Best Reviewed Keyboard and Case for Ipad 2017 on Amazon
The research
- Why y'all should trust us
- Who should (and shouldn't) buy this
- How we picked and tested
- Our selection: Zagg Pro Keys
- Flaws simply non dealbreakers
- Runner-upward: Logitech Slim Folio
- Upgrade pick: Brydge 10.2 Max+
- Budget choice: Logitech K380 for Mac Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard
- What about other iPad models?
- The competition
Why you should trust us
I've been covering Apple products and accessories professionally since 2011, and in that fourth dimension I've reviewed more than two,000 products, including keyboard cases for every model of the iPad. I'thou also responsible for Wirecutter'southward iPad case coverage, among many related topics.
Who should (and shouldn't) buy this
If yous've always idea, "I don't like typing on this iPad screen—I wish I had a existent keyboard," odds are, you'll benefit from a keyboard instance. You lot can dramatically increase your iPad productivity with real, tactile keys that let you type (almost) as quickly and with (most) as few errors as you can on your reckoner.
A keyboard case combines the advantages of a physical keyboard with a protective case—instead of having to comport a separate keyboard, y'all take a keyboard congenital correct into a case that's similar to the ane you're likely already using (though a keyboard case can be a flake bulkier since it has to suit the keyboard). And most keyboard cases are specifically designed to permit you type on your lap, as you would with a laptop, making a keyboard case better for portable use than an iPad with a split up keyboard and stand.
But before you blitz out and buy a keyboard example, consider the drawbacks and temper your expectations, because adding a keyboard case to your iPad is all about making compromises. Yous get the superior productivity and typing feel of a physical keyboard, simply you as well add noticeable bulk and weight. And many keyboard cases are designed to stay on your iPad, and so you tin can't easily exit the keyboard behind when you lot don't need it—which eliminates one of the big advantages of using a tablet over a laptop.
An iPad keyboard instance is worth getting if you need to apply a physical keyboard regularly and you lot want one with yous well-nigh of the fourth dimension. Fifty-fifty and so, you should at least consider a standalone Bluetooth keyboard instead. If y'all'll be doing much of your typing on a desk, table, or other apartment surface, a split up keyboard volition give you a larger keyboard with improve keys. You'll also be able to create a much more ergonomic setup by elevating the iPad and putting the keyboard at the ideal typing position; when you don't need the keyboard, y'all can go out it behind to travel light. Yous can as well proceed using your favorite iPad case, and if you ever upgrade your iPad, you won't have to buy a new keyboard example to fit it. (The biggest downside to a separate keyboard is that you tin can't hands type on your lap.)
How nosotros picked and tested
We've covered iPad keyboards since not long subsequently the offset iPad came out in 2010, and since then, we've tried pretty much every offering from every major brand, as well as dozens from brands y'all've probable never heard of. Here are the things an iPad keyboard instance should offering:
- A skillful typing experience: The most important role of any iPad keyboard case is the keyboard itself. After all, if typing on the keyboard isn't dramatically better than typing on the iPad'due south screen, there'south no point to the extra weight and expense.
- The right fundamental layout: The keyboard should utilise a standard key layout with all the expected keys in all the correct locations.
- Skillful keys: The keys shouldn't be so pocket-sized or so cramped that you regularly printing adjacent keys past accident. The keys should have a decent corporeality of travel (the altitude you press the key to actuate it) and should have a adept tactile experience.
- Dedicated iPadOS keys: Nosotros similar having iPadOS-specific keys for functions such as Spotlight (search), adjusting effulgence, and Home. We adopt (but don't require) defended keys, as opposed to overlays that require you to press the Fn key to admission these functions.
- Solid protection: A good keyboard case must protect your iPad well.
- Reasonable size and weight: A keyboard case makes an iPad bulkier and heavier, but it shouldn't exercise so to an unreasonable extent. It also shouldn't take up too deep a space on your desk.
- An easy on-off design: Nosotros appreciate keyboard cases that brand it elementary to leave the keyboard behind when you don't need information technology so you lot aren't forced to comport extra bulk and weight.
- Multiple angle options: Multiple angles for propping up your iPad requite you more flexibility in terms of ergonomics, comfort, and avoiding screen glare—but at the very least, a example should offer an bending that lets you comfortably view the screen but isn't easy to tip over.
- Long battery life: The less y'all have to worry almost your keyboard's battery dying, the better. Luckily, this is rarely an issue with current iPad keyboards.
- An Apple Pencil holder: All current iPads support the Apple tree Pencil, so having a style to carry i with you is a small only appreciated feature.
- A reputable make: Keyboards have lots of moving parts, and cheaply fabricated ones tend to have reliability issues. Nosotros primarily looked at models that come from known brands with practiced customer support and offering a proficient warranty, only nosotros didn't entirely exclude popular models from less-established companies.
Testing keyboards requires extended use, because switching to a new keyboard requires a period of adjustment—you lot need to exist certain that a keyboard that doesn't feel good at outset is really a bad keyboard and non just ane that's unlike from what yous're used to. Of the models that met our criteria, we tested each for a minimum of two weeks of regular use, and nosotros used each of the top contenders for much longer. We tested the keyboard cases both for longer sessions, which are important for getting a feel for how practiced the overall feel is, and for quick hits, to see how convenient a keyboard example was for "Pull out your iPad, practise something, and put it away" tasks. Sometimes a cracking overall design is ruined by a bad typing feel; sometimes a fantastic keyboard is hampered past a poorly designed case or stand.
Our pick: Zagg Pro Keys
Our choice
Zagg Pro Keys for iPad (seventh, 8th, and 9th generation)
Best for the 2019, 2020, and 2021 10.ii-inch iPads
With comfortable, responsive, and backlit keys, as well as a removable inner instance, two viewing angles, and the ability to pair with 2 devices, the Zagg Pro Keys is the keyboard case to beat.
The Zagg Pro Keys is the best iPad keyboard for people who blazon a lot. In a relatively modest field of trustworthy competition, the Pro Keys is one of the all-time models to type on cheers to great keyboard hardware and a proper key layout. What sets it apart are the extra features on top of the nifty typing feel: backlit keys, a removable inner case, two viewing angles, and the ability to pair with two devices. It does everything the next-best selection, the Logitech Slim Folio, does just as well, and it does many things ameliorate.
The keyboard has all the keys you'd discover on a laptop, and they're all in the correct location—something many other iPad keyboards get wrong. The entire keyboard is smaller compared with a laptop'south, but the difference is more than noticeable with the miniature modifier keys than with the letters. Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, and Control, for example, are still wider than the letter keys, just non by as much every bit they are on a full-size keyboard. Getting used to slightly smaller keys and their rounded-square shape is easier than having to relearn where a bunch of keys are every fourth dimension you switch from your computer to your iPad. The Pro Keys as well offers a dainty assortment of iPadOS-specific special-function keys in a half-summit row across the top. And each key is backlit, with seven colors and four effulgence levels.
We enjoyed typing on the Pro Keys, and nosotros constitute that the physical keys were large enough to exist comfortable and easy to press; they provided proficient tactile feedback, too. Primal travel was shallow compared with that of a loftier-quality laptop keyboard, though it was better than on an older thirteen-inch or 15-inch MacBook Pro with the butterfly-style keyboard. And using the Pro Keys felt more than like typing on a "real" keyboard than on an afterthought accessory. The whole matter is sturdier than its competition: Whereas other iPad keyboards we tested flexed under the pressure of our fingers pressing on the keys, the Pro Keys did not.
Although other keyboard cases, including the Logitech Slim Folio, offer a great typing experience, none combine that with a removable design similar the Pro Keys does. The segment that holds and protects the iPad magnetically attaches to the rear panel of the Pro Keys, and the keyboard is easy to pull off when yous don't need it. The instance isn't the slimmest or nearly bonny one around, simply it does offering total button protection, the appropriate cutouts for the ports, speaker redirection, and a stylus holder on the right side.
The Pro Keys'due south automated connection is ane of its best features. The initial Bluetooth pairing process is identical to that of any other wireless keyboard and takes seconds. But the Zagg keyboard uses a clever arrangement to reconnect whenever you're ready to type. The iPad's left edge—the bottom border, when y'all have information technology in typing orientation—magnetically connects to i of the ii strips above the top row of keys (at 30-degree and 37-caste angles, respectively). When that happens, the keyboard wakes up and is ready for y'all to type afterward a moment. Other models may require you to printing a push button to wake upward the keyboard, whereas this one is ready when you lot are. And when you lift the iPad off the base of operations, the keyboard automatically disconnects.
This keyboard's battery life is rated to concluding for a year, and you can easily recharge information technology via a USB-C connector. In contrast, Logitech's Slim Folio offers a four-year battery, simply that's with a user-replaceable money-cell bombardment. Either style, you won't have to worry about charging very often.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
As we noted, all iPad keyboard cases require y'all to make some compromises, and that holds truthful for the Zagg Pro Keys, also. Its keys are smaller than standard keys, and they don't feel as dainty to type on equally good laptop keys, so the keyboard isn't every bit pleasant to utilise every bit the best standalone Bluetooth keyboards, peculiarly for extended typing sessions. And though the Pro Keys has one of the best fundamental layouts we've seen on an iPad keyboard instance, the sizing is just a flake different from that of a regular keyboard, so you may end upwards making some errors. To be fair, this will happen with pretty much any iPad keyboard case due to universally cramped keys, and we've found ourselves making far fewer mistakes with this keyboard than with models that put commonly used keys in unfamiliar locations.
The Pro Keys doesn't take an Esc key—we often miss having it. But that particular merchandise-off is very common; few iPad keyboards include an Esc key.
At about 0.nine inch, the Pro Keys isn't the thinnest keyboard case, only information technology'south non thicker by much. It is, all the same, noticeably heavier than Logitech's Slim Folio—1.five pounds, compared with 1.09 pounds.
Runner-up: Logitech Slim Folio
Runner-up
If you are willing to sacrifice the ability to separate your case and your keyboard to have a lighter bundle, or if you lot accept a 5th- or 6th-generation, 9.7-inch iPad, the Logitech Slim Folio is your best choice. Much similar the Zagg Pro Keys, information technology'due south excellent to type on. Simply it offers less flexibility in how yous can use it considering information technology has a single typing angle and tin can pair with only one device at a time.
The Slim Folio'southward keys are the same size as those on the Pro Keys, though they're total squares, not rounded at the corners. Logitech, much similar Zagg, put them all in the right place and included a row of function keys along the peak. We've spent countless hours over the by several years typing on many iterations of the Slim Page, and nosotros've always found it pleasant. Unfortunately, the keys aren't backlit, so you may have a tougher time typing in the dark.
The Slim Page provides but one typing angle for the iPad, with the tablet securely held in place by a magnetic strip much as with the Pro Keys. We found that angle, roughly thirty degrees dorsum from perpendicular, to exist comfortable during use. The Slim Folio'south sturdy design allows you to poke and tap at the iPad's screen without the tablet bouncing back around.
The Slim Folio case's pattern looks nice, if somewhat bulky, but despite its size, it's quite lite. With the Slim Folio weighing about 2 pounds with an iPad inside, merely Apple's Smart Keyboard is lighter. The iPad snaps into a hard-plastic shell with cutouts for all the tablet'southward ports and buttons and its rear camera. The 10.2- and 10.5-inch models are wrapped in polyurethane, and the nine.7-inch version is covered in a fabric panel stacked on height of the crush. This cover continues around to the underside of the keyboard and acts every bit the front end of the screen cover. The whole package feels squeamish, peculiarly in comparison with the usual combination of plastic and safe nosotros see on iPad cases. The Slim Folio'southward keyboard and instance don't separate, though, unlike on some models nosotros've liked. Thankfully, the blueprint allows you to easily snap the tablet out of the case when you demand to. A simple loop on the correct border deeply holds the showtime-generation Apple Pencil, offering a handy way to proceed the Pencil from getting lost at the bottom of your bag.
Because Zagg doesn't make the Pro Keys for the 9.7-inch iPad, the Logitech Slim Folio is the best selection for people who utilise an older tablet.
Upgrade pick: Brydge 10.2 Max+
Upgrade pick
Apple doesn't make a version of its trackpad-integrated Magic Keyboard for the 10.2-inch iPad, but a scattering of third-party accompaniment makers exercise. Brydge's 10.2 Max+ for iPad (7th, eighth, and 9th generation) is the best case with a trackpad, combining a keen typing experience with trackpad support and a fully protective and removable OtterBox case. Although we don't think a trackpad is a necessary part of the iPad experience, we tin can easily recommend the Max+ for anyone looking to have advantage of a trackpad on the entry-level iPad.
The iv-past-2.4-inch trackpad is clearly the reason to choose the Max+ over the Pro Keys or the Slim Folio. Like Apple tree's laptop and standalone trackpads, the Max+'s trackpad is made of glass, but because it uses a physical hinge rather than haptic feedback, y'all have to be within the bottom 2-thirds or so of the trackpad to click. Otherwise information technology works well, with the same gesture support you'd get if you lot were using one of Apple'due south Magic Trackpads connected over Bluetooth or the Magic Keyboard with the iPad Pro. Using a cursor in iPadOS feels natural, and the iPad supports the same kind of intuitive multi-finger gestures that you'd use on a Mac. Even though the trackpad is small compared with a laptop'due south, it offers enough room for you to scroll and swipe without feeling cramped.
Compared with Logitech's Combo Touch, the just other x.two-inch iPad example with a trackpad and our quondam choice in the category, the Max+ offers a more laptop-like design and a better instance. The detachable OtterBox case snaps into two hinges higher up the top row of keys that magnetically hold it in place. They permit a full range of positions back to about 123 degrees without annihilation propping upward the tablet from backside. The Combo Touch, in dissimilarity, employs a kickstand-style mechanism that takes up more room on your desk-bound and isn't very lap-friendly.
The Max+ has the same physical dimensions as the Slim Page (it's 0.eight inch thick when information technology's on an iPad) but weighs about a third of a pound more. Yous can remove the keyboard when you don't demand it and all the same keep the iPad's torso protected, and because the keyboard uses Bluetooth, you lot can nonetheless type even when the two pieces are separated. Brydge says the USB-C–rechargeable battery volition last for up to vi months with two hours of use a day if you don't use the backlight and for 40 hours of consequent employ if y'all exercise.
The keys on the Max+ are slightly narrower than those of the Slim Page, a difference we noticed when nosotros put the ii models side by side. Merely because the keys are nonetheless large enough, and in the right layout, we didn't have whatever issues or discomfort while typing from the get-go. Plus, these keys are backlit, and a total row of function keys sits forth the superlative.
In addition to adding the high-quality trackpad, Brydge made the Max+ feel more premium with a case that we similar quite a chip on its own merits, divide from the keyboard. Designed by OtterBox, the plastic and safe case is slim simply offers protection all the way around the iPad, including the buttons, with a raised lip to forestall the screen from making contact with the basis. The case even has an elastic loop on the right side to hold an Apple tree Pencil. Whereas most detachable cases experience like a mere piece of the total production, this case feels like something that could exist sold on its ain.
Budget pick: Logitech K380 for Mac Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard
Upkeep pick
The Logitech K380 for Mac Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard is an affordable keyboard choice that's comfy, compact, and versatile. Afterwards trying multiple sub-$50 keyboard cases, we call up it's the best choice if you're on a budget. But it does require making some compromises. Instead of being housed inside the front cover of a case, it's a standalone keyboard (our favorite Bluetooth keyboard, in fact). This means that it's another thing to comport, but also that you tin use your own iPad instance without having to comport the keyboard when you lot don't demand it. In addition to the keyboard simply being slap-up to type on, information technology tin can pair with up to three devices, including a telephone or computer, and 2 AAA batteries can power information technology for upwards to ii years.
What about other iPad models?
Equally for the iPad mini, there are no great keyboard cases for that tablet, given that all the drawbacks of most keyboard cases for the iPad—cramped keys, odd key layouts, boosted bulk, and the like—are even worse on keyboards for Apple'due south smallest tablet. Unless yous absolutely need an all-in-one design (and you lot take a lot of patience for typos), you're much better off using a standalone Bluetooth keyboard and either an iPad stand or a instance with a built-in stand up, and leaving those accessories behind when you're on the go.
The competition
We've tested more than a hundred iPad keyboard cases over the years, then we can't mention every pick we've dismissed, but we've included some of the more notable models below.
iPad (7th, 8th, and 9th generation)
Apple tree's Smart Keyboard is available for the iPad (seventh, 8th, and 9th generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), and 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and it provides a solid, comfortable typing surface. It's much more expensive than other cases merely offers plenty to justify the cost. Cheers to Apple's Smart Connector, it automatically connects without any pairing procedure, and it doesn't need its own battery (so you lot have no battery to accuse). Merely these factors are simply barely inconveniences on other keyboard cases. The Smart Keyboard'southward folding options let for only one typing bending, and this model doesn't protect the dorsum of the iPad. We'd recommend this keyboard example only if you're concerned almost thinness over everything else and y'all don't listen paying a premium for it.
Logitech's Rugged Folio is the only keyboard instance other than Apple'south that uses the iPad's Smart Connector, meaning no pairing process is necessary and it doesn't need its own bombardment. But the keys are rather soft and mushy feeling, and the Rugged Folio requires 10 to 16 inches of desk space to unfurl, compared with only almost viii inches for the Slim Folio. But the Rugged Folio is spillproof and rated to survive drops, according to Logitech, so information technology's a good pick if you use your iPad in a crude environment (or around kids).
If you lot need a keyboard case that can position the iPad in a diverseness of angles and directions, go with the Yekbee 360 Rotatable. For almost the same price every bit the Slim Folio, you go a case that you lot can arrange in many more ways, in a similarly sized packet. It has two major downsides, though: The keys don't feel quite as nice, and the maker isn't as established, and then you may be out of luck if you lot require customer service.
The keys on the Yekbee Folio feel as inexpensive and hollow as those on the 360 Rotatable. And its keyboard presses correct up confronting the iPad'due south screen, which might damage the screen over fourth dimension. Plus, it doesn't automatically lock the tablet'due south screen when closed, so yous might come dorsum to a dead battery if you lot don't manually turn off the iPad.
iPad (fifth and 6th generation)
If you lot need actress protection from drops, Zagg'south Rugged Messenger is the next-all-time choice in this express field. It's around an inch thick when fully assembled and near a half-pound heavier than our principal choice, and it offers the second-best typing experience we found. Information technology has a handful of useful features that are uncommon among iPad keyboard cases: The case is detachable from the keyboard, the Bluetooth connection supports two devices for like shooting fish in a barrel switching, and the keys are backlit, making for a better experience when you're typing in dark settings.
Zagg'south Slim Volume Go provides a pleasant typing experience, but the big difference betwixt it and the Logitech Slim Folio is that the Slim Book Go consists of two dissever pieces: a case that holds the iPad, and a keyboard that magnetically attaches to the case's edge and doubles as a cover. It takes up more space than the Slim Folio when open, only it is a good alternative if you value being able to detach the keyboard. The biggest downside to the Slim Book Go is how much desk space it requires—the keyboard and stand up are around 12 inches deep when propped up for typing, compared with 7½ inches for the Slim Folio.
Logitech's Slim Combo is our former pick for a example with a detachable keyboard, and information technology'due south a bit smaller than the Zagg Slim Book Go. Only it's non as stable on a lap, it tin't pair to multiple devices, the battery needs to be charged four times every bit ofttimes, and it's more expensive.
The Zagg Flex universal keyboard uses the aforementioned good-just-not-nifty keyboard as the remainder of Zagg'southward lineup, and the instance isn't specifically tailored to any ane tablet. At a lower price, this model might be an acceptable selection, but we think it's too expensive given those compromises.
The Zagg Rugged Book, which fits the iPad Air, iPad Air 2, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, fifth-generation iPad, and 6th-generation iPad, is thicker and heavier than every other example we tested, including the Rugged Messenger. That said, if y'all're willing to put upwards with this weight and bulk, you get an exceptionally durable and protective keyboard case that's nifty for families with kids, for classroom use, or for piece of work in rough environments.
The Zagg Folio isn't equally nice to type on every bit our choice. The entire keyboard flexed as we typed, the finish on the keys on our review unit was a dry matte plastic that felt cheap, and the keys sounded unpleasant equally we moved our fingers across them. Yous can't fold the Folio's keyboard underneath for a tablet mode, and it slides effectually on a desk more meliorate cases. Plus, you take to printing the ability button to activate the keyboard after information technology has fallen asleep, as opposed to the automatic re-pairing on our selection.
We tested the Fintie 360 Degree Rotating Case to run across how a popular, inexpensive case stacked upward. (The same OEM design is available from many different brands on Amazon.) It's a faux-leather case that's more than an inch thick, with a big, ugly hole exposing the Apple logo on the back of the tablet. Overall, it just looks and feels inexpensive, and it takes up far too much room in a bag.
The Brydge 9.7 is a very good keyboard in a laptop-like aluminum body; two modest, silicone-lined hinges hold and position your iPad like a laptop screen. It lets you use the iPad on its own, and the same Brydge model works with the sixth- and 5th-generation iPads, both iPad Air versions, and the 9.seven-inch iPad Pro. Aesthetically, it's also among the nicest keyboard cases we've tested: With the "screen" closed, the setup looks nearly as if the iPad and keyboard had come in a package together. However, the Brydge doesn't protect the back of the iPad on its own—the visitor offers a Slimline Protective Case if you need full protection.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-ipad-keyboard-case/
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