I bought a new Apple Magic Keyboard to pair with my iPad Pro and it’s my alternative to the new (insanely expensive) Magic Keyboard for the iPad. It arrived surprisingly quickly and I had all of yesterday evening to take it for a spin.
But why buy another one?
I’ve been using my iMac’s keyboard when I have to work from the living room. My set up is my MacBook on a raised stand, the iMac’s keyboard and and mouse, with the iPad Pro on Sidecar, acting as a second monitor.
It’s fantastic.
The recent updates to iPad OS have been fantastic when it comes to mouse support and it makes text manipulation and fine detail on the screen so much easier to navigate.
However, no matter what combination of actions I try, it basically takes me about fifteen minutes every morning to get the keyboard and mouse to work with the MacBook. It seems that it’s tricky to move them between devices with any regularity and so I snapped and just bought a second keyboard.
My ‘evening’ set up is in the photo above. I put the iPad Pro in its stand and when writing anything, use the keyboard and mouse. When I’m just browsing or watching a video, the iPad comes out of the stand and I just lie back on the couch.
A perfect lockdown combination, and it cost less than a third of the new iPad Pro magic keyboard! It’s like having a mini iMac at my fingertips, but one that infinitely more flexible.
So I’m out going to get rid of my iPad folio keyboard just yet! It works perfectly and is idea for taking the iPad on the go.
Something I’m not going to be doing for some time…
MacPsych on the move 
An important thing to realise about the new iPad Magic Keyboard, is that it doesn’t fold back completely. So if you need to fold it back and over, sort of slate-mode, you can’t. It really is just a desktop accessory.
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Exactly! All the reviews I’ve read / watched have pointed that out. I love the fact the ‘old’ keyboard folio just folds out of the way when you don’t need it (I keep remembering examples of this when travelling by plane!) and the more I look at the Magic Keyboard, the more I see it as something that wouldn’t leave my apartment. I’ll stick with this set-up for the foreseeable, I think. It’s working just fine for me so far. iPad OS is just fantastic and I’m excited to see what this year’s virtual WWDC brings in terms of advancements.
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