Apple Magic Keyboard for 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Previous Version) - Arabic

Ordering the Magic KeyboardThe Apple Magic Keyboard that I ordered through Amazon on July 15, 2020 arrived this evening about 5:15 p.m. I first ordered it through Apple with an arrival date of August 1, 2020, but then saw that it was $20 cheaper though Amazon with a three day shipment date. The shipment arrived through Amazon on July 18, 2020 as scheduled with no requirement that I be home to receive the product. With products that I have ordered through Apple there has generally been a requirement that someone be home to receive the product. Amazon doesn’t have that restriction, apparently assuming the risk of theft or loss through its delivery policy. I appreciate this feature of Amazon delivery, since I can’t always be home when it is convenient for the delivery person.PackagingThe packaging was typical Apple and I have grown to expect no less. I’m like a kid when I open new Apple products and today was no different. The Amazon shipping carton contained the white box of the Apple packaging wrapped in a very thin folia within which was the product wrapped again in a translucent plastic sheet with a tab for removing it. There is a paper spacer between the keyboard and the magnet mounting surface with a special little compartment for the instructions, which I judiciously ignore. I do save all the packaging for a period of time just in case the product has to be returned for some reason.I opened the keyboard and placed my iPad Pro 2018 on the magnetic back and shifted the iPad to a position that I found comfortable. Many people have been impressed by how rigid the hinges work. I didn’t notice that at all, but did notice that the main large hinge snaps into one place and the secondary hinge then moves independently, but I was surprised by how little tilt the whole arrangement allows. Everyone, including Apple, mentions the maximum angle of 130 degrees, but I didn’t realize from reading how little that actually is. No big deal, because the “default” angle, and there is one, seems just about perfect.The weight is not a factor at all, though the set up is a little heavier than the Smart Keyboard set up. Realistically it takes two hands to carry the 12.9” iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard around while it is open, though if you wanted to prove a point you could probably do it with one hand. There is no problem closing the keyboard and carrying the iPad around closed, one hand or two. I compared holding my MacBook Pro 13” and the iPad Pro 12.9” with Magic Keyboard and the latter seemed slightly heavier. Granted this test was not scientific, but go figure. That’s the way it seemed to me. I’m not going to actually weigh each to get real data, for feel is more important than objective data in this regard.Typing on the KeyboardOnce I started typing it took me a little while to get used to the action, and I’m still hitting a key wrong on occasion, but not often and not anymore than I do typing on either my 15” or 13” MacBook Pros or my Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro. As has been noted in other reviews, the number keys are underneath the cantilevered iPad Pro and it takes a few minutes of typing to get used to that, but within minutes I had learned how to sneak my fingers into the cantilever gap and hit the numbers that I need to. I am a touch typist so the first thing that I did was turn the backlighting for the keys down as far as I could. I don’t look at them anyway, but it still leaves a very minimal amount of backlight on. From time to time would still hit my typing fingers on the bottom of the iPad Pro while trying to type numbers, but it really is nothing, and as I get used to this keyboard it won’t be a problem at all. Also, I notice that from time to time I don’t hit a key hard enough for it to register. It is not that one has to pound away on the keys, but if you have a very light touch you might have to get used to pressing a bit harder than one would on a well oiled MacBook Pro. Once again, this is just the newness of the feel of the keys. I also find that it helps a lot if I take a second to get the right posture at the keyboard with my fingers on the home keys, before I start hammering out sentences and paragraphs. The feel of the keys is definitely much nicer than Smart Cover Keyboard for the iPad Pro, but I wouldn’t say it is immeasurably better than the keyboard on a MacBook Pro. Unsurprisingly, the more I type on the Magic Keyboard the more I like the feel of the keys.TrackpadLet me just say right off that not having to use my clumsy fingers to move around most apps on the iPad screen itself is a game changer for me. The trackpad is good for this, but I broke down and also bought a Magic Mouse 2 to go with the new set up. I find myself using the mouse a lot more than the trackpad. It is simply more convenient, but I think that this is a matter of taste. I haven’t used a mouse with my MacBook Pros for years, relying solely on their trackpads. So I can use the trackpad with the Magic Keyboard. I just don’t. Note that when the Magic Mouse 2 is paired with another device (MacBook Pro) it will not work with the iPad Pro. In that case you have to use the trackpad on the keyboard to move around (or go back to your finger on the screen).Battery LifeThe iPad Pro did not lose much power when I left it off the charger over night. It had 100% when I went to sleep and 8 hours later it had 96%. That is about the same as when it has been attached to the Smart Keyboard. After 6 hours of steady use typing this review, answering emails, checking twitter and some news sites, and reading some pages on the web, the gauge is showing that I still have 68% battery left.Overall ImpressionSo far I like the Magic Keyboard a lot. Perhaps even more than I thought I would. I’m glad that I bought it for two reasons. I like the cantilevered angle that the iPad sits at on the cover and raised position closer to eye height, and I like the feel of the keys. I can definitely type faster than I can on the Smart Cover. I’m glad I spent the money, but not everyone will find that the benefit to cost is worth it. I spend so much time in front of my iPad Pro that any improvement to the experience is well worth it.Does It Make the iPad Pro a Notebook?Not by a long shot, but not because of the hardware. If all one does is type reports and format them oneself, or surf the web, or watch movies then it is fine as a sole machine. However, I work with many different companies and they all have their own styles that they insist be used in documents. With Microsoft Word one can just take any report that uses the style and import it into any documents that have been properly set up using the the “Styles” feature of Word. My impression is that most people do not use the Styles feature in Microsoft Word, though I may be wrong about this. I’ve never taken a poll, but on different projects that I’ve worked on people don’t use the feature. I use it all the time, but the mobile Word App does not incorporate a “global” Styles feature. Also, there are accounting and tax programs for a notebook that don’t exist for tablets, or don’t have full functions for tablets. When I use a program or app I tend to learn how to use most of the features. I do not use a computer as a typewriter as many do. I employ most of the nifty innovations that word processing has introduced over the last thirty years, and they just aren’t there for a tablet. On one assignment overseas I brought only my iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and did all my writing, research copying and pasting, and document management with the tablet. The split screen was a tremendous asset for legal analysis, having the law on one side and my report writing on the other. But ultimately I had to do all of the formatting on my MacBook Pro.

I was in the market for either the 11” iPad Pro or the new 10.9” IPad Air. My current iPad is a second generation iPad mini. My laptop is a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. When my MacBook’s screen backlight went out, I thought it was time to upgrade. The new Air really intrigued me. But at 64GB for the base model, it was too small of storage. The next model at $749 with 256GB would be good. More than enough. But than that puts it into 11” iPad Pro territory. For $50 more you gain the better refresh rate (120 vs 60) and the extra cameras and a few other minor things. But that only includes 128GB of storage. But that actually is just the right amount.I went to the store to get my hands on them to try them out. After holding them, I knew the form factor was just right. But than I saw the 12.9’ Pro. WOW. But do I need 12.9”? HECK YEAH. I’m not a pro user. I watch videos and maybe edit some photos. Nothing more than crops and lighting. What’re edits come with apple photos app. Using it, I realized that the size was almost identical to my crapped out MacBook Pro.Now getting to the keyboard. Initially, I thought “Why in the world would any sane person pay $349 for a flipping keyboard? They had a display unit with the 12.9” and the larger keyboard. As I used it, it was plainly obvious. “This is why sane people pay $349 for a keyboard!” This absolutely worth every penny. It really turns the iPad into a laptop. The floating iPad is genius. The magnets hold it securely and it does not ever feel like its gonna fall off. The keyboard has a very satisfying click to them. They are backlit and self dim if the iPad goes into rest mode too.The game changer is the trackpad. The trackpad is very responsive. Since iPadOS added trackpad support, it makes the interaction a lot laptop like. The curser moves around the screen in laptop like fashion. It sorta “snaps” to an area that is clickable when it gets near it. There is no weird trying to precisely move over the cursor.Some complaints have been the viewing angle while using it as a laptop on your lap as opposed to it sitting on the table. I use it in my recliner with the keyboard laying on my stomach and the iPad sorta sitting close the my legs. It does not tip over, but it is top heavy. The viewing angle is just perfect. I have never felt that I needed to worry that it would tip over backwards. Although it has, but only when I’m in one of my unnatural watching and typing positions. What’s great also is that unlike a laptop, I can easily pop it off and use my iPad like an iPad. When closed with the iPad attached, it feels like it weights the same as a regular laptop. It feels like it weights more a Macbook air but less than a MacBook Pro. But overall, its the absolute best of both worlds.If your debating weather its worth it, consider this: a 12.9” iPad with 128GB and this keyboard comes in at around $1350. It s’more than an MacBook Air. And roughly the same price as a MacBook Pro. So its laptop price. (Although, you can find the iPad for $949 and the keyboard for $329 on Amazon) with the 90% of the functionality of one, but also all the functionality of a great iPad. I do not miss not having a laptop since I got this.