Apple Smart Folio Ipad Pro 11

When Apple tree introduced updated iPad Pro models earlier this year they came with a new accompaniment, the Magic Keyboard. Priced starting at $299, the Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Pro‌ is Apple'due south most advanced keyboard yet, offer backlit full-size keys and, more than importantly, a trackpad.

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At launch, at that place was no third-party equivalent to the Magic Keyboard because trackpad support for the ‌iPad Pro‌ was new, but concluding calendar month, Logitech unveiled the Page Touch, a $160 keyboard instance that works with 2018 and 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ models.

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The Folio Touch is more affordable than the Magic Keyboard while offering much of the same functionality, and in some cases, design choices that are more convenient, making it a worthy alternative to Apple'due south own keyboard option. There'south one caveat -- at the current time, the Folio Touch is only bachelor for the eleven-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, with no 12.9-inch model.

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Blueprint wise, the Page Touch features a case that attaches to the ‌iPad Pro‌ forth with an attached keyboard, all of which is covered with a soft grayness material-like cloth. It feels pleasant to the bear upon, and isn't besides far off from the fabric material that Microsoft uses for its Surface Pro accessories. I prefer the material feel of this example to the more rubbery experience of the material that Apple uses for the Magic Keyboard, and it is less prone to spots, dust, and scuffs.

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Fifty-fifty as a person that makes an endeavour to keep the Magic Keyboard make clean, my ‌iPad Pro‌ Magic Keyboard'southward cover notwithstanding has some spots from water drips and scuffs from twenty-four hour period to twenty-four hour period usage, and while it's not too difficult to clean, those spots and marks don't always come off. The Folio Touch on isn't going to testify spots like these and the color and design will mask grime, too.

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The ‌iPad Pro‌ is designed to fit into the case portion of the Page Touch, which is made from a malleable rubber material. There's a square-shaped photographic camera cutout that'southward able to accommodate both the 2018 and 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ models, plus there's a cutout at the side where the USB-C port on the iPad is located, a Smart Connector attachment betoken, and a cutout for Apple Pencil charging.

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With the ‌Smart Connector‌, the Folio Bear on is powered by the ‌iPad Pro‌ and does not need to exist recharged nor does it demand Bluetooth to connect. The Magic Keyboard has a passthrough charging feature that lets the ‌iPad Pro‌ be charged through the example through an actress USB-C port - this is not present on the Folio Touch and the standard USB-C port on the ‌iPad‌ must be used. There's a cutout for the USB-C port, only it's small, so if you're using a dock or dongle that's wider than a USB-C connector, you lot're going to encounter trouble.

Because it's a case and a cover, the Page Touch is a lilliputian bit thicker than the Magic Keyboard, which is not ideal because the Magic Keyboard is already beefy. It's withal thinner and lighter than most laptops, though, and it can e'er be removed when not in use. I didn't find information technology too difficult to become my ‌iPad Pro‌ in and out of the Folio Impact, and information technology fits like a traditional instance. The Folio Touch is a chip longer and wider than the Magic Keyboard, simply they're ultimately similar enough in size that at that place's not much difference using ane over the other.

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The instance feels protective, particularly when the keyboard portion is airtight, and there is a potent magnetic flap that keeps it shut and holds an ‌Apple Pencil‌ in identify. If you have a Logitech Crayon instead of an ‌Apple Pencil‌, there's a slit in the flap where y'all tin can store it so information technology never gets lost or misplaced.

There'southward a pull-out stand up that'south at the back of the instance that'south designed to prop the ‌iPad Pro‌ and upright while y'all type on the keyboard. The stand is okay. Information technology's non the sturdiest platform and I wasn't a fan of using information technology in my lap considering of the flex of the stand, only it works well enough on a flat surface. I'm non sure that the Folio Touch would be comfortable to use in a lap for a longer period of time due to the instability of the stand, which is something to keep in heed.

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The stand and instance have several viewing and usage modes. In that location's Blazon Way where the keyboard is extended and the ‌iPad Pro‌ is propped up with the stand, which is the virtually obvious way of using the Folio Touch, along with three modes where the keyboard is folded back.

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View Mode for watching videos works by folding the keyboard and kickstand astern, Sketch Mode is similar to View Way but with the stand up pushed down to make a slightly angled surface ideal for cartoon, and Read Mode is where the keyboard and the stand are both collapsed and the keyboard can be folded back and then the ‌iPad‌ can be used in a standard tablet way without the need to remove the example.

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This is one area where the Folio Touch on outshines the Magic Keyboard because Apple's keyboard does not fold back and needs to be removed if yous desire to use the ‌iPad‌ in a flat orientation. The stand offers 40 degrees of adjustment, but since information technology doesn't operate with a swivel or a locking machinery, I'm a worried about how it'due south going to hold up over time. It uses tension, and information technology seems like a mechanism that could loosen over time, but I don't all the same know if this will be the case.

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I've been using the Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Pro‌ for several months, and while it's not difficult to have it off, information technology's a hassle, so I appreciate the versatility the Page Touch offers. The blueprint of the case allows the ‌Apple Pencil‌ to exist attached to the ‌iPad Pro‌ for charging purposes, and at that place is sleep/wake functionality for activating the ‌iPad‌'due south display when the cover is opened.

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Those who have used a Logitech ‌iPad‌ keyboard before will probably exist familiar with the feel of the keys. They're clicky, satisfying to printing, and offer a decent corporeality of travel so there'due south no serious compromise using the keyboard case over a standard keyboard. The feel is similar to the feel of the keys on the Magic Keyboard, but with a touch less travel and a touch more softness.

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If forced to cull, I would say I adopt the feel of the keys on the Magic Keyboard, only the Page Bear on isn't too far off, and it's piece of cake to arrange to a different key feel. The Logitech keyboard offers a function row of keys for adjusting screen brightness, accessing the Home Screen, searching, and decision-making sound and media playback, which is something Apple's keyboard doesn't take and a feature I've missed with day to 24-hour interval usage.

The lack of these like shooting fish in a barrel access function keys is one of the negatives to the Magic Keyboard, so anyone who uses those keys frequently might want to consider the Folio Touch. The Page Bear on also has backlit keys, much like the Magic Keyboard. The keys adjust to the ambient lighting but can be adjusted directly on the keyboard.

There's a small-scale trackpad at the lesser of the keyboard on the Folio Touch on, which is what puts the case on par with Apple's Magic Keyboard. The trackpad has a polish, plastic similar experience that's hard to distinguish from the trackpad of the Magic Keyboard. Usage is shut identical too, but you do need to press harder on the Folio Affect for information technology to register a click. With Tap to Click turned on, a feature I e'er utilise, information technology doesn't affair.

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Both trackpads support the verbal aforementioned gestures and features that are baked into iPadOS, so there's not much difference between them. Below, I've listed the pros and cons of each keyboard to make it easier to run into the difference at a glance and to outline why you might want to choose ane over the other.

Magic Keyboard Pros and Cons

Costs $300+
Bachelor for xi and 12.9-inch models
Adjustable viewing angles, just case must come up off for tablet mode
Works well in the lap
Silicone material picks upwardly dust, grime, and fingerprints but feels more premium
Thinner than Folio Touch, but not past besides much
No full ‌iPad Pro‌ coverage
Space for charging ‌Apple Pencil‌
No function keys
Backlit keys
Keys take good travel and feel sturdy nether the fingers
Trackpad is responsive and easy to utilise
Has extra USB-C port built into swivel for accessories
Connects with ‌Smart Connector‌

Logitech Page Touch Pros and Cons

$160 price signal ($140 cheaper than Magic Keyboard)
Only bachelor for 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌
Stand up with multiple viewing angles and usage modes, including an selection to fold example dorsum
Does not piece of work well in the lap
Soft fabric cover material is less decumbent to showing dirt
Thicker and heavier than Magic Keyboard
Rubber case protects ‌iPad Pro‌
Cutout for charging ‌Apple Pencil‌ plus flap to hold it in place when instance is closed
Full row of part keys
Backlit keys
Solid key feel with expert travel, but not quite as nice as Magic Keyboard keys
Trackpad takes more forcefulness for a click
USB-C port is accessible, but doesn't offering an extra port
USB-C port cutout is minor and doesn't conform all accessories.
Connects with ‌Smart Connector‌

We also did an commodity and video that compare the Magic Keyboard to the Logitech Folio Affect, and the video is worth watching if you want to see both keyboards side by side.

Bottom Line

The Magic Keyboard is $300 and the Folio Touch is $160, so going by price alone, information technology's a good deal and a solid alternative to Apple's ‌iPad Pro‌ keyboard. I appreciate the versatility of the Page Touch on'due south stand and the cover, and my simply complaint is that it'southward not ideal for lap apply.

With the Magic Keyboard, I have to accept information technology all the way off if I desire to use my ‌iPad‌ for anything other than typing or watching videos, which isn't the case with the Folio Touch. That'southward a huge gene for someone who prefers a case that can be left on all the time. There are too function keys that are absent-minded from the ‌iPad Pro‌.

The Folio Touch doesn't have a USB-C port congenital in for more convenient charging, simply it'due south even so possible to charge with the standard USB-C port on the ‌iPad Pro‌, so I didn't miss this characteristic. I like the floating style of the Magic Keyboard, the hinge pattern, and I adopt the feel of the keys and the trackpad, but information technology'due south so close that I think most people will desire to save $140 and choose the Page Bear upon.

If you've been holding off from purchasing a Magic Keyboard because of its cost point, the Folio Touch is a solid alternative. Unfortunately, Logitech simply makes the Folio Touch for the eleven-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models at this fourth dimension, so 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ owners are stuck with Apple's Magic Keyboard.