Seven smartest keyboard cases for iPad Pro. Review of Apple Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro Cable, adapter and Bluetooth are no longer relevant
The Apple Smart Keyboard is a sleek new ultra-thin keyboard case designed specifically for use with Apple iPad Pro. Unlike traditional keyboards, this smart model has no gaps between the keys, which makes the coating in water and dirt repellent.
Exclusive materials
Using traditional wires and components to design a device as thin and durable as the Smart Keyboard is unthinkable. Therefore, manufacturers combined nylon and metal into a single layer, creating a unique conductive material for two-way data and power transmission. Therefore, you do not need to charge your Smart Keyboard. Just connect it to iPad Pro and start working. Fold and unfold the Smart Keyboard as much as you want - the material will withstand the stress of even the most energetic users.
Unique connection
The Apple Smart Keyboard connects to your device using the all-new Smart Connector. This port provides power and connectivity for the keyboard.
Cable, adapter and Bluetooth are no longer relevant
The Apple-designed Smart Connector provides seamless interaction between the Smart Keyboard and iPad Pro. It is located on the plug-in side of the keyboard and on the corresponding side of the iPad Pro. The Smart Connector interacts with the conductive material inside the Smart Keyboard to provide bi-directional data transmission and power. Printing technique has never been so advanced and convenient.
Innovation and beyond
The appearance of letters and numbers is the only thing that has not been touched by the innovations in Smart Keyboard. The top layer of the keyboard is made of a special durable fabric that is laser cut to match the shape of the keys. The fabric provides spring tension on the buttons, eliminating the need for traditional mechanisms. As a result, the Smart Keyboard is only 4mm thin and delivers incredible stability and clarity.
Peculiarities:
- Plugs into the dedicated Smart Connector (located on the side of the iPad Pro)
- No need to separately charge the keyboard
- Protected by a special coating (not afraid of dirt and liquids)
- 64 keys, keyboard thickness only 3.2mm
- Support for many useful QuickType features since iOS 9
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It went on sale amid loud cries from the "top" Apple that it will become a full-fledged replacement personal computers taking over most of their functions. True, without physical keyboard a tablet could hardly claim this title, even hypothetically.
However, Apple, realizing this, itself has developed its own vision of the ideal keyboard, calling it Smart Keyboard. But, unfortunately, the "apple" accessory has not yet reached Russia, and therefore the products of competitors are becoming more preferable. Introducing the Logi Create Blacklit Keyboard.
Let's start the review right away with the merits. In particular, the solution from Logitech is a combined hybrid of a case and a keyboard, so you do not have to constantly button and unfasten the device. Also, despite the record-breaking thinness, the accessory has a fairly clear and clearly distinguishable key travel and, what is most interesting, backlighting. This miracle will cost you even $ 19 less than Apple's proprietary keyboard. By paying $ 150 to the folks at Logitech, you get a device that is much more interesting in functionality than the MacBook. The latter, by the way, cannot boast of either a touch screen or a Touch ID scanner.
Logi Create really resembles a laptop cover in its shape and purpose. Despite the seeming flimsy design and fabric-like upholstery, the keyboard is very solidly assembled, and the outer material seems to be very practical and durable. In keeping with the old tradition of iPad cases, Logi Create has built-in magnets that automatically turn the device on and off.
Not without negative aspects. In particular, the weight of the iPad Pro with the keyboard connected reaches about one and a half kilograms, which is quite noticeable when carrying it. It is noteworthy that even a 13-inch MacBook Air weighs 200 grams less. However, if you remember the weight of the very first iPad, then living with this disadvantage becomes a little easier. And working right on your knees is much more convenient - nothing outweighs and does not fall off. 
Logi Create connects to iPad Pro using the latter's built-in magnetic connector. No more Bluetooth connections or battery life degradation. The magnets are so strong that you can lift this hybrid design with the edge of your iPad and leave the keyboard securely fastened. But, unfortunately, this strength imposes some limitations. So, you will not be able to adjust the angle of the screen as on the same MacBook. The manufacturer has provided for you "the most comfortable position", which cannot be changed. Perhaps it was possible to come up with a kind of hinge, but then, probably, the structure would have turned out to be much heavier and more overall.
Since we started comparing the iPad Pro to the MacBook, the lack of a trackpad on external keyboards is definitely striking. It is not only Logitech that is guilty of this, but also all other manufacturers. It would seem who needs a touch panel if there is an excellent touch screen, but, believe me, retraining yourself is not so easy. The Hybrid really looks like a MacBook. This striking similarity is also supported by the excellent keys, which, to all appearances, were directly copied from the Mac's. They are surprisingly comfortable and, as mentioned above, have built-in multi-level lighting. Working in the dark now makes more sense than before.
Logi Create was designed with a direct eye on MacBook, OS X, and iOS. Row function keys will make your life much easier by replacing some of the on-screen gestures and actions. A prominently located "Home" button will minimize the application and "drop" you to the desktop. It is very simple and at the same time extremely convenient. Also, the manufacturer did not fail to install separate keys for locking the head unit, calling Spotlight search and even launching a sub-keyboard with Emoji emoticons.
The keyboard comes in a rich color palette: red, white, blue, black, charcoal and gold. The most attractive to the author's eye was the sample in red, which is wonderfully combined with a slate-gray iPad.
Logi Create turned out to be quite a worthy development, perfectly complementing the functionality of the iPad Pro. Despite a number of significant shortcomings, Logitech's brainchild can be called the most advantageous option compared to Apple's Smart Keyboard. The latter, by the way, will cost you a little more. You can purchase a keyboard cover on the company's official website.
This is my personal accessory, which I have been using for more than a month and a half, respectively, the story is about the living experience of operation, and not an essay on the topic “ how I fiddled with the test device for three days". The thing is unusual and there is something to compare with. It will be interesting.
Delivery Adventure
The keyboard was ordered before the new year in the most rush of time, when the accessory was available in limited quantities only in the United States. Moreover, even in the Apple Store it was problematic to buy it through the efforts of brisk resellers. In general, I found myself a copy on Amazon from those same dealers who sent only to the United States. Considering the fact that I myself am from Ukraine, sending directly from Amazon in any case did not work, even if there was one. It's all about the duty-free limit in my country €150 ... Anything that is more expensive is, at best, subject to a 30 percent tax, at worst - sent back, often even without the knowledge of the addressee. For example, DHL does this - there have been precedents.
In the past, I had a positive experience with Qwintry, when, in addition to delivering the goods, I needed Additional services... Then I made a large groupage parcel (the duty-free limit was also higher), which, among other things, included a road ordered from Amazon. But in the end it turned out to be unnecessary, since it was submitted for review by the customer and ultimately came out cheaper than the one purchased from the USA. Through Qwintry, we managed to return the backpack back to Amazon without any problems and get our money back.
This time a different problem arose. It was necessary to remove the Amazon invoice and insert a new one. The amount indicated in the first one exceeded the duty-free limit (the reseller did his best). Even Apple's real US price is a couple of euros higher. In general, in order to get a keyboard without any extra hassle, it was necessary to estimate it a little cheaper. That is what Qwintry did, having invested an invoice with the amount of $ 159.
It's not even that I'm sorry to pay extra 30% of the cost. Apple Smart Keyboard in conjunction with is a small personal dream from the moment of the announcement (yes, I am such a pervert and a lover of large and strange gadgets), so I was ready for financial expenses. But in addition to them, it is quite possible that you would have to spend a lot of time and effort on a trip to Kiev in order to arrange everything and pay on the spot. This is how strange it happens that the post office works. And this is the best case. At worst, the package would simply come back, and I would be left without the coveted gadget.
Buy from local mates without all the adventures and complications? A dream, a dream, but I was still not ready to shell out $ 350 for a keyboard.
Whatever it was, but everything worked out. The customs officers cheerfully gutted the parcel, satisfied themselves with the Qwintry invoice, and the accessory reached me without any hassle.
The customs officials didn’t bother repacking the keyboard with bubble wrap, but simply stuffed it into a white bag. Fortunately, on the way from Kiev to Chernihiv, the accessory was not damaged, even the Apple branded box was without a single dent. Either the post office began to work neatly with the parcels, or the thick Qwintry box with air packages helped.
I would also like to draw your attention to the packaging: a mighty box, a solid layer of bubble wrap, air seals - the package will withstand the attack of any vandal loader. There is also a bonus in the form of jelly candies :).
Why does a tablet need a hardware keyboard?
Before proceeding directly to the review of the accessory and impressions from it, I want to philosophize a little on the topic. Moreover, I have a lot of experience with this kind of devices and I have something to tell you about.
Good question, especially when it comes to the huge iPad Pro. It is even more interesting for the owner, which I am. In the past - in the case of - for me, a bundle of a tablet with a keyboard was used as a typewriter on the road - a kind of ultra-compact laptop replacement:
A lot of articles were typed in this mode on trains, planes, at a party, and at home too, when it was necessary to isolate oneself from everything. The tablet disposes of this - you turn on the mode " Do not disturb"And you are left alone with the text. The latter point is also relevant for the iPad Pro. And more specifically, the Apple Smart Keyboard is perfect tablet stand when it is used in the mode of consumption of content on the table and on the lap. I'll tell you more about this below.
Finally, it should be noted that it is much more convenient to consume content on a tablet than on a laptop, even if the device is on the table. It's about tablet software, which is great on iOS. , applications for work in in social networks surfing the web using the touch display, reading books,. Nice and comfortable - you quickly get used to all this.
In the process of a fascinating interaction with a tablet, you reply to letters, publish different things on social networks, which is much more efficient to do with a hardware keyboard than with an on-screen keyboard. Although I got used to working with the latter, holding the tablet in portrait orientation and typing with my thumbs. But that's a completely different story. Let's go back to the Smart Keyboard.
Do not like everyone else
I'm sure some of the readers had an idea, they say, Roma is again fanning out and ascribing to Apple some kind of space innovation, while everything was invented before her. If we are talking about Microsoft Touch Cover and Type Cover presented together with the Surface tablet yet, the Cupertino company really borrowed one detail - the way of connecting the accessory through the contact pad. The rest of the Smart Keyboard is unique.
So, the Microsoft Touch Cover keyboard is actually a touch pad, there is no mechanism or tactile feedback from pressing buttons. Microsoft Type Cover, on the other hand, is an almost standard mobile keyboard, made according to the principle and similarity with the scissor mechanism of the keys. And the thickness is similar - 7 mm versus 4 mm for the Smart Keyboard. The latter, by the way, is only 1 mm thicker than the touchscreen Touch Cover, but in terms of response it is very close to the devices with the above-mentioned scissor key mechanism. Which is actually not in the Apple keyboard.
In the design of a branded accessory, in principle, everything is different from others. As a spring (that is, instead of a scissor mechanism or "butterfly") is used special fabric laser cut for each key. This made it possible to "kill" three birds with one stone: to save on thickness, to simplify the structure and make it more reliable. It also acts as an outer cover and protects the keyboard from water splashes.
Among other advantages, it is worth noting the rough surface of the keyboard, pleasant to the touch: it is not easily soiled, does not collect grease and dust, and is very easy to clean. In general, in terms of tactile sensations, this is the most pleasant keyboard of all that I have dealt with. Even better than MacBook 12 and others Apple laptops... There, the plastic keys quickly become covered with grease, become slippery, and you have to wipe them from time to time.
Another innovation is the use instead of wires conductive tissue... That is, you can not be afraid to push through some buttons, passing the contact, or break the wires during the frequent bends of the cover. Thus, the latter consists of three layers:
- Outer polyurethane- it is exactly the same as in Smart Cover, no frills. This material back in 2011, it proved its professional suitability in Apple accessories. Yes, it gets dirty, but it can also be easily cleaned of excess.
- Microfiber inner layer- soft, pleasant to the touch, protects the display from various bad things.
- And between these layers there is conductive fabric.
Origami
At first glance, the design of the Apple Smart Keyboard is not much different from the Smart Cover, except that a module with a keyboard has been added. All the same two options for installing the tablet: as a photo frame and for printing. But there are nuances.
It was important to make the structure stable and monolithic. After all, the keyboard cover weighs only 335 g with a 13-inch tablet weighing more than 700 g and very impressive dimensions. Try to hold such a "sail" in the right position. For example, Microsoft's keyboard cover design is not very stable in any environment, except for use on a desk. In the case of the Smart Keyboard, everything is exactly the opposite.
In print mode, the tablet is almost in the center of the structure. Its tilt and balance are designed to remain stable even when used on your lap.
The second option - the photo album or TV mode - turned out to be no less stable. Not for the knees, of course, but on the table the tablet is much more reliable than the 10-inch counterparts in the same position with the Smart Cover.
When folded, Smart Keyboard turns into a cover. In this mode, the keyboard folds inward and only a microfiber surface adjoins the display. Outside, the keyboard part protrudes slightly, but it is completely uncritical.
The keyboard can be folded or put into working position in literally one movement within a couple of seconds. You get used to it very quickly and in the future you do it automatically.
Operating experience
Here I will philosophize about why the Apple Smart Keyboard is best keyboard for iPad Pro.
When I was planning to buy such an accessory, I was tormented by the choice: whether to take or a branded piece. Yes, I originally dreamed of Smart Keyboard, but when there is a choice, doubts begin. For less money, the new product from Logitech offered both key illumination, a more convenient cursor control unit, and a number of additional buttons for controlling iOS (player, brightness, Home, etc.).
But do I need another compact laptop if I have it? No, it is not needed. Because I often use the tablet lying on the couch and in this case the keyboard is superfluous. And Logitech CREATE turns iPad Pro into a laptop, and you can't immediately remove a gadget from an accessory. You can't put it back in just as quickly. With Smart Keyboard, there are no such problems - you can detach and attach the cover in one motion, just like Smart Cover.
In addition, the Smart Keyboard practically does not affect the dimensions of the tablet - it adds a little to the thickness, but not as much as the Logitech CREATE. In general, after savoring the thoughts described above, I took a branded accessory and do not regret it at all.
Logitech CREATE in all its monstrous glory. Yes, Retina MacBook Pro 13 "thinner than iPad Pro with Logitech CREATE included
I'll go directly to operating experience.
The design is held in place by magnets, and very firmly - the keyboard hangs on the iPad and does not fall off if it is lifted into the air. It is important to pay attention to the pad that is magnetized to the tablet. It is made of soft, but still plastic. That is, if a hard grain of sand gets between the tablet and the pad, you can scratch the edge of the iPad Pro. I somehow managed to put a little "kotska". So keep an eye on the contact pad and wipe it down from time to time.
The buttons are slightly smaller in size than in the MacBook 12 and still have slightly more travel. But not as big as other MacBook models. It turns out to be something average in terms of printing experience. A distinct click is felt, but the sound is more dull than in laptops. By the way, the keyboard is pretty quiet. Not silent, but quieter than Logitech laptop and keyboard covers.
Apple Smart Keyboard vs. Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover
The firmness of pressing is calculated perfectly, resembles that of keyboards with a scissor mechanism. It’s hard to believe that this was done only with the help of the upper fabric layer and without any additional springs and tweaks. The only caveat is that the up and down arrows are pressed rather tightly. Apparently, due to the fact that the buttons themselves are too small and the rigidity of the fabric for such a small area of pressing turned out to be too big.
And, yes, the cursor buttons will take some getting used to. Due to the fact that the side arrows are located a little further from the pair of keys in the center than on the keyboard of the MacBook 12, this block is a little more comfortable, but it would be better if the side arrows were the same size as the up / down. That is, the classic format, as in the keyboard of the MacBook Air and Pro.
Tilting the tablet in printing mode is ideal for working at a desk or on your lap. The same mode is the most convenient for content consumption under the mentioned conditions. I often watch videos and browse social networks while sitting in a chair - the iPad Pro is monolithic:
In the iOS settings (" General → Keyboard") There is a separate item for the physical keyboard, where you can select a layout. I use " Russian PC", As in OS X. I got used to this from the first days of working with the Mac.
Just a good reason to remember the absence of Russian letters on the Apple Smart Keyboard. Even in the Russian Federation, it is sold in the American layout. As far as I know, our Kulibins have already learned how to accurately apply Russian letters, but, as in the case of the engraving of American MacBooks, the result does not look very good. So to work with the gadget you will have to master 10-finger blind typing... A very useful skill, believe me. I can type quickly enough with two fingers (about 300 characters per minute) and hardly look at the keyboard, which was an obstacle to mastering the 10-finger method. But the purchase of Smart Keyboard was a good reason to do self-development in this direction.
By the way, this is one of my ways - to put myself in conditions where you just need to do everything, no options. At the moment, I have completed 65 exercises from the "" course and typed this entire article on the Smart Keyboard using a blind 10-finger method.
Another big plus of using a hardware keyboard is the support for hotkeys... On this topic was - I recommend to study and I will not focus on this issue. I will only point out the most important points.
To view the hotkeys for a specific application, just hold down on the keyboard cmd.
To take this screenshot, I had to press on cmd with my nose, otherwise I could not reach Home and the tablet's power button :)
All OS X cursor control and text selection commands work. The hotkey for switching between applications is similar - through cmd + tab(a feature of iOS 9). And then you can select the desired application with the cursor keys. And the switch option itself began to work more stable, previously it was often simply turned off - you press cmd + tab and nothing happens. Now this also happened a couple of times, but it happens at times less often. It is treated by disconnecting and connecting the keyboard.
Language switches by pressing the extreme button at the bottom left. The one with the globe icon. Also, the standard combination from OS X El Capitan works - ctrl + space... And Apple also "fixed" it with the aforementioned keyboard update - the layout itself does not jump back to Russian anymore, if after pressing the key combination you immediately start typing.
Another useful iOS-only hotkey is cmd + shift + H... It duplicates a single button press Home, that is, it returns to the desktop from any application. But double-clicking on "H" while holding cmd + shift does not work anymore, and this way you cannot get into the multitasking menu. I hope this moment will be implemented in the future, it is logical.
I really like the ability to scroll through web pages with the up and down arrow keys - it is often more comfortable than pulling your finger to the screen.
I would like to note my enthusiasm for Smart Connector- it is much more convenient to work with it than with Bluetooth, which I can judge from my past experience with keyboards covers. It happened that they got lost or for no reason jumped out screen keyboard... And the biggest pain is when you take a tablet without a keyboard to lie on the couch, trying to reply to a tweet, but the on-screen keyboard does not appear. I have to turn off Bluetooth in the tablet - unnecessary body movement. And with it, the music is cut off, broadcast to the BT-column.
Alternatively, turn off physically external keyboard power lever. But then he forgot to do it, then he simply did not want to, because sometimes the accessory began to play naughty after that, and it was necessary to create a Bluetooth pair again.
Well, food is another item of expenditure of time or money (Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air 2 runs on a pair of coin-cell batteries). Let not often, but nevertheless. Smart Keyboard is powered by iPad and, judging by experience, does not drain the tablet too much. This Smart Connector seems to be a trifle, but during operation such a trifle is very clearly felt in a positive light.
Best keyboard for iPad Pro
I do not impose my opinion on anyone, but according to the experience of using the Apple Smart Keyboard, I can safely call it the best keyboard for the iPad Pro. Does not particularly increase the dimensions of the tablet, instantly unfastened and fastened, very stable in any conditions, an ideal stand for content consumption, and even protected from water.
Smart Keyboard does not try to make a laptop out of iPad Pro, but only expands the capabilities of a tablet into a full-fledged typewriter. More is not necessary. A tablet is a tablet, a laptop is a laptop.
Microsoft has two experience in turning a tablet into a laptop. This and. Nice devices, great for a very small category of users, but completely niche products. Not fish or meat. Too much adaptation to the touch-interface in Windows is weak and little suitable "tiled" software.
Hopefully in the future there will be decent hybrids that work equally well in tablet and laptop modes, but for now, specialized devices rule. And in the case of the iPad, it is important to understand that a laptop will not work out of it with all the desire. I understand this and Apple understands this, which is clearly demonstrated by the Smart Keyboard with its original features.
(5.00 out of 5, rated: 1 )
An interesting accessory for the iPad Pro - unlike other manufacturers of portable keyboards, which often adapt ordinary accessories to tablets, Apple has created a gadget from scratch and only for the iPad Pro.
Design, construction
The most correct way to test this device is to write a keyboard review directly on the keyboard, which is what I am doing now. Note that in Russia, tablet owners almost never use such accessories with tablets, according to at least, in real life I saw such people once or twice. In other countries, especially in the United States, third-party keyboards are very popular. People on the road answer letters, work with documents, write books - in general, they do a lot of very different things. This is surprising, especially at first, but the answer is simple - a tablet takes up minimal space, works for a long time, plus practical Americans often want to get the most out of a purchased gadget. Which is quite understandable. If you follow my thoughts, you will understand why at all Apple decided to create a device like the iPad Pro. In corporate America, he found a place, on the one hand, it is an accessory for creativity and the creative class, on the other hand, an integral accessory for middle managers. Why not a laptop? Well, many people prefer to work with a mobile OS and there are no special tasks that require special programs. For some reason, people often think that working with mail, correspondence, calls, parsing and correcting documents is some kind of fictional use case and this is not the case in real life. Why, yeah. For me personally, correspondence and sorting out various issues takes at least an hour a day, and the iPad, even Pro, even the usual, even with a physical keyboard, even without it, always comes to the court, helps in everyday activities. Yes, I agree with those who brand the Pro as a device from the series "they would have done without it" - I can easily agree with that, but I will not return to Air myself. The company's niche devices like the iPhone 6 Plus, MacBook or iPad Pro are designed for a limited audience, but they are always found and happy with their toys that help them live and create. In addition, someone who, and gentlemen at Apple can definitely afford the most daring experiments - why not? It turns out well.
Note that before I got the described keyboard, I used (tried to use) a good old set of wireless keyboard Apple and the Incase Origami accessory. For a long time already I advise it to all iPad owners, a case with a keyboard stand, you can put a tablet there and work - but the Pro has one caveat, for some reason, switching languages using the usual keyboard shortcut does not work. Until I figured out the problem, if you figured it out, please write how to solve it. The keyboard and stand can be seen in the photo, this is, let's say, the best budget set for the iPad Pro, the keyboard will serve you with other devices as well. True, it will have to be worn separately, but it doesn't matter.
Now let's take a look at the keyboard for Pro. First, I'll tell you about the device, I ask you to forgive me for using official data, but it will be more correct this way. The keyboard does not require any manipulations with Bluetooth; it connects to the magnetic connector on the side of the iPad. I must say right away that it sits in place very tightly, you can print on your lap or on unstable surfaces. It is immediately obvious that during the development they paid attention to this, thought about those who work in flight, on small tables and in other strange places. When folded, the keyboard turns into a cover and does not take up much space, although the tablet becomes noticeably heavier. Naturally, you can use the accessory as a stand for watching movies. The thing turned out to be unpretentious, special attention was paid to protection from an aggressive environment. If you look at the buttons, you will see that there are no gaps here - that is, you can spill coffee or something else, then clean the accessory and forget about the incident.
Now the official data plus a little from myself:
- The top layer of the keyboard is made of special durable laser-cut fabric that follows the shape of the keys. The fabric provides spring tension on the buttons, eliminating the need for traditional mechanisms.
- The keyboard is 4 mm thick and the buttons have excellent travel. There is no feeling that you have entered the country of the Lilliputians, took away a laptop from one of them and are trying to work. There is a lot of room for the hands, although I periodically press the screen with the fingers of my left hand, everything is fine on the right, I never reached the screen.
- The keyboard has 64 keys, one layout, QWERTY, there are no special options for any country yet - although our craftsmen have already gotten used to engraving without damaging the fabric. I have a negative attitude to such experiments and I advise you to learn to type blindly, this skill will always come in handy, and you can work with at least QWERTY, at least with anything.
- The surface of the keyboard consists of three unique materials, the upper layer is polyurethane, the lower one is made of microfibre - a soft material that cleans and protects the screen (hopefully). The middle layer is made of a new conductive material and is responsible for transmitting signals between the keyboard and the tablet. An interesting approach, not at all similar to the experience of other manufacturers of similar accessories. Usually, after all, how, but let's take a regular keyboard and remake it a bit for a tablet, make it smaller, add Bluetooth, well, maybe add a stand or something else. It turns out, as a rule, terrible. It's another matter when an accessory is created from scratch, out of nothing - and it is intended for one device, and not for all.
- The keyboard sits securely on the table, does not move from side to side, ports are open - you can charge, plug in an audio cable and listen to music. Pay attention, here they sacrificed "laptop" buttons for playback control and sound adjustment, in general, fair reasoning: the screen is touch-sensitive, switching between applications is quick, the buttons on the end are accessible - there is nothing to load the keyboard.
Finally, the main feeling is sensibly done. Connected - you can start working right away. Although it is necessary to once again make a reservation about the skill of blind input, but this is nothing, you can spend a couple of weeks on training, and everything will work out - without engraving. Plus, any third-party engraving (not Apple) looks disgusting.
In work
Here I want to draw your attention to several points. Firstly, in the settings (Basic - Keyboards - Physical keyboard) I personally chose Russian-PC, over the years of using "poppies" it is more familiar to me. Secondly, if you plan to use the keyboard, you should remove the emoji layout, it will interfere when switching the language. Thirdly, switching the language here is not through cmd + space, but using a special key in the left corner, it works quickly and efficiently, the habit appears after ten minutes of typing. Finally, all keyboard shortcuts work as expected.
Actually, I did not encounter any problems when typing, I liked working. Of course, this is not as convenient as the keyboard of the MacBook Pro, but it is quite possible to work on the road or somewhere in the city - and what do I mean by work? For example, with an iPad Pro and such a keyboard, I can write an article, reply to mail, publish a blog post, see what is happening on social networks and add posts there, then fold the keyboard and move on, holding the tablet under my armpit.
conclusions
In retail, the keyboard costs 13,290 rubles, the accessory turned out to be durable and extremely attractive to its audience - no problems with connection, feeling like a miniature laptop, no special size restrictions. Yes, you need to master blind input - if you have not yet mastered it, you should do it, the skill is really necessary. A good and useful thing for iPad Pro owners, I recommend buying right away with the tablet if you are purchasing a device just for the use cases described above - for example, raking mail in any conditions.
Can i turn my tablet into a laptop?
At the presentation of the iPad Pro, along with the tablet itself, two key accessories were also presented for it: the Apple Pencil stylus and the Smart Keyboard cover. We told you about Apple Pencil in our iPad Pro review. Now we have the opportunity to get acquainted with the keyboard. For some unknown reason, it went on official sale in Russia much later than the tablet itself - only in the new year (while the tablet was available back in November). In addition, both in Russia and in other countries, the keyboard is sold without the letters of the national language. That is, in the case of Russia, we are talking about the absence of the Cyrillic alphabet. Nevertheless, the product is affordable and interesting. Therefore, it's time to study it in detail.
To be honest, the very idea of a keyboard for the iPad Pro caused some skepticism. It seemed that what could be so unusual Apple could come up with here, and how does this generally fit with the philosophy of the Cupertino-based company, which prefers to very clearly define the functionality of the device and almost never releases "crutches" for them?
It's no secret that there are many third-party accessories for the regular iPad, including keyboards of various types. Apple has never released this kind of thing. And a second doubt was connected with this fact: how necessary, in principle, is a keyboard for the iPad Pro. Third-party manufacturers, of course, strive to satisfy even the very specific needs of iPad users, offering accessories for all tastes. But in the case of the Apple branded accessory, we are clearly talking about a much wider audience.
We will try to figure out how successful this solution was and how justified its considerable price is ($ 170 in the USA and 13,290 rubles in our country).
Equipment
The keyboard comes in a traditionally white box with a picture of the accessory.
In addition to the device itself, the kit includes only a set of information leaflets.
As a matter of fact, the keyboard does not require any chargers or other auxiliary things, so it's even difficult to imagine what else could be here.
Design
When closed, Smart Keyboard looks like a twin of Smart Cover. We also told you about Smart Cover for iPad Pro, and indeed it is one of the most famous accessories for the iPad line. The idea behind the Smart Keyboard is that it replaces the Smart Cover and, of course, also offers features that the cover does not have.
The material of the outer and inner surfaces of the closed Smart Keyboard is identical to that of the Smart Cover. It is a very pleasant to the touch polyurethane and velvety microfiber.
Smart Keyboard connects to iPad Pro using a proprietary three-pin connector made on iPad Pro specifically for Smart keyboard.
In the photo below - Smart Cover (left) and Smart Keyboard (right). Here you can see the visual difference between Smart Keyboard and Smart Cover: because of the keyboard, the part of the Smart Keyboard is thicker than the Smart Cover.
But, of course, the main difference becomes obvious when you flip the Smart Keyboard and open it completely. Here we see the keyboard itself, and above it there is a magnetic groove for installing the tablet.
You can see that the keyboard itself takes up about a quarter of the Smart Keyboard area. At first glance, this is not much, but in fact we have an almost full-fledged Mac keyboard.
Keyboard layout
Layout - as close as possible to the usual layout MacBook keyboards or iMac / Mac Pro / Mac mini (Apple Keyboard). Below - Apple photos Keyboard and Smart Keyboard (never mind the proportions - the Smart Keyboard is actually slightly longer than the Keyboard, so the keys aren't that much smaller).
As we can see, in terms of layout, the five rows of Smart Keyboard keys are absolutely identical to the five lower rows of the Keyboard. There is no top row of function keys on the Smart Keyboard, but in iOS it is not needed. Otherwise, the only difference is the layout switch key in the lower left corner instead of the Fn key. This gets in the way of habit, because in OS X we are used to switching the layout by pressing Command + Space, but here you just need to press the key with the globe icon (it is most convenient to do this with the little finger of your left hand).
It is very important that many familiar combinations work: for example, Cmd + C - copy, Command + V - paste, Ctrl + Shift + hyphen - em dash ... But Command + Shift + 3 does not work for taking a screenshot and some other commands, not related to typing.
Ergonomics of the keyboard
The weakest point of most of these devices is the insufficiently tangible key travel, their too small size and insufficient distance between the keys. Often, due to these three features, it is almost impossible to type on such a keyboard blindly, even if the layout is completely identical to the usual one.
Fortunately, the Smart Keyboard has all these parameters in order. Of course, the size of the keys is slightly smaller than that of a full-fledged keyboard: 14 mm horizontally against the usual 16 mm. But this is compensated by the sufficient spacing between the keys, so that there are almost no mistakes when typing blindly. Great result!
As for the key travel, it is clear, moderately elastic and, as far as possible in such conditions, even quite high. There is even a click sound when typing quickly (not particularly annoying). In general, the keyboard is really pleasant to type on (despite the objective disadvantages compared to full-fledged desktop keyboards).
Let's note one more detail: the surface of the keys and their surrounding surface is rough, grainy. And in this case it seems very the right decision, since such a surface does not collect fingerprints at all, it is not damaged in any way (well, only if specially scratched) and does not slip.
On top of that, the keyboard is waterproof, so you can safely spill coffee or tea on it and then wash it under water. There are simply no cracks through which water could penetrate inside. Unless the interaction with moisture will not be very useful for microfiber. But if you spill coffee on the keyboard while typing, moisture won't get to the microfiber coating anyway.
Using Smart Keyboard as Cover
As we have already noted, the design of the Smart Keyboard has deliberately been as close as possible to the design of the Smart Cover. Indeed, Smart Keyboard can replace Smart Cover in almost everything. With the Smart Keyboard, the tablet can be positioned in one of two positions. The first is for printing.
In this position, the bottom of the tablet, to which the Smart Keyboard spine is connected, is inserted into the magnetic groove and snaps into place. And at the back, the design is supported by three free sections of the Smart Keyboard.
The second position is ideal for reading or viewing content.
In this case, the keyboard unit is at the back, being pressed with the back side to the "back" of the tablet.
Of course, all sections can be bent back, completely closing the "back" of the tablet, or you can close the screen with them. It will look like this.
Of course, the design turns out to be thicker than in the case of the Smart Cover, but in practice it almost never gets in the way and does not take up much more space in the bag than the iPad Pro in the Smart Cover. At the same time, when we open the Smart Keyboard on the screen, the tablet wakes up from sleep mode, just like when working with Smart Cover.
The only option for using Smart Cover, which is not available in the case of the Smart Keyboard, is the one in the photo below.
But in fact, he is not needed here. Indeed, in the absence of a keyboard, such iPad installation useful just the possibility of convenient printing on virtual keyboard... And if we have a physical keyboard, why type on a virtual one?
Settings and additional features
Considering the fact that Smart Keyboard turns iPad Pro into a kind of laptop, it would be logical to expect some special settings for this accessory. But here Apple has remained true to its minimalism.
Everything related to Smart Keyboard settings is located at Settings / General / Keyboards / Physical keyboard... And this is just simply a selection of available layouts. Moreover, this subsection of the menu appears only when the tablet is installed on the Smart Keyboard in the print position. If Smart Keyboard simply covers the tablet as a cover, then there is no subsection.
Another thing is that for the physical keyboard, of course, the settings that exist for the virtual keyboard also work. And here it is highly recommended to go to the "Keyboards" subsection and delete the emoji keyboard, which, it turns out, is the third (after Russian and English). In general, iPad owners should do this in any case (well, unless you love texting with emoticons :)), but when using Smart Keyboard, the presence of a third keyboard (no matter, emoji or any other) significantly slows down typing. Because then when you press the language switch key, we see this picture.
Therefore, to switch from Russian to English, you also need to click on the screen, choosing the desired keyboard out of three. Obviously, this is terribly inconvenient (at least if you regularly need to switch between Russian and English layout). If there are only two keyboards, then this miniature menu does not even appear, but immediately switches languages, similar to what is done in iOS by pressing Command + Space.
So, this completes the Smart Keyboard settings. In fact, to work with the keyboard, you just need to connect it to the iPad Pro and set the tablet in print mode (that is, with the keyboard facing you). And that's all. But there is still hidden opportunities... And this various combinations keys, which for a particular application we can learn by pressing and holding Command. For example, this is what opens in the browser.
But - on the home screen.
Curiously, this option works even in some third party applications... For example, in Microsoft Word.
We were, of course, interested in how correctly the Smart Keyboard will work in Parallels Access, with which you can remotely connect to your MacBook and work on the iPad Pro in OS X. As it turned out, there are no obstacles here, except for the fact that Parallels Access is still not properly optimized for iPad Pro (this shows up in screen resolution and some glitches). That is, if the program is correctly launched through Parallels Access, then the physical keyboard will work normally. Up to the fact that using Command + Shift + 4 you can take a screenshot (and it will be saved on the MacBook), and the layout can be switched with the key with the globe.
Impressions of use and conclusions
We've been using Smart Keyboard with iPad Pro for about two weeks. At first glance, this is an optional accessory, especially if you have a MacBook Pro. And it is clear that even with a physical keyboard, it is better to do serious work in OS X than in iOS. But still, I don't want to part with the Smart Keyboard, and, as it turns out, this device can really be useful.
However, the result exceeded expectations. First of all, the accessory itself turned out to be very successful. Typing on the keyboard is almost as pleasant and comfortable as on a regular Apple keyboard and incomparably more convenient than on the iPad Pro virtual keyboard. But at the same time, the Smart Keyboard takes up almost no space - with it, the iPad Pro becomes only slightly thicker than with the proprietary Smart Cover, and a little heavier. To be precise, the weight of the Smart Keyboard is 335 grams, and the Smart Cover is 164 grams. But also in the case home use, and in the case of some trips, this almost does not entail any inconvenience. True, the mass of the tablet still becomes more than the psychological threshold of 1 kg, and it is no longer so easy to casually take it from the window sill or shelf with one hand. However, it would be unfair to argue that this somehow limits the use cases for the tablet.
But the opposite is obvious: Smart Keyboard significantly expands the possibilities of using the iPad Pro, turning it into a full-fledged laptop replacement when it comes to typing, working with mail, communicating on social networks and instant messengers ... That is, if you have a laptop and iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard, there will be much less cases when you need to take a laptop with you, and not an iPad. Do you like to write text in transport? You are welcome. Do you want to work outdoors or in a cafe, raking mail and chatting with colleagues over the Internet? You can, too. More to the point, if you have a cellular version of the iPad Pro, then the iPad Pro becomes an even more preferable option because you won't be tied to Wi-Fi hotspots.
Perhaps the main thing that does not allow when working with iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard to forget that this is still not a full-fledged laptop is the lack of a mouse, which can be very useful even in text editor, not to mention other professional tasks. For example, it is not as convenient to select large chunks of text with your finger as it is with the mouse. But this remark is not directly related to Smart Keyboard.
As for home use, here too, Smart Keyboard turns out to be unexpected useful accessory... Imagine lying on your couch surfing the internet or watching YouTube using your iPad Pro. And now you have received a letter to which it is desirable to answer in detail. Or a friend started chatting in a messenger. Or I wanted to comment on a post on a social network. It seems that I don’t want to get up for this, turn on the computer and sit down for it, but typing any detailed phrases on the virtual keyboard is not pleasant. This is where Smart Keyboard comes in handy. By the way, the Smart Keyboard tablet is quite stable even on its knees or other uneven surface (which, by the way, not all external keyboards can boast of).
In general, this, of course, is not a basic necessity. But it is a very nice and in many cases useful addition to the iPad Pro, which in many ways exceeded our expectations and allayed concerns. Three things can keep you from buying Smart Keyboard: firstly, the high price (although Apple accessories have never been cheap), secondly, the absence of Russian letters on the keys, and thirdly, the mass - with all the success of the keyboard, the tablet becomes harder, of course. And whether these moments outweigh or not depends primarily on how and where you use the iPad Pro, whether you are typing blindly and whether you are ready to spend 13,290 rubles on such a thing.
As a conclusion, we offer you our Smart Keyboard video review, which clearly shows the possibilities of its use.
P. S. For a worthy appearance, water resistance and superior functionality we present to the Smart Keyboard our Original Design editorial award:
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