Magic v. Smart
The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro was made available for purchase on April 17 - ahead of it’s targeted ship date of May 2020.
The Apple community was taken off guard last week when Apple announced that the new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro was available for sale and would be arriving to customers the following week. Apple had initially announced the Magic Keyboard in a press release back on March 18 alongside the iPad Pro refresh, stating that the accessory “will be available for purchase in May.”
Apple doesn’t release things early. It doesn’t! The original AirPods were delayed by several months, as was the HomePod. And AirPower just never happened. So when Apple says a release is happening in May, you wouldn’t be unreasonable if you began to calculate what the last Friday in May would be (it’s May 29, btw).
But with the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro upon us, I wanted to highlight some of the comments made by two venerable reviewers - John Gruber at Daring Fireball & Federico Viticci at MacStories - comparing the new Magic Keyboard to the Smart Keyboard Folio.
Is the Magic Keyboard Just a “Smart Keyboard Pro”?
From John Gruber:
“The Smart Keyboards are iPad covers you can type on. The Magic Keyboard is a portable keyboard stand, not a cover — when you want to use your iPad as a tablet, not a laptop, you must detach it.”
From Federico Viticci:
“From the get-go, it’s apparent that the Magic Keyboard was primarily designed to enable a native laptop mode for the iPad Pro.”
“The Magic Keyboard is an accessory that fully embraces Apple’s modular approach to the iPad Pro: it enables a reliable, functional laptop mode while at the same time encouraging you to detach the iPad at any time and use it as a tablet when you no longer need a keyboard and trackpad.”
It seems that Apple doesn’t want people to perceive the Magic Keyboard as superior to the Smart Keyboard; instead, it now has two distinct typing options designed to serve different use cases.
Viewing Angle
From John Gruber:
“a new MacBook Air opens to about 135 degrees, and an iPad with Smart Keyboard in the more open of its two positions opens only to 125 degrees. (The Smart Keyboard’s more upright slot = 110 degrees.) 5 degrees doesn’t sound like much, but in practice it is quite noticeable.”
Fully agree. 130º is a noticeable improvement over the 125º in the Smart Keyboard folio! I would have liked the option for a wider angle - like the 135º available on a MacBook Air, but I’ll take my 5º gain over the Smart Keyboard.
Lapability
From Federico Viticci:
“I would go as far as saying that, because of the adjustable viewing angle, robust design, and built-in trackpad, using the Magic Keyboard on my lap has been my favorite mode so far.”
This is a massive gain for the iPad Pro! The flimsiness and weight distribution in previous accessories resulted in a poor lapability experience. With the new Magic Keyboards weight distribution and built quality, typing on your lap is not only possible, but feels quite natural.
No Going Back
From John Gruber:
“I went back to the Smart Keyboard cover to type just this single paragraph. It’s like comparing a meal at your favorite restaurant to a meal on an airplane. iPad Smart Keyboards are dead to me.“
From Federico Viticci:
“The Magic Keyboard is, at least for me, superior to the Smart Keyboard Folio for a handful of reasons: the keyboard itself is more comfortable to type on; it’s backlit, which helps me get work done at night; the adjustable hinges let me get the iPad’s angle just right; I can stop reaching out to touch the display because there’s a trackpad built-in. The Magic Keyboard offers a professional typing experience and seamless integration with the iPadOS UI; it’s a pro keyboard for pro iPad users who demanded more than a Smart Keyboard Folio.”
Indulge in a Magic Keyboard at your own risk. Personally, I have always really enjoyed the typing experience on the Smart Keyboards - their feel, key size, and travel all feeling quite pleasant for me. But in saying that, going to the Magic Keyboard might be a one-way street (like ProMotion and the Retina Display was before it), in that once you get a taste for the typing experience, there is no going back.
Can You Turn it Upside Down & Shake it?
Yes. But should you?
From John Gruber:
“The hinges are so stiff and magnets so strong that you can pick it up by the keyboard palm rest and give the whole thing a vigorous shake and it not only will remain attached magnetically, the viewing angle will not change. You can turn the whole thing upside down, holding it by the keyboard, and it will not detach.”
You just spent $799-1,649 on an iPad & $299-349 on a Magic Keyboard, but go ahead and give it a good shake! That’s what AppleCare+ is for!
External Links
John Gruber’s Review: The iPad Magic Keyboard
Federico Viticci’s First Impressions: Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro: A New Breed of Laptop
