- If you've recently picked up one of the new
10th generation iPads, you may be looking at
one of the most popular type of accessories
you can get for iPads these days,
and that is a keyboard case.
And I have two options to compare.
First of all, we have the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio.
This is the first party keyboard,
and then we also have the new Logitech Combo Touch
for the new iPad.
Now these two cases are both kickstand style cases
but they do differ in a number of ways.
So let's take a look at each one of these,
side by side, and see which one's better.
Now, the first thing that you're probably going to notice,
before anything else,
is going to be the material and the color.
And the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio
is made out of the same material
as the Apple Magic Keyboard for the iPads Pro and Air
and it's kind of this rubbery, soft touch material.
It feels really good in the hand,
it's got a little bit of a grip to it
and it doesn't move a lot when it's sitting on a table,
especially with the iPad weight inside of it.
The Logitech Combo Touch
has kind of a textile type texture to it.
It almost feels like jeans or something else.
It actually feels also very good to the touch,
in a different way,
but it feels more rugged, more durable somehow.
And over the last couple years of using the Logitech cases
and the Magic Keyboard case,
I do feel like this material holds up better,
it does a better job of protecting against scratches
and bumps and even oil and grime that comes off your hands
or whatever might be on a desk or a surface
that you place it onto.
The Combo Touch comes in at about one pound, four ounces.
The iPad Magic Keyboard Folio
comes in at about one pound, five ounces.
And both of those are a bit heavier than the iPad,
which is about one pound and just under one ounce.
As I said, both of these keyboard cases
are kickstand style cases
but they differ in how they connect to the iPad.
For the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio,
you actually get this back plate right here
that is actually just magnetic,
and it just attaches to the back of the iPad
by placing it right on the back
and then it snaps right into place
and it holds secure enough for most situations.
Now it can be removed,
you just get a finger underneath there and pull it apart
and it will snap off because it is just magnets.
And on the back here, we do have the keyboard,
or I'm sorry, the kickstand for this case.
So you can see
that the kickstand just raises up in the back.
And to connect the keyboard
with the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio,
too many words,
you simply align the keyboard to the bottom of the iPad
and it will snap on directly to the iPad itself
and connect the pins on the bottom.
Now, because the Apple Magic Folio Keyboard
just snaps on the back with magnets,
it really does leave the rest of the iPad exposed.
So you can see, the sides of the iPad
are completely open all the way around,
so this isn't a protective case necessarily.
You can close it,
but it wouldn't really protect the iPad
in case of a fall or something like that.
Now when it comes to the Combo Touch,
this is a full on case for the iPad.
Once you insert the iPad into here,
it will actually protect all edges of the iPad
all the way around and do a pretty decent job, I think,
of protecting the iPad from small drops and bumps.
Now unfortunately, in my initial video with the Combo Touch,
I did find that the new iPad 10th Generation
just does not quite fit into this case as well
as previous iPads and previous versions of the Combo Touch.
And this is slightly concerning
because it takes an excessive amount of force
just to get the iPad into the case.
And in my situation,
the edges of the Combo Touch
were too rigid to actually kind of flip over
and form around the outside of the iPad,
like all other Combo cases
from Logitech have done previously.
Now when the iPad is in the case,
or at least as well as it's going to fit in the case,
and I honestly think that
mine is probably just an anomaly
and that you're probably going to have better luck
with this case than I did.
I think this was probably like number one
off the assembly line or something.
So, they have a couple issues to work out
and I'm sure they will,
because they've done it previously.
But once the iPad is in the case,
I have no doubt that it's going to be secure
and protected and do exactly what you expect the case to do.
And similarly, how the Magic Keyboard Folio
attaches magnetically, directly to the bottom of the iPad,
when the iPad is in the case,
this keyboard portion will actually snap magnetically
to the bottom of the Logitech case itself
and do a pass through of those pins
on the bottom right there,
to connect directly to the iPad.
So, I do feel like the magnets on the Logitech Combo Case
are stronger than the magnets
on the Keyboard Folio, connecting directly to the iPad.
So just, feels like a more secure connection
between the keyboard and the case.
And just like with the Combo Touch,
you just kinda lift up the back with the kickstand
and you can prop it up like so.
So one of the first things I noticed
with the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio,
when I first got it,
is that the range of motion on the kickstand
is just not as great as it is on other devices.
For example, this is the maximum distance
that the kickstand can go back on the iPad Magic Keyboard.
It's not that much.
It's good for most situations, for most people,
it'll work for video calls and for gaming
and watching videos and things like that,
but if you wanted to lay it down further,
to get more of a drawing type surface,
you can't do it.
If you do try and go further back,
you risk actually popping the back off of the iPad
and that can be kind of dangerous for your iPad.
Now the Logitech Combo Touch can actually go back
quite a bit more, almost flat.
And this can give you a good surface for drawing or writing,
without taking the iPad out of the keyboard case
or laying it completely flat.
And let me give you just another angle of that real quick,
so you can see the difference between
how far back the Combo Touch can go
and how far back the Magic Keyboard Folio can go.
And if you are an Apple Pencil user,
the Combo Touch has a loop at the top
to store your Apple Pencil Gen one,
or the new Logitech Crayon.
Now I want to point out a couple of things with the cases.
And when the iPad is in the Combo Touch keyboard case
and you close it, it feels sturdy,
it feels like the entire iPad is protected
and it feels solid.
When the iPad is in the iPad Magic Keyboard Folio
and closed,
I don't get that same sense of security and safety.
This just feels like it has the potential to fall out.
You can see that when the keyboard is sitting on the screen,
the case, the keyboard portion, is pretty wobbly,
it moves around a lot,
there's a lot of wiggle room there,
which leads me to believe that
if there's any dust on the screen or dirt,
that you can potentially scratch the screen
just by carrying this thing around.
Now with the Magic Keyboard Folio,
you can actually flip the keyboard
all the way around to the back of the iPad
and hold it for reading or something like that.
And if you don't like the feeling of the keys on the back,
you can actually disconnect the keyboard,
flip it around
and then put it on the back,
so now, you can hold it and read
but you don't have to feel those keys on the back,
if you don't want to.
And that also gives you a nice surface
to just set the iPad down on a desk or a table
or whatever surface.
And now disappointingly,
the Combo Touch does not do that,
it did on previous versions,
so it looks like there's a bit of a downgrade.
When you try and flip the keyboard all the way around,
it just disconnects from the bottom of the case.
So you can't sit and have the keyboard sitting on the back.
And not only that,
you also do not have the option to flip the keyboard around
and hold it on the back either,
it just does not work, nothing aligns,
the magnets don't connect.
This is a downgrade from previous generations
of the Combo Touch and is disappointing.
Now, the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio does have that feature,
which is nice, but I just don't feel like
the Magic Keyboard Folio feels as sturdy in that mode,
compared to previous versions of the Combo Touch.
Now, when it comes to the keyboards themselves,
I find that typing on both of these keyboards
feels basically the exact same.
I have nothing bad to say about either keyboard.
They're both slightly smaller than
a regular standard full size keyboard,
but it's not that small that it's hard to get used to.
You actually get used to it really, really quick.
The keys on both keyboards have a good range of motion.
They both sound good, they both feel good.
Again, no complaints on the keyboards at all.
Up top, you have the function rows
on both of these keyboards, which is nice.
But the functions do differ a little bit.
On both of them, you do get the brightness of the screen,
you do get the media controls for play, pause and volume
and they both get a dictation key.
On the Apple Magic Keyboard,
it looks like it does on other Apple devices
and on the Logitech, it looks like this person speaking.
With the iPad Magic Keyboard Folio,
you also get an escape key at the left,
you get a multitasking button,
you get search button
and you get a do not disturb button,
along with lock on the right.
On the Combo Touch, you have a home button,
you have a key to bring up
the software keyboard on the display,
you get a button here for screenshots
and you get these two buttons right here,
which control the backlight on the keyboard itself.
That's right, the Combo Touch keyboard
actually has a back lit keyboard,
which is really nice for those times when you need it.
The Apple Magic Folio keyboard does not have a backlight.
At the bottom of the keyboards,
you have a track pad on both devices,
which just like the keyboards,
both of these track pads are really, really good.
I have no complaints about either one of them
but they are slightly different.
The track pad on the iPad Magic Keyboard is slightly wider,
it's all glass
and you can actually touch it anywhere
to press down on the track pad.
It is multi-touch, so it works with multi finger gestures
for switching apps or scrolling up and down.
It works really well.
The track pad on the Combo Touch is slightly more narrow
but it is taller
than the track pad on the Magic Keyboard Folio.
Just like the Magic Keyboard Folio,
I believe it's a glass track pad
but this one is a diving board style track pad,
so you can't press at the top
but you have to press somewhere near the bottom
to get the clicks to register.
And just like the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio,
the gestures, the movement, everything on it is smooth
and just as you would expect for a track pad with an iPad.
All right, so I think that's all of the
main differences between these two devices.
And the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio comes in at $250
and the Logitech Combo Touch comes in at $160.
And in my opinion, there is a clear winner.
Back when I did a comparison
between the Logitech Combo Touch
and the iPad Magic Keyboard for the 12.9 inch iPad Pros,
I definitely felt that the iPad Magic Keyboard
had a lot more to offer, benefit wise,
over what the Logitech offered.
But now with the iPad 10th generation
and compared to the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio,
I feel like the Logitech Combo Touch
is actually the better device,
despite the issues that I've had.
The Logitech Combo Touch
just provides a better overall package
for what you get and for the price.
You get a full case
that offers full protection around the entire iPad,
so when you're not using it with the keyboard,
you are still protected completely.
Whereas, the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio has no protection,
at basically any point.
Nothing about the Magic Keyboard Folio feels secure to me.
It doesn't feel like the magnets on the back
are strong enough to keep the case on,
when you always want it to be on.
It doesn't feel like
the flap with the keyboard case is rigid enough
to keep it from sliding around and scratching the screen.
Nothing about this feels like it's protecting the iPad.
And the only real benefits, to me,
of the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio is,
maybe a slightly better track pad
and I do like the function row
on this keyboard better than
I do like the function row on the Logitech.
But other than that, I think the Logitech has it beat.
The keyboard feels amazing,
the track pad feels amazing,
it just is a diving board style,
but most track pads on most computers are.
You have a lot better range of motion
on the kickstand, on the back.
And I've been using Combo Touches, me and my family,
for the last couple years,
and I know that this keyboard kickstand is going to hold up
because it has held up for years
on other devices that we have in the house.
And if you're an Apple Pencil user,
you have a place to put your Apple Pencil,
so you're not going to lose it.
And my daughter, since using the Combo Touch,
has not lost her pencil once.
The case overall is lighter,
and I feel like the material on the Combo Touch
holds up better over time
than the rubbery material on Apple's keyboard cases.
So, that about covers all of the differences
between the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio
and the Logitech Combo Touch
for the new 10th generation iPad.
But hey, what do you guys think?
Is there one of these that you like better than the other?
Let me know below.
Also, if you're looking for other accessories to use
with your new 10th generation iPad,
besides a keyboard case,
I got the perfect video for you right over there.
Hit the thumbs up button if you liked it.
Hit subscribe if you want, and I'll see you next time.