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iPad Pro 9.7" keyboard impressions

Wackery said:
I can't believe there are so many people who say they can touch type, and at the same time complain about the lack of back light on the smart keyboard. do you live in a place without modern lighting? can you actually touch type?

It's a great, durable and fast typing platform, that's super expensive and overpriced.

But i find i type better on it because there are few distractions, it's compact and efficient. helped ironically by the ipad pro's lack of true multitasking so i don't get distracted and can actually concentrate on writing.
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That's down to orientation... Due to no trackpad and the fact hands go off so frequently a quick glance down to orient is the way most orient on home position - the home key detents arent' particularly good . So like for me if I am reading a while (and I can absolutely touch type and relatively fast with few errors) I have been focused on scrolling - particularly in the lap it's very time consuming to
Afind the right place.lso <----see this is another issue I am having - my keyboard is randomly just carriage returning and splitting words etc... Happening all the time.

Anyway, that's where the backlight would be helpful - were there a touchpad and hands remaining on keyboard it wouldn't be as much of an issue - at least that's my take on why it's an issue for me - also there's no natural resting position on the design - it's a hover over - maybe because I have relatively long hands - not big like sausage fingers - but I'm tall and say Palm to tip of middle finger is just under 8 inches - so it's both cramped - and too spaces with no natural resting position // sorry about the last off topic part - but yah, if everyone else can figure out fiber optic lighting or whatever - Apple should have - but I'm sure they just saw a way to force some kind of upgrade in a year on the pro buyers.
 
I do not touch type, and am experiencing a strange issue with my 9.7 keyboard. Because of the way my fingers are on the keyboard, the joints of my left hand hit the screen on occasion. Unfortunately the spot that gets hit is the "undo" button at the bottom of the screen, and whatever I have just typed gets permanently deleted. The "redo" button doesn't help because I usually type 2 or 3 more characters before I realize I have hit the screen.

Getting frustrated needing to retype entire paragraphs!
 
stevelaw said:
I do not touch type, and am experiencing a strange issue with my 9.7 keyboard. Because of the way my fingers are on the keyboard, the joints of my left hand hit the screen on occasion. Unfortunately the spot that gets hit is the "undo" button at the bottom of the screen, and whatever I have just typed gets permanently deleted. The "redo" button doesn't help because I usually type 2 or 3 more characters before I realize I have hit the screen.

Getting frustrated needing to retype entire paragraphs!
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Yah that's again because there's no real rest position. Not that there really are on many of these small keyboards but maybe you can try angling a bit more the other direction. A small shift may be enough to correct it.
 
I wonder if the overhang coincides with the weird disconnects..

After my full settings reset things do seem a bit better - and I think part of it is how poor the setup is on lap... On a table I'm not experiencing any of this..

I'm curious if anyone here considered - with the keyboard case and rear case and 128 gb iPad and pencil, we're at the price of a MacBook - or similar.. For those who want good keyboards - what's your reason for opting for the pro over the MacBook or MacBook Air, etc.. I have to say I'm considering the MacBook paired with the surface and existing air 2 for my needs - given the price... But I do like the pencil option.
 
h00ligan said:
I wonder if the overhang coincides with the weird disconnects..

After my full settings reset things do seem a bit better - and I think part of it is how poor the setup is on lap... On a table I'm not experiencing any of this..

I'm curious if anyone here considered - with the keyboard case and rear case and 128 gb iPad and pencil, we're at the price of a MacBook - or similar.. For those who want good keyboards - what's your reason for opting for the pro over the MacBook or MacBook Air, etc.. I have to say I'm considering the MacBook paired with the surface and existing air 2 for my needs - given the price... But I do like the pencil option.
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I like the portability and felexibilty to change it up. If I'm watching a movie I bed, I only need the iPad and simply detach it from the keyboard. Or when just web surfing, I keep the keyboard folded back on the iPad. Then at work I used it a lot with the keyboard and also as a note pad when using the Pencil to take handwritten notes.
 
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I will objectively and begrudgingly admit the apple Smart Keyboard has grown on me - but I still think there will be much better for less money and It absolutely is slower than others for me - the part where it stops responding only happens with the rear cover attached, it's the way it rocks on the lap that causes the connector to wobble.. For those who were experiencing it- so either ditch the rear cover, which I only makes the iPad lean back to far sometimes - or type softer..you're using it wrong.

Either way for that much money it needs to be a more solid connection and have backlighting, and generally an I'mproved design, it's still a weak first effort but not AS bad as I originally thought..
 
Honestly, I've went on and on almost about the Logitech Keys to Go option with an Apple Smart Cover, just for the sake of detachment capability and shortcut keys. However, and after careful thought, I must say, I've now returned those two and replaced them with the Apple Smart Keyboard. While this is what I originally had, I certainly believe that the fact that most shortcuts can be accessed via other efficient means, e.g., volume buttons on iPad instead of on keyboard; CMD+H for Home, rather than a button; switching apps by swiping up on screen with four fingers, etc...

My point is, I believe that the tactile feel of a keyboard is the absolute most important aspect of a keyboard, bar none. In my estimation and experience, the Apple Smart Keyboard provides a world's difference in key response and throw than the Logitech Keys to Go, with the flat keys it uses. Hope this has been useful for anyone on the fence.
 
I have the 13" Pro (actually on eBay now), and recently purchased the 9.7 pro with the Apple Smart Keyboard. I had the larger sized Apple Smart Keyboard previously.

I can say, after several days, almost a week in fact I am struggling to use the smaller Smart Keyboard. The keys are very close together, I am making so many typing mistakes due to the size. I can't seem to get used to the size of the enter, delete, and tab keys. I thought I'd get the 9.7 because the 13" is a little difficult to use on the couch, without a small table/desk to place it on. Now I'm conflicted because I like the portability and true tone display of the 9.7, but the small keyboard is really bad.
 
solideliquid said:
I have the 13" Pro (actually on eBay now), and recently purchased the 9.7 pro with the Apple Smart Keyboard. I had the larger sized Apple Smart Keyboard previously.

I can say, after several days, almost a week in fact I am struggling to use the smaller Smart Keyboard. The keys are very close together, I am making so many typing mistakes due to the size. I can't seem to get used to the size of the enter, delete, and tab keys. I thought I'd get the 9.7 because the 13" is a little difficult to use on the couch, without a small table/desk to place it on. Now I'm conflicted because I like the portability and true tone display of the 9.7, but the small keyboard is really bad.
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I just got my 9.7" Smart Keyboard and have only been using it for maybe an hour and have already gotten pretty used to the size. I'm not making too many mistakes—a few here and there, but I would expect after about a week to be pretty proficient. The size of tab/delete/enter hasn't bothered me at all (I thought tab would but so far it is fine).

I actually rather like it, though I don't have the 13" to compare it to, and I think the 12" MacBook's keyboard is better (perfect, actually), so I'm mostly only conflicted because I'm not sure how much I need it with a MacBook around. It definitely seems like it might not be for everyone, but I wouldn't say it's bad either.
 
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I found the the cover breaks in after using it in watch mode after a while. At first, my baby pro was very up-right, but after a couple days of usage, my iPad now rests at a more comfortable angle. While the keyboard in watch mode, I hold the bottom left and right sides of the iPad with my thumbs, and insert my index and middle fingers into the small triangle behind the display. You can then lean the iPad back to its more relaxed angle while keeping it from falling.
 
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So far I'm very satisfied with the 9.7 inch Smart Keyboard. But I still like the 12.9 inch one better due to the full size keys.
 
After what is now a good break in period, I feel that there isn't even a question that the best keyboard tailored to the iPad Pro 9.7" typing experience is the Apple Smart Keyboard. It has made productivity tremendous on the iPad, and things I wasn't able to do, or wouldn't be able to do comfortably, are now a breeze with this setup.

In addition, the thin, light, and aesthetically pleasing profile is a big selling point. There is no keyboard for the iPad Pro 9.7" that is as thin and light as this. Very impressed, even more so than when I re-purchased it almost a week ago.
 
Today I received my IPad keyboard and I'm very happy with it.
After 10 minutes I'm already typing at full speed.
The only thing that I miss is that it's not in my native language (portuguese) but because I write without looking at the keyboard, my fingers know where the Portuguese keys are.

It's stable and the angle is correct for writing on a desk or a table.

I'm very happy with it.
 
I got mine yesterday and so far I really like it. Small enough footprint compared to my previous keyboards I used with my original iPad Air - does not add too much bulk. The typing is really nice IMO. Only gripe is that for some reason this morning it was not recognizing the space bar. But once I disconnected and reconnected the smart connector it started working. Has anyone else experienced that before?
 
I got mine yesterday as well and I love it so far. I am waiting for the back case to come tomorrow and it'll finally be complete, but overall typing experience is great. I'm glad I made the plunge and went for it.. I was skeptical at first but it's a great keyboard.
 
As I waited for the 9.7" smart keyboard to become available, I bought a 12.9" one to give the set up a test run for my daily work. I found it to be impressively comfortable and suspected I would return the 9.7" keyboard in favour of a smart cover, leaving the 12.9" keyboard on my desk at work.

I was finally able to purchase a 9.7" one yesterday. My online order still quoted a week, the return window for the 12.9" was closing, so I called a store and they said they had plenty (weird), so I hopped on a train for a couple hours to pick it up.

I used the keyboard nearly the entire time coming back and I knew already that I was returning the 12.9" because the 9.7" is not just impressively comfortable, but surprisingly comfortable to type on. It is small, and I do have big hands, but once adjusted, my brain does a pretty good job of knowing where the keys will be as a touch typist.
 
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