If you're anything like me, you are without a doubt a
massive fan of the 2021 iPad Pro in combination with
the Magic Keyboard.
The Magic Keyboard offers one of, if not the best typing
experience of any keyboard case for the 11-inch and the
12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Then there's that ultra-smooth, integrated glass
trackpad designed to elevate your iPadOS computing
experience in a top it off.
The Magic Keyboard is very conformable
to everyday situations.
Enough so where it is nearly frictionless to take your iPad
Pro on and off of the Magic Keyboard whenever you want
to change contexts.
Conformability allows you to easily change from keyboard to
tablet mode to maybe even drawing mode without skipping a
beat and nothing more than a flick of the wrist.
That high degree of configurability creates two
chinks in the armor, so to speak, with the iPad Pro
and the Magic Keyboard solution.
First, no matter whether you're using your iPad Pro inside or
outside the Magic Keyboard, the sides go unprotected.
Now, that second problem is that the Apple Pencil that you
just purchased to go with it, it can easily become dislodged
from the iPad during transport.
If that sounds like a problem that you're trying to solve,
you are in the right place, because in today's video,
I'm going to review the CoverBuddy for the 12.9-inch
2021 iPad Pro.
And I tell you what the features are, going to tell
you what excels at and I tell you what, it's not so great
it as well.
Who should and definitely who should not buy this.
I Mike, this is tech 24/7 TV.
Let's get started.
Now, before we get in the review, YouTube tells me
that 90 percent of you that are watching today's video, yes,
you are not subscribed to the channel.
And that is a real shame because I love my iPad.
I love making iPad content like these cool accessory videos
like the one you are watching right now.
So do me a favor.
Click subscribe right down there.
Turn on notifications because you don't want to miss future
content that's coming out, including my full review of iOS
and iPadOS 15 when Apple drops it this fall.
As well as I'll got some accessory videos for all you
iPad lovers out there.
Say hello to CoverBuddy, which is a thin-fit case
designed for the 11 -nch and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and
costs $47.99 or $49.99, respectively.
Now, these cases are available in either black or white and
they're designed to match the aesthetic of both your iPad and
the Magic Keyboard.
The CoverBuddy works with the 2021 iPad Pro, meaning that the
product accounts for the added thickness of the M1 iPad Pro in
addition to the change in the Speaker grills.
Now there are models, specific versions for the 2018
and the 2020 iPad Pro, which are a little
bit less expensive.
Now if you're looking for that product or even this product.
I got links down the video description below, right below
the like button.
The CoverBuddy is not a new product.
And I actually I've reviewed several iterations of this
product in the past, always arriving at
the same conclusion.
And truth be told, I have a love-hate relationship
with the CoverBuddy.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I have two
concerns when it comes to using my iPad Pro with
the Magic Keyboard.
First, how do I balance protection for my iPad Pro
while using it both with and without the Magic Keyboard?
And two, how do I minimize the risk of losing or damaging my
Apple Pencil when it is connected to my iPad Pro?
Now, in order to address that question, let's look at
how the CoverBuddy is designed.
There are two core features that make this product usable
with the Magic Keyboard.
First, the CoverBuddy supports power pass-through using the
pogo pins on the back of the CoverBuddy.
The pogo pins are what allow power to pass from the iPad Pro
to the Magic Keyboard while maintaining
the intended functionality.
Second, the CoverBuddy contains a thin layer of magnets
allowing it to magnetically attach to the Magic Keyboard.
Now the magnets are not very strong where you be able to use
to magnetically attach to your refrigerator, your stove,
your dishwasher.
It's not that strong, so don't get any ideas there.
As is the thin fit case made entirely from plastic,
the protection afforded is going to be minimal.
You should be able to avoid most bumps and bruises
associated with everyday usage.
But your iPad Pro will not walk away unscathed if you drop it
from say table height down to the ground.
The cover body is felt-lined on the inside, suggesting it
shouldn't leave any marks on the back of your iPad Pro.
And there's a dedicated space to store your Apple pencil,
allowing it to conveniently and securely charge, meaning that
you should see a decrease in the number of times that your
Apple Pencil disappears after you put it into your bag in
your purse or similar.
As I mentioned in the beginning, the CoverBuddy
is made specifically for the 2021 iPad Pro.
It accounts for the added thickness in the iPad Pro and
the change in speaker grills.
Well, you would think that you would have complete unfettered
access to the device and all the ports around the device.
Well, not exactly.
It really kind of irks me at a fundamental level of who I am
as an individual that the ports don't line up.
Some of them aren't straight.
It seems like sloppy design.
I don't know about you, but let me know in the comments below
if this is something that bothers you.
For me, it's just like I don't want a product that you want to
not put the time in and make things look nice.
It just seems, again, haphazardly put together.
That brings me to my next point, which is I've
reviewed three of these CoverBuddy cases, one for
the 2018 iPad Pro, one from the 2020 iPad Pro.
And now this version.
At best, they're
inconsistently designed, and at worst I would say
they're more frustrating.
So you need to make sure that you understand that if you're
someone who has very little patience for, I would say,
lack of kind of thoughtful design, when you
pick this up, you are probably not going to like it.
That's the first thing that you have to understand because you
can't use normal-sized vulnerable cables with this
when you have the CoverBuddy on.
Now, maybe you aren't someone who is plugging in external
drives to your iPad Pro.
I think if you bought a 2021 iPad Pro, you know,
that might be the case.
But I would tell you that if you are using it with an
external drive, you probably have to find different
thunderbolt cables where the jacket is not as thick,
where it fits in there perfectly.
Now, I can tell you from my experience, I have yet
to find one.
But if you do, let me know down the comments below, because I'm
looking for one as well.
And that goes along with USB-C plugs,
dongles, and any other cables.
if you have an Apple-branded USB cable, that should work
without a problem.
The cables I have that are Apple-branded all work.
There have been people in the past that told me that they use
a sander to stand out and make that bigger.
To me, that's not worth it.
I'm just not going to buy the product.
Whether or not you do that, that is up to you.
Now, you have to ask yourself, is this product for me?
Well, I've got three reasons why it is and three reasons
why it's not.
You buy this if you're looking for extra protection at a
reasonable cost,
There are other products like the Pitaka MagEZ Case 2 which
is a little bit more expensive.
It does accomplish mostly the same thing.
It doesn't have a way to secure your Apple Pencil, but there
are other ways that you could accomplish that with buying a
pencil case, say, for ten bucks.
You also buy this if you're looking to balance usability
with protection for your iPad Pro.
Many cases that you see on the market today, either you can
use them inside of their protective case, but you can't
use them with the Magic Keyboard.
You can take the product out of the case itself,
not necessarily worth it in my opinion.
You also buy this if you're looking for a way to secure
your Apple Pencil.
But as I mentioned before, there are other ways
to accomplish that.
Many ways to skin the cat, so to speak.
You don't buy this if you care about practical usage.
As I mentioned a few minutes ago, the cutouts around
the bottom where the USB-C port plugs in, it's not shaped for
larger size cables, which would prohibit you from using
a Thunderbolt cable.
You'd have to take this out of the case, which is more of an
inconvenience than anything.
And you don't buy this if you own the 2021 iPad Pro with the
first generation Magic Keyboard.
I have both the first and second-
generation Magic Keyboard.
If you put your iPad inside of the CoverBuddy and then try and
close the case on the first generation Magic Keyboard,
it doesn't close all the way.
The case itself will remain open, which is kind
of an inconvenience.
It actually happened with the previous cover body for the
2020 twenty iPad Pro.
It does say on the case here that it works with both the
Magic Keyboard and the Apple Smart Folio case, and it says
it's fully compatible with all Apple keyboards.
Well, that's not necessarily a true statement now
is it there, CoverBuddy?
Now truthfully, I think the CoverBudyd does
accomplish both these.
I wouldn't say it does it particularly well.
And the price would suggest that it does excel at that
because it's not necessarily a low-cost accessory.
It's fifty dollars for something that you've already
paid eight hundred a thousand dollars for and you spent three
hundred or three hours on the Magic Keyboard.
But I love to know what you think about this.
Are you going to pick up this product?
Do you think it's worth the $47.99 Or the $49.99 that
CoverBuddy is charging?
Let me know that in the comments below.
If you have any other questions, I'm in the
comments and I'm very active.
I am Mike.
This is tech 24/7 TV.
Folks.
I will talk to you in the next one.