to get the full use out of iOS 14. It’s not intuitive and there just seem to be too many steps involved to carry out simple tasks.

One of the jobs we need to do in the workroom, especially during these times of COVID, is ship out bespoke suits, shirts and smart casual clothes to our clients who are unable to travel to us due to restrictions. This means twice a week I have to log onto our various courier systems, book deliveries and print the paperwork and dockets off. Long story short, iOS won’t let me download and print from those websites so twice a week I have to take my MacBook Pro AND my iPad to work with me. My arms are not thanking me!

Conclusion

So for me personally the Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro has been a worthwhile investment. It has made me more productive with my iPad and I feel like I am finally getting great value from my investment in the whole iPad Pro set up. But due to iOS limitations my MacBook Pro has nothing to worry about for quite sometime.

However if you have an iPad Pro, the Magic Keyboard is a purchase I highly recommend and will definitely help you be more productive with your magic slab of metal and glass.

Do you have an iPad Pro 2018/2020 and did you buy the Magic Keyboard? Or are you still on the fence about it? Tell me about your experience or ask any questions in the comments!