Bloggers type. A lot. Now you know. A good keyboard is vital. The Typecase Edge is a great keyboard case for iPad that’s much like Apple’s Magic Keyboard. But here’s the kicker: it has a magically low price. For real.
The Case
For me, the iPad is a tablet first and foremost, as it was originally designed. That is its true strength: a simple, modern, and mobile tablet (computer). Yet sometimes it acts like a laptop because of the Typecase keyboard.
It’s a third-party device that’s like Apple’s Magic Keyboard (a floating cantilevered design), which I used with my previous M2 iPad Air. Tilt or lean-back is good and sturdy, the hinge is very strong, keeping the iPad in place 100% of the time. A little more tilt angle would be nice, but then it’d likely tip backward too easily. It’s inherently top-heavy.
The base iPad A16 reliably sticks to the Typecase Edge Keyboard with magnets that are plenty strong. Folding it closed auto-locks the display. The keys are backlit with many color options, each with three brightness levels. And it has a place to store a Pencil.
My case is white, which I don’t recommend. Soon after I started using it, discoloration appeared around the place I normally carry it in my hand. I’d go with black or another dark color. The material itself is soft like fake leather. No edges or seams show any wear or tear after three months of usage.
It has its own internal rechargeable battery, using a USB-C port on the right side, matching the side of the iPad, which makes it convenient to charge either one or both at the same time. What’s super cool is charging the keyboard directly from the iPad if needed. I honestly don’t know how long the battery lasts because it has never run down; I just charge it on occasion when I happen to also charge my iPad.
The overall encased iPad/keyboard is not too heavy or bulky to carry around.
The Keyboard
The keyboard pairs via bluetooth, not the Smart Connector, yet I’ve had zero connectivity issues. It goes to sleep after a set time and always takes 2 or 3 seconds to wake up before typing (that delay can sometimes be annoying).
As for the typing experience, it’s very good. Key travel is about 1mm and keys are not too clicky and not too mushy. No keycaps show any hint of popping off. The keyboard deck has no discernible flex in normal use. Nothing feels flimsy or poorly made. It has shortcut keys, like for media playback, via the Fn key.
The keyboard is almost full-sized, a bit cramped with the 11” iPad, but you get used to it. The size is less nice than a wide-open typing deck (like on an actual laptop), but it feels fine and works well enough. The palm rest is ample, feeling slightly bigger than what I recall on Apple’s Magic Keyboard.
The Trackpad
The trackpad is…okay, neither great nor bad. It works. It’s good to have in a pinch, like when you encounter a button on the web that has a hover-state. Apple’s Magic Keyboard trackpad is much better — but it also costs far more.
Unfortunately, there’s a slight lag or latency to the Typcase Edge trackpad. And the size is small. So I don’t use it much.
It has multi-touch gestures, but maybe the worst part is that I’ve found no way to drag-select text or items using touch or gesture control; the trackpad must be physically depressed/clicked for that. It works but it’s not nice. My finger doesn’t glide over its surface when depressed due to the pressure/friction. I’m spoiled by my old MacBook, but even my current HP Victus gaming PC laptop has a much better trackpad.
Here are there 11 backlight colors (each has three levels of brightness):
Conclusion
The TypeCase Keyboard retails for around $80, coming in various colors. I got mine for about $66 on sale! For typing in laptop-mode, I like and recommend it. But if you must have a great trackpad, don’t look here. I prefer my bluetooth Logitech mouse for pointer control.
The Typecase Edge Keyboard is very good overall for what it is and its price tag.
It protects your iPad during travel (albeit leaving the edges exposed).
It’s easy and convenient to have a keyboard always with you.
It turns your iPad into a pseudo-laptop.
It works as a nice iPad stand for viewing content.
It’s a nice combo package: keyboard, case, and stand.
The trackpad is serviceable.
It costs a small fraction of the Apple Magic Keyboard.
Those are the upsides. The downsides are slightly cramped typing if your hands are very big and a trackpad that is lackluster. There’s also the inherent downer that it’s top-heavy, unlike a bottom-weighted clamshell laptop.
There’s still something to be said about an even cheaper option for physical typing: the standard separate bluetooth keyboard. You can always get one full-sized. You can get one with a number pad. You can type while the iPad is vertical in addition to horizontal.
It also works with any device, not being specifically tailored to a certain model iPad. This means when Apple eventually changes the iPad’s dimensions or rearranges its internal magnets, the separated keyboard will still work, but one that’s form-fitted to previous models will suddenly become an expensive paperweight or door-stop.
My Anker bluetooth keyboard that cost me about $20 is over ten years old and still works! Keep it simple. Keep it frugal.
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