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Magic Keyboard vs Smart Keyboard Folio for iPad Pro (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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We have a MacBook Air 2013 that is on its last legs and we need to replace it. My wife also wants an iPad so that she can read our Apple News+ subscription and watch movies in bed. I feel like the most cost effective solution is to get a keyboard case for the iPad and use it as the laptop replacement. The only thing we use the MacBook Air for is normal web browsing, ordering pictures prints via the web, some home office work using Google Docs, and I use it to remote to my PC when I don't feel like going to my basement office.

I don't see why a keyboard case wouldn't suffice in this scenario. The Magic Keyboard trackpad entices me, especially potentially not having to rewire any muscle memory with normal web usage, using google docs, or when I remote to my PC. But is the web browsing experience nerfed enough by iPadOS that its not worth spending $300 on the Magic Keyboard? Is it better to get the cheaper Smart Keyboard Folio case and try to use the Apple Pencil for the same workflow instead?

Just curious what this community's experience with these accessories are. Thanks in advance for the input.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I’ve used both, and the Magic Keyboard is the better laptop replacement by far. I couldn’t go without the trackpad at this point. I use my iPad as an iPad all the time, but I also use it as a thin client to remote into my Mac. I did this sometimes before the Magic Keyboard existed, and it was handy, and I could be somewhat productive, but it’s a thousand times better with the trackpad.