What is going on, everybody?
I am Mike.
Welcome back to Tech 24/7 TV.
I'm glad that you're back with me because we're
talking about keyboards.
Now, if you were the owner of an iPad Air 4 and you don't
want to spend three hundred dollars for the 11 inch Magic
Keyboard for your iPad Air 4, I don't blame you.
It does offer a great typing experience.
It does offer a great trackpad experience, but it
does cost a lot of money and it doesn't offer you
that much protection.
Now, if this sounds like you, you are in the right place,
because I'm going to review the Logitech Combo Touch as well as
the folio touch, compare them against the Magic Keyboard
at the end.
I'll tell you which one you should buy.
Let's get started.
Before we get in the video, YouTube tells me that 90
percent of you are not subscribe to the channel.
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I love making iPad content, and I think you want to see
more of that content.
So consider hitting subscribe.
Turning on notifications.
You know that button right there.
So you don't miss out on future content, including my
iPad OS 15 full review when it comes out when Apple releases
it next month.
Now, the video itself will be broken down into
different sections, and I'll have those sections pinned in
the first comment below.
Anything I talk about in terms of the video, if you want to
pick it up for yourself, you'll find links down the
video description right below the Like Button.
Now we'll talk about how these two keyboards are going
to be different.
We'll talk about how the same and where the noticeable
differences are going to be with each of these keyboards,
including which one you should buy, depending on what
your use cases are.
First, let's talk about how these keyboards are similar.
This is the Logitech Folio Touch.
This is the Combo Touch.
Each keyboard is wrapped in this fabric case that gives it
a nice look and feel.
And personally speaking, and the model that I own for my
12.9"iPad Pro, it does wear very well.
Now, each keyboard also has this kickstand on the
back here, which can be extended anywhere between 20
degrees and 60 degrees for viewing experiences.
And this plays into one of the four different modes that you
can use with this keyboard.
You have the traditional typing mode, you have the
view mode, you have sketch mode, and you have
the read mode.
Both units offer you full body protection, allowing you
to give you confidence in using this, that if you do
drop it, it won't break your iPad, nor the keyboard.
It's very well-made.
Now, along each of these cases themselves,
you see here, there is going to be a lip and that lip does
protect the inside of the keyboard, where if you were
to push this closed, you shouldn't say worry about
the keys impacting the display itself.
Now, you would be able to use this with a screen protector
like a paper like but probably not a tempered
glass screen protector.
I don't know.
I don't use a screen protector.
But if you have this with a screen protector, let me know
in the comments below which one you're using.
Now, of course, since these models are made for the
iPad Air 4, it does give you full access to the touch ID
button right here on the side.
And it works exactly how you would expect.
Y
ou won't have to worry about any type of Bluetooth pairing.
It's not cumbersome at all.
It does use the smart dock connector, which on the
back of your iPad Air 4.
So you never have to worry about charging this
or pairing it.
All you have to worry about is charging your iPad.
By extension,
what that means is that this does not use Bluetooth.
It only uses the internal smart dock connector that's native
on your iPad.
On this model here, if you were to separate the keyboard from
the case itself, you would not be able to use the keyboard is
nonfunctional and has to be physically connected
just like that.
Now, there is a full roll of iPad OS function keys,
giving you access to all the same shortcuts, which include
on button screen brightness, onscreen keyboard search,
key brightness, media control keys,
volume keys and On-Off.
Additionally, there is a globe button and the bottom left hand
corner for each one of these keyboards, which gives
you quick access to the language selector, or you can
use it to select emojis.
Now, that's where the similarities stop.
And this is where the keyboards get very different.
Each of these keyboards have a different price point.
The Logitech Folio Touch costs one hundred and forty nine
hundred nine dollars, depending on where you
could find it.
And the Combo Touch is going to be one hundred
ninety nine dollars.
Now, each of these keyboards have a different weight.
You have the folio touch coming in at six hundred and forty two
grams compared to a much lighter five hundred and
seventy four grams for the Combo Touch.
Now that is due to the thickness of the Combo Touch
being much thinner.
The type of experience in each of these keyboards can
be very, very similar, if not the same.
There is eighteen (18mm) of key pitch which is the distance
between each one of these keys and one millimeter of travel,
which is the depth that the key is depressed.
Here on the Combo Touch, this keyboard is going
to be removable.
So you can simply take this off like I have here on
the folio touch.
That keyboard is physically connected to the
iPad case itself.
You can't separate it, say if you want to use it in, say,
in read mode, you would actually have to fold that
below this or to go and hold it just like so.
Which is a little bit of inconvenience.
Now, whether it's 50 dollars worth of inconvieneince
for me, I would say I would not do that.
Now, even though the keys are the same, including the
function keys across the top, you know, they're all
the same.
The arrow keys here on the Combo Touch are going to be
different where here there's an upside down or reverse T here
on the folio touch.
They are larger left and right, arrow keys and
smaller up and down arrow keys.
That's really going be personal preference.
I really like the inverted T shape arrow keys.
It's just easier to navigate without looking at
the keys themselves.
The trackpad is going be the next place that, you know,
if the differences here.
The Folio Touch trackpad is going to be three point five
inches by two point two, five inches compared to the
Combo Touch where it is four point five inches by two
point two, five inches.
So it's much bigger on the Combo Touch in comparison to
the Folio touch.
So if you're looking for something, is going to give
you a little bit more flexibility with maybe
using more gestures.
That's going to be the Combo Touch.
That's why you pick that up.
On the folio touch at the top here is not clickable.
So it's a typical springboard where the top is going to
affixed to some piece of hardware inside of here.
And then you can use it anywhere along, probably about
80 percent down from there.
If you want to turn on to have to click.
You could then use the top area here, which traditionally
is not going to be usable to use as a trackpad.
And that would work on either one.
But in terms of surface area and a usable surface area,
the Logitech Combo Touch is going to be your winner.
Other than that, the next place where you get to know the
differences is going to be here on the top of the Folio Touch.
As the name implies, is a folio.
It does have a magnetic closure that's going to snap
into place.
And on the inside of this flap here, it does have slits
to store your apple pencil.
And so while walking around, you can store your apple pencil
in here and be confident that it's not going to fall out.
On the Combo Touch.
It is a little bit different.
It is going to rely on the magnets of your iPad Air 4 to
hold your Apple pencil in place.
So that is something to consider.
If you're going to be out and about with this and you don't
have a high degree of confidence whether this would
hold your apple pencil, maybe you put in a bag full of
stuff and whatever is in your bag could possibly dislodge
your apple pencil that something that you want to
keep in mind.
OK.
It is decision time.
It's time to figure out which keyboard you want to buy.
Now, if you're looking to solve for price, if you want
a great, still great typing experience in the forty dollars
is too much.
You would think that you're going to go for the
folio touch.
I give you a different way to think about it.
If you were keeping this iPad for two, three, four years,
well, if you take that additional 50 dollars and
divide that by the number of days in that time that you're
keeping your keyboard, the price per day that you're
paying additional between the folio touching the Combo Touch
is really insignificant.
So I would say if you are price sensitive, at least
consider it that way.
The Folio Touch, it does offer more protection because it is
thicker and has more rubber on it.
It does offer a way to secure your apple pencil with this
magnetic latch that is on the back.
The downsides are, in my opinion, one, that the
trackpad is smaller.
That's the biggest thing, too, that this keyboard
is not removable.
Also makes it a little bit clumsy to use, in my opinion.
And three, it's a little bit heavier.
That's the downside of being more protective.
Now, the Combo Touch really has all the same advantages,
in my opinion.
It does have the same keyboard layout.
It does have the same keyboard mechanism.
It does give you the flexibility to patch the
keyboard from the case.
It does offer a larger trackpad, even at the
expense of nowhere, to secure your apple pencil.
Other than using the magnet that's included on your iPad,
it is a little bit thinner.
It is a little bit lighter and not offering you as much
protection as the folio touch.
Now, at 199, I think this is a pretty solid buy.
And the fact that the Combo Touch has that
larger trackpad, which can be clicked anywhere, is going to
give you more usable surface area.
Again, that's going to be a Combo Touch for you.
Also, if you like those t shaped arrow keys, I talked
about like I'm a fan.
You're going to go with the Combo Touch.
This offers again, in my opinion, thinner.
It's a little bit lighter.
It does have a better trackpad.
I don't know.
I like this flap.
Maybe some people do.
If you do, let me know down in the comments below.
But for me, I would rather have the Combo Touch because I can
disconnect this keyboard and then use this without having to
worry about having that keyboard attached.
I don't have to flip it around the back if I want to use it.
This becomes a much smaller footprint.
It's very light, and it's just a lot more usable,
in my opinion.
Now that we've answered why you don't use the Combo Touch over
the Folio Touch, I think the next question is why would you
choose the Magic Keyboard when it comes in at 299?
So it's a full one hundred dollars more expensive than
the Combo Touch.
Well, first thing is that the keyboard typing experience on
the Magic Keyboard, it is great.
It is a different type of experience.
The Magic Keyboard uses scissor- switched keys where here on the
Folio Touch and on the Combo Touch,
it uses butterfly keys.
It's not any better or worse.
It is different.
For someone like me where I get comfortable typing within 10
or 15 minutes.
The same rules.
True for any of these keyboards I use.
It's a good typing experience.
Now, the trackpad experience between the Logitech Folio
Touch and the Logitech Combo Touch and the Magic Keyboard,
in my opinion, are very, very similar.
I have not found a gesture that does not work on either of the
Logitech keyboards in comparison to
the Magic Keyboard, which I think really is
the gold standard.
That doesn't change the fact that the Magic Keyboard still
costs 300 dollars in comparison to either 149, you know, on the
low end with the folio touch one ninety nine on
the Combo Touch.
And I think that you're getting a very, very like
for like experience.
Other than the additional USB charging port in the spine
of the case.
Really, what the Magic Keyboard is just so good at is the
frictionless using of it.
Zero effort to take the keyboard on and off of
the iPad itself.
Quite magic.
Hey, everybody, thank you very much for watching my video on
which keyboard to choose for the iPad Air 4.
I want to know what you think.
Let me know down the comments below what keyboard you're
going to choose.
I am, Mike.
This is tech 24/7 TV.
Folks, I will catch you in the next one.