Hello, my name's Tom and this is Proper Honest Tech.
The good folks at Pitaka recently sent me over a couple of new items to have a look
at, so that's exactly what we're going to be doing in this video. They sent me the MagEZ
Case 2 for my iPad Pro 2020 model, and the MagEZ Stand, which as you'll see in a moment,
takes what the MagEZ case can do and really lifts the entire experience up a notch.
As ever, whilst Pitaka have gifted me these items, they did so in an entirely no strings
attached manner, and they are aware that my video review will be 100% honest, and 100%
my own opinions, the company has had no input or even visibility of this video prior to
it being uploaded here to the channel.
So, with that out of the way, let's get on with the review.
Unboxing for both items was very straightforward, I've had a couple of watchbands from Pitaka
in the past, link to that video in the description of this one, and their packaging is always
good looking and easy to get into. The case first, if I open that up and take it out,
the first thing you notice is just how light and thin it is. It's made out of Aramid fibre,
a man made fibre which is being more commonly used for phone and tablet cases thanks to
it's strength and resistance to heat. In fact, outside of phone cases, Aramid fibre is being
used for the manufacture of things like bulletproof vests and spaceships, so it's pretty serious
stuff. It's also not an electrical conductor, unlike carbon fibre, which means it's perfect
for being permanently connected to devices like tablets or phones, where a conductive
element could potentially interfere with the device's signal.
Attaching it to your iPad is straightforward, but do make sure you buy a version that's
compatible with your tablet. I've got the 11 inch 2020 iPad Pro here for example, and
I needed to ensure that Pitaka sent me the correct case, if I'd tried to use the case
for this year's M1 model, it wouldn't have worked, although Pitaka do offer a version
that's compatible with this year's model also.
Pitaka include some instructions for fitting the case to your iPad, but it's really easy
even without them, you're essentially just sliding the tablet into the case until it
fits on one side, and then gently applying pressure on all the other sides until it fits
into place. The Aramid fibre is flexible, not brittle, so it holds the tablet really
well without ever feeling like it's going to come loose or snap.
The case covers the top, bottom and right hand side of your tablet, as well as most
of the rear. The left is not protected, along with a few millimetres of corresponding space
on the rear of the tablet, which I believe was a design decision to allow the tablet
to still be used with things like the iPad Folio case or the Magic Keyboard case, even
with this case permanently attached. And it does work with both, I can confirm this. On
the Folio, the lid feels just that tiny bit tighter when closing, but it does still close,
and the gentle magnets of that case still work, and I'd feel comfortable sliding that
setup into a bag knowing that the tablet is now fully protected.
On the Magic Keyboard case, it's absolutely flawless, to the point where you could easily
forget that you've got the MagEZ case attached. The magnets work perfectly, the functionality
of the Magic Keyboard is 100% in tact, and thanks to the top and right side protection
of the MagEZ case, I'd feel 100% confident grabbing this setup and throwing it into a
backpack for a weekend away, without having to worry about my device getting bumped or
scratched up.
With the case attached to the iPad, it's light yet comfortable to hold, and so tiny that
it doesn't detract from the look or aesthetics of the tablet at all in my opinion. OK, it's
not giving any protection to the screen, so you need to keep that in mind, but it would
allow you to set this thing down on a hard surface without worrying about scratching
the back or the sides of the tablet. I usually don't like cases for my devices, but I really
like this.
But where the case really comes into it's own is when you pair it with the other item
that Pitaka sent me, the MagEZ stand. Again, this was very simple to unbox, and the setup
process took me about 30 seconds. You've got two core components, the base of the stand
and the arm. Connecting the two is easy, and Pitaka provide everything that you need in
the box. A small Allen key and two socket screws are connected via magnets to the bottom
of the base, so all you have to do is slide the arm in place, then screw the two socket
screws to hold the two parts together. Pitaka also include a USB to USB C cable, which you'll
need to use in order to run power to the stand, though it's not very long, so I did have to
find one to use for my setup. They don't include a wall socket either, so you'll need to have
a solution for this yourself, and of course the socket that you choose is going to impact
the charging speed of the arm. You can tuck the USB cable neatly through this little groove,
allowing the stand to sit totally flat on your desk.
With that done, you can now fit your iPad to the stand. To do this, just hold the iPad
so that the middle-back of the case is lined up loosely with the stand arm, and the powerful
magnets in the arm will do the rest, locking your iPad securely into position. Removing
the iPad once it's locked on is equally simple, just use one hand to gently hold the base
still, and kind of pull and twist a little to remove the iPad from the stand. The magnetic
grip is incredibly strong, definitely on a par with things like the Magic Keyboard case,
and I've never once felt like the iPad is going to come loose or fall off. In fact,
when swapping the USB C cable over, I fully turned the stand upside down with the iPad
still attached, and had absolutely no issues.
Oh, and if you're planning on using this with a tablet that doesn't have a MagEZ case, and
therefore doesn't have the magnetic rear, Pitaka have thoughtfully included a magnet
in the box in the form of a sticky square that you can attach to the rear of your device,
along with some paper guides to help you achieve the perfect fit for a number of popular devices.
The base itself is made of a mixture of plastic, zinc alloy and the aramid fibre again, making
the entire thing light yet sturdy. It has four rubber feet on the bottom, and these
are sticky if you pull the tops off of them, meaning you could permanently mount this somewhere
if you wished. I change my mind far too much about where I want things to go, so this isn't
for me, but it's good to have the option if you want it.
With the tablet connected, you can gently push or pull on the top of it to change the
viewing angle, which is great. You can also tilt the iPad into either portrait or landscape
mode, and it kind of locks into place for each of those, so it's quick and easy to switch
between the two. You might want to use your iPad for a facetime call for example, and
have it in portrait mode, but then immediately want to jump into watching something on YouTube.
The magnet which locks the iPad in place is ROCK solid, really impressive, and I've never
once felt like the iPad is going to come loose or fall off. Switching between landscape and
portrait mode is easy, and can be done with one finger.
On the bottom of the stand is a small magnetic shelf which you can use to charge Qi wireless
compatible devices, at a rate of up to 15 watts. So if you want to charge your iPhone
or your AirPods, just drop them on here and it's all taken care of for you, which is a
nice additional feature.
So, all very positive so far. In fact, I'd go so far as saying that this is the best
iPad desk stand solution I've seen on the market. But, it does bring me to my only real
complaint about it, which is that it doesn't charge my iPad, the core device that I'm going
to be using with the stand. Now, this could be an Apple thing, rather than a Pitaka thing,
but I can't help but feel like wireless charging of the iPad could have been implemented here.
If you look on the back, the MagEZ case has the same three connectors at the bottom, allowing
you to still connect your iPad to the Magic Keyboard, which can of course pass power through
to the iPad using those connectors. It begs the question of whether or not Pitaka could
have created a stand with a magnet arm, that also reached far down enough to make contact
with those connectors, and in doing so, allow you to wirelessly charge your iPad as soon
as it connects to the stand.
Because that would have been a killer feature. Unfortunately, without it, what you have here
is a rather posh stand that doesn't perform pretty much the number one task you'd expect
it to perform. Yes, you can connect your iPad via a cable while it's connected to the stand,
but that's visually pretty unappealing, and means you have to have another cable along
with the one that's already connected to the stand. The other alternative is that you don't
charge your iPad while using it on the stand. But the whole point of a tablet is that it's
multi-functional; a work machine during the day, and then an entertainment machine in
the evening. If you use this all day without charging it, when you remove it from the stand
at the end of a long day of work, you're going to be faced with a massively depleted battery.
For me, this stand and case solution, if you consider them on those merits alone, are really
very good. But they could have been near perfect if, when I connect my iPad to the stand, it
would begin charging. Perhaps that can come on the next version of this?
Where I'm most excited about the potential for this, is when Apple launch Mac OS Monterey
in about a month's time. At WWDC earlier this year, they showcased 'Universal Control',
where you could seamlessly switch between your Mac and your iPad, and control your iPad
using the keyboard and mouse attached to your Mac. This looked like a great feature already,
but a stand like this is going to make that feature even more powerful.
So, in summary, would I recommend that you buy one of these? The answer is yes, so long
as you're comfortable with the cost, and so long as you can live without the ability to
charge your iPad automatically whilst it's on the stand - remember, you can charge via
a cable if you wish. You've got to decide whether that's a dealbreaker for you or not.
Because if all you want is something to hold your iPad in portrait or landscape mode on
your desk, you can pick something up on Amazon for about $15 that would do just that. Sure,
it doesn't have the Qi charging capability, and it's not going to be anywhere near as
pretty, but it's going to be a lot cheaper, and it does the job. The case I think is great,
but remember that you're not protecting the screen, only the back and sides.
So there you go, that's my opinion on the Pitaka MagEZ Case and Stand for the iPad Pro.
If you're interested in picking either of these up, you can find links for them in the
description of this video.
And as ever, if you found this video useful, do please consider leaving me a like, and
subscribing to my channel for more content like this in the future.
See you on the next video.