The hinge feels very sturdy and smooth when you open it, and it’s made of metal. It also has the same rubberized gray finish as the others, which I don’t expect to hold up well having seen the other two age. This case is very well-built, and feels the most solid of the three. If you’re somewhere with not a lot of space, like a coffee shop or lecture hall, you might have to fold up the MK and put it away, which is just annoying. Switching between typing and handwritten notes forces you to use the iPad naked, and also requires you to put the Magic Keyboard aside. While it’s nice to be able to just pull off my iPad whenever I want at home, it’s more annoying when I’m out and about. You are expected to remove your iPad from this case whenever you want to draw on it or use it as a tablet. Unlike the other two, it’s less of a case and more of a portable “dock,” since it can’t be folded back or used in portrait. The Magic Keyboard is monstrously expensive, at $300 for the 11”. While I mourn the ”meh” keyboard, I love how easy it is to switch from typing mode to tablet mode with this case, and I love how little bulk it adds. There are two typing angles, and I find they work pretty well for lap or desk use. This may seem like a minor thing, but I found it quite annoying, and the smudges are pretty hard to wipe off. This has the unfortunate consequence of leaving fingerprint smudges on your screen wherever the keys touch it. Because the whole keyboard is covered in fabric, the keyboard is spillproof, but also absorbs oils from your fingers. The layout is fine, but there’s no F-keys. I type quite quickly on it, but it’s not as enjoyable as the other ones. It has a unsatisfying muffled feel because of the cloth covering, and a sort of annoying clacky sound. The Apple Pencil is held on only with magnets, and it sometimes falls off in a bag. It also means you can pop the iPad out of the case really easily. Thanks to the Smart Connector, there’s no battery or Bluetooth circuitry, so this thing is seriously portable. It seriously doesn’t feel much bulkier than a normal folio case without a keyboard. By far the best thing about this case is how thin and light it is. Unlike the Logitech case, the whole thing feels great when closed, and all the magnets ensure there’s no wiggle anywhere. If you dropped the iPad in this case, there’s a decent chance the corners would get dinged, or it would fall out of the case. The whole thing is very minimalist, but leaves the iPad quite exposed. It’s got the same general design as the Logitech case, in that the back has a flexible hinge that lets the base of the iPad magnetically snap into slots in the base. Like all of Apple’s iPad Pro cases, it is held on only with magnets, and leaves the sides of the iPad exposed. It’s not cheap, but it’s within reach of most iPad customers. The Smart Keyboard Folio is the most portable option, and costs $180. It connects via Bluetooth, charges via USB-C, and I only need to charge it once a month. Unfortunately, it’s locked at a single viewing angle, and of course there’s no trackpad. It’s even got an F-key row at the top for adjusting brightness and stuff. It’s backlit, spacious, and has more travel than either of the others. The keyboard is great, easily the best of all three cases. When the whole thing is closed, the top and bottom halves wiggle about and aren’t held tightly together unlike the others. The case has a little magnetic flap to hold the keyboard closed, which also serves to hold the Apple Pencil in place if you’ve got one. By comparison, it’s quite difficult to insert and remove the iPad from the Logitech case, so you’ll end up holding it with the case folded around back, which makes the whole package very heavy and awkward to use. The difference is that you typically will use the Magic Keyboard rested on a surface, and will pop the iPad out when you want to hold it and use it like a tablet. It also makes the iPad quite heavy, about the same as the Magic Keyboard. Unfortunately, it does make the buttons feel terrible. It’s got really thick rubber bumpers on all corners of the iPad, and I would feel 100% comfortable dropping or even throwing my iPad in this case. This is the most “caselike” of all three, as it physically envelops your iPad. It has the same color and texture as the Smart Keyboard Folio (dark gray, rubberized feel), and I like it. Compared to the others, it’s practically a bargain. The Logitech Slim Folio Pro is the cheapest of the three at $120. I thought I’d go ahead and compare them all to help anyone in the market for a keyboard case. These are the three most-recommended keyboard cases for the iPad Pro, and I am fortunate enough to own all of them.
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