- The magic keyboard.
I don't know about you, but when I first saw this presented
I was absolutely blown away by it.
Does this make my iPad a computer?
I'm a very skeptical person when it comes to these things
and I've had the keyboard for about two weeks now,
and I've put it through all the tests.
So I can tell you exactly what I think about it.
And I'm also gonna mention all the things
that you might want to consider when deciding
whether or not you want to get this keyboard,
and also things that no one else has mentioned
in their reviews.
The good, the bad and the ugly is coming right up.
(lighthearted music)
Hello iPad Letterers, welcome back to my channel.
My name is Karin, I'm from iPad Lettering
and I'm here to help you bring out
your most creative inner-self using your iPad.
So yes, the magic keyboard.
Well here it is, in all it's glory.
And the big question of course is does this keyboard
make my iPad a computer?
And no, I'm not going to make you wait until the end
of this video to answer this question,
I'm gonna tell you right now,
no, this does not make my iPad a computer.
So the next question is,
well why did you get that keyboard anyway?
And did you not know this?
And yes, I knew exactly that this would not
make my iPad a computer and I decided to get it anyway,
despite all the hype and the price,
and the fact that it won't make my iPad a computer.
And I've come up with a list of pro's and cons
so that you can make a very informed decision
about whether or not you think you wanna get
one of these keyboards for yourself.
There's five things I actually really,
really like about the keyboard,
but then there's also five things I don't like so much.
So let's get right into it and let's start with the things
I really, really like.
So the first thing is, is that the keyboard
is actually really well made.
It's got a very solid hinge that folds up and down
really nicely and it just feels very nice.
It feels like a very solid product and it's really easy
to put the iPad on the keyboard as well.
So I'm just gonna show you how this works.
I've got the 2020 iPad here, and all I have to do now
is just put it on the keyboard and it snaps on,
and it sits there very firmly.
So you can see now how you can turn it around
and you can kind of it upside down,
and it doesn't fall off and it really, it feels solid.
It actually takes a little bit of strength
to take it off again, but it's not to hard.
So I feel Apple really got this right.
And then another thing I really like about the keyboard
is that it actually works with the 2018 iPad as well.
I've got the 2018 iPad right here
and you can see this is the one that only has one camera.
And it actually works exactly the same,
you can also put this on the keyboard and it just works.
And if you were thinking about upgrading to the latest
2020 iPad so that you can use the keyboard,
the good news is that you don't.
In fact, I actually don't think there's a difference
between the two iPad's,
I'm still using the 2018 iPad as well
and I've noticed no difference at all.
The only reason why you might want to consider
upgrading to the 2020 iPad is if you run out of space
on your 2018 iPad, but that's really the only reason.
Other than that, I do not recommend
that you upgrade your iPad
and you can still use the keyboard with it as well.
And then the next thing I really,
really like about about this keyboard,
is the actual typing experience.
Yes, you probably would expect it,
but this is really fantastic.
I'm normally using this iMac Keyboard
for all the work that I do, and it feels exactly the same.
So it's really, really good.
And also if you are already familiar with all the keyboard
shortcuts for your Mac, if you're a Mac user
then you will feel right at home with this keyboard
because the shortcuts work in a very similar way
and it's just really, really nice to use.
And then probably the thing I like most
about this new keyboard is the trackpad,
and this is also the reason why I was really keen
to get the keyboard, it makes all the difference.
Yes, you could use a mouse or an external trackpad,
but who wants to use one of those
sitting on the couch, right?
One of the things you might want to do
is change your settings to use a tap
instead of a press with your trackpad,
and you can do that in the settings under trackpad.
So you select this and you select here, tap to click.
And then you probably wanna turn on a two finger
secondary click as well,
especially if you're used to doing this on your Mac already.
And then I also recommend that you increase
your tracking speed, it just means it makes it really easy
to get from one end of that screen to the other
without having to move your finger to much.
Most apps work really well on the iPad
when using the keyboard,
it's very easy to navigate using the trackpad.
And of course now the massive benefit
is that you don't have to touch the screen,
and this really makes all the difference
when it comes to productivity on your iPad.
This is of course,
mostly thanks to the new version of iPad OS,
which now also lets you connect a mouse or a trackpad.
And you would actually get the same benefit
if you connected a mouse or a trackpad to your iPad.
And then the next thing I really like about this keyboard
is that it makes the iPad float.
So you can see how it's a little bit suspended,
it doesn't sit flat on the keyboard,
like with the previous version of the keyboard,
and this is especially used for when sitting on the couch.
Which actually brings me to the next point.
I really, really enjoy using the iPad and the keyboard
sitting on the couch.
You might have seen different reviews
where people complain about using that keyboard on your lap
and the fact that it might fall over,
but I have noticed that,
I actually find it extremely comfortable.
But it's also possible it's because I'm sitting
a little bit differently on the couch,
but for me this is amazing and it really, really improves
that productivity working from the couch.
Another benefit of using the keyboard
instead of a laptop sitting on the couch,
is that the bottom doesn't get warm
because the iPad sits here,
there's nothing here at the bottom of the keyboard.
So when you have the keyboard sitting on your lap
it doesn't have the same heat problem a laptop would have.
And then the number five pro this keyboard gives you,
is that it provides an extra charging port.
And yes I know that's a small thing,
but again, I find this really useful.
So the iPad has a charging port on the right hand side here,
but then the keyboard will give you another charging port
and it's on the other side.
And again, this is not something anyone has mentioned,
but I think this is actually really clever.
So depending on how long your cable is
or where you're sitting,
you have the option of plugging in the iPad
either on your right hand side or on your left hand side.
So overall I'm actually really,
really happy about the keyboard but there are some cons.
And some of the things you might wanna be aware of
before you make a decision about getting the keyboard.
And lets start with number five,
and that is the keyboard is quite heavy.
With the iPad attached, this is actually heavier
than the 13 inch MacBook Pro,
which doesn't bother me right now
because I'm not traveling much anywhere.
But normally when I travel
I take both my laptop and my iPad
and carrying them both around,
that could be a little bit of an issue.
So what I'm probably gonna do,
is when I travel I'll only take the iPad
and I might actually leave the keyboard behind.
Which brings me to my next problem which is yes,
I still need a laptop and you will most likely too.
Especially if you're used to using computers
all your life and are very fast with the applications
that you use on your computers daily.
I've tried using the iPad exclusively for a week
and I gave up after just one day.
I'm so much more productive with my computer,
the multitasking feature is not quite the same.
Especially also because not all apps support
the split screen feature.
I know there's a number of people out there
who haven't used computers much, and if you're one of them
then you might not have this problem.
And yes, you can connect the iPad to an external screen,
but it won't give you more screen real estate,
and it also won't solve the multitasking problem.
So it's definitely not replacing my laptop
and my iMac anytime soon.
And then the number three in my list of cons
is that you can't use the iPad in portrait mode.
There's a few apps that are only available in portrait mode
such as Instagram and it's not usable
with the keyboard attached,
so I have to take the keyboard off
if I wanna use an app that only supports portrait mode.
It would be very nice if it was possible to rotate
the iPad sitting on the keyboard,
but Apple's design Gods probably wouldn't have liked
the extra piece here that is required to rotate the iPad.
And so unfortunately it's landscape only.
And then the second worst problem for me really
is that I can't use the Apple Pencil while the iPad
is attached to the keyboard, it's not practical.
I can't put enough pressure on the screen
having the iPad sitting up like this,
so in order to do any iPad letting work
I need to take the iPad off the keyboard.
So there is a little work around for that,
and that is that you can turn the iPad around, like this,
so that the keyboard is sitting like this.
And this gives you a little bit of a raise too
if it's in order to do your letting or your artwork
using the Apple Pencil.
But it's actually not that stable,
the hinge is not strong enough to really support the iPad,
especially if you like to put a lot of pressure
on the pencil as I do.
So if you wanted to prevent having to take
the iPad out of the keyboard case,
I recommend that you put something underneath here
to support the iPad so that it doesn't collapse like this.
And also to prevent having the keyboard
sort of come over your screen, which is quite the (murmurs).
And then you probably already know
what the number one problem is.
Yes, this keyboard is ridiculously expensive.
It's $350 for the 12.9 inch version,
and it's not much cheaper for the smaller version.
I mean yes, it's a solid product,
it's really, really well made and it's hands down
much nicer than the previous version.
But I don't think there's a reason why it has to be
this much more expensive.
Especially also given that iPad OS is not really
quite ready to handle all the used cases,
where having a keyboard will come in really, really handy.
So now, how do you decide?
Well I think there's plenty of good reasons
why you might like to get a keyboard,
it's a solid product and I really like using it a lot.
I've never had an iPad keyboard before,
this is actually my husbands old keyboard
and I'm really glad I write for this one,
this is much, much better than the previous version,
there's no question about that.
It really makes me much more productive
responding to emails or responding to your comments
while sitting on the couch is much faster now.
So I very much appreciate the keyboard for this.
So I think as an accessory for my iPad it works great
and I'm glad that I got the keyboard,
but it definitely doesn't replace my laptop
or my computer.
If you're in the same boat as me,
I only recommend that you get the keyboard
if you don't mind spending the money on it.
If you have a laptop already and if you're thinking
about replacing the laptop with an iPad,
then I think you might actually be disappointed.
But then if you're quite new to computers
and if you're using your computer mostly for emails
and surfing the internet
and you don't have a laptop already,
then I think this is actually a really good choice.
It really gives you all the options because you can use
the iPad and the Apple Pencil and the keyboard.
So it's kind of the best of all worlds.
Especially also if you're not used to having a computer
and you rely on all the applications
that are only available on the computer,
then I think you'll get a lot of joy out of using this.
And now over to you,
let me know your thoughts about the keyboard.
Have you got one already or are you planning on getting one?
Also, if you have more questions,
if you want more clarifications about whether or not
that keyboard is for you,
definitely make sure that you leave a comment as well.
And now that I have this keyboard,
I'll be much faster answering all your questions.
Give me a thumbs up if you found this video helpful,
subscribe to my channel if you haven't already.
And don't forget to hit that bell icon
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I'm also going to (murmurs) up another couple of videos
so that you can keep watching,
and you can keep learning about what to do with your iPad
that makes you more creative.
Thank you so much for watching
and I'll see you in my next video.