They are both soooo easy to take off, though. In fact, they are both slightly too easy to take off, IMO, with the first gen being slightly worse about that (i.e., I don’t think easier is a good thing).
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Assessing Smart Keyboard and pencil gen 1 vs 2
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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Right. If there were a female connector I could easily charge with existing chargers I had lying around without that stupid adapter. But, then I couldn’t charge from the iPad.
And they’re mostly likely always together. You go out...you take the iPad and Pencil.
I’m trying to get use to the tap gesture of the Pencil 2. I have this habit of tapping the pencil when I’m anxious (like people shaking their legs). As a result, I mistakenly switch between the pen and eraser tool quite often without realizing it. I’m thinking of turning this feature off because I can’t break my anxiety habit. Overall, I like the 2 better than the 1.
My guess is that they were stuck with the Pro form factor when they decided to add the Pencil.
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Agreed. For the first year I never even took the charger adapter out of the box.
That's overstating the case a bit. I own a Surface with the pen, and the battery lasts forever compared to the Pencil. I use the pen quite heavily and one battery lasted me more than half a year. I think the tradeoffs made by Microsoft are quite reasonable and superior to the first gen Apple pencil.
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The Surface is not a bad laptop, but I don't believe it's superior to the MBP as a laptop (even running Windows). The fact that it can be used as a tablet is a plus, but it's a very clumsy tablet -- mainly because of the software. Windows 10 is just not good as a mobile OS, and touch targets are unresponsive, the UI is not fluid, etc. etc.
If you plan on mainly using Office applications and using the tablet features to do PDF markups, note-taking, and some sketching, then I do think owning one Surface Pro is cheaper and (perhaps) even more productive than owning both a MBP and an iPad.
The Smart Keyboard on the 12.9" iPad Pro (it's the same model for both the first and second generation models) and the 9.7" iPad Pro has an ongoing Quality Repair Program where they'll replace them for free out of warranty. However, they are replacing them with units that are going to still be susceptible to the same problems. So, if we're talking about 12.9" iPad Pros, then the new Smart Keyboard automatically wins on grounds that it isn't a freakin' lemon.
Obviously, this comparison goes back to being subjective if you're comparing the Smart Keyboard of the 10.5" iPad Pro to that of either of the 2018 iPad Pros. Though, I suppose also doubling as a case is nice.
As for the pencil, I like the look of the first generation better, but I can't argue that the second generation is going to be functionally superior.
Obviously, this comparison goes back to being subjective if you're comparing the Smart Keyboard of the 10.5" iPad Pro to that of either of the 2018 iPad Pros. Though, I suppose also doubling as a case is nice.
As for the pencil, I like the look of the first generation better, but I can't argue that the second generation is going to be functionally superior.
Having owned several Surface devices, I actually quite like the Surface Pen design, but make no mistake, the AAAA battery choice is a very Microsoft type of decision. When I was traveling on extended overseas trips with my Surface those batteries always came with me, even though I never actually had to use one. There was no chance of me finding one in remote Africa. The Apple Pencil has considerably more hardware in it than the Surface Pen, so half a year in the Pen might be a few days or weeks at most in the Pencil. Apple's charging method was actually ingenious in its simplicity.
Do you happen to have a link to this ongoing Quality Repair Program? I tried to take my failed 9.7" Smart Keyboard in to my local Apple Store, and they basically told me that they couldn't do anything about it except charge me for a new one.
Not all employees are aware but it was an internal memo. I got an out of warranty ASK replaced a year ago.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/05/08/appl...pair-program-sticking-keys-functional-issues/
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...-smart-keyboard-ipad-free-repairs-three-years
Pretty shady its not even on their Exchange repair program:
https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/
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