Battle Royale (with Cheese): Exploring iPad Pro 12.9 Keyboard Alternatives
Against type.
When I got the iPad Pro, there was only one keyboard accessory I was interested in pairing it with: The Magic Keyboard.
Sure, I looked briefly at the much cheaper Smart Keyboard Folio from Apple, but it was really the Magic Keyboard that had my heart even before I had the required iPad in my possession. I was taken with how the iPad would simply “float” above the keyboard itself, and I was excited that the iPad was getting the same excellent typing experience that my MacBook Air touted. Sure, at $350, it was an expensive keyboard, but it felt entirely worth it.
For a while, at least. I started with the original, dark gray keyboard, and over time I became increasingly annoyed with it. I wasn’t annoyed with the performance — the typing experience was as advertised (“magic”) and the trackpad, though small, was outstanding, and the floaty nature of the case continues to impress (though that particular flavor of magic did wear off a little as I became used to how it operated). What I was annoyed with was the material the keyboard was made from; For nearly the same cost as a basic iPad, I would have hoped that Apple would have chosen a more premium-feeling material to coat the keyboard in rather than the same polyurethane they make all of their smart…
