Apple’s iPad Professional has confirmed to be one of the fashionable additions to the iPad lineup in recent times, regardless of its typically steep costs. And, as all the time, Apple continued with an equally costly line of equipment, together with the Apple pencil – now in its 2nd gen, priced at £ 119 ($ 129) – and the Sensible Keyboard Folio which weighs in at £ 179 ($ 179) for the 11 inch mannequin, or £ 199 ($ ​​199) for the 12.9 inch.

Unsurprisingly, third-party producers have jumped in with a lot of extra reasonably priced options, together with Logitech with its fashionable Create keyboard, which was one of many first third-party equipment to undertake Apple’s Sensible Connector.

The Create is a bit cumbersome and weighs 725g, so Logitech has now give you the Slim Folio Professional, which is a thinner and lighter different for the Third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Professional and new 11-inch iPad Professional launched final October.

The Slim Folio Professional is significantly cheaper than the Apple-branded keyboard, priced at £ 109 ($ 120) for the 11-inch mannequin and £ 119 ($ 130) for the 12.9-inch model. You’ll be able to even add the one from Logitech Pencil stylus as effectively (£ 65 / $ 70) and nonetheless across the identical value as Apple’s personal keyboards.

SEE: High 20 Apple Keyboard Shortcuts for Enterprise Customers (Free PDF)

The keyboard design reveals few indicators of compromise, nevertheless. Each variations are solely 22.5mm (0.9in) thick – with the iPad inside – whereas the load is 552g (1.22lb) for the 11in mannequin and 707 g (1.56 lb) for the 12.9 inch. The molded rubber case is pleasantly mushy and versatile, however it’s powerful sufficient to guard the iPad if you’re on the go. Logitech additionally pays nice consideration to element, sustaining a 1mm hole between the iPad display screen and the keyboard when the case is closed, to keep away from scratching the display screen. There’s a massive magnetic clasp that retains the case closed, but in addition features a small pocket for the Apple Pencil that retains the stylus within the appropriate place for wi-fi charging on the aspect of the iPad.

Once you open the case and maintain the display screen upright to sort, a contact sensor routinely activates the keyboard, activating the Bluetooth connection and the keyboard backlight. Nonetheless, reducing the display screen in “Sketch” mode deactivates the keyboard once more with a purpose to save energy.

The 12.9-inch keyboard we examined feels agency and comfy when typing. The keys snap into place firmly as you sort every character, and the Slim Folio Professional feels extra responsive than different slim keyboards we have examined. The keyboard additionally has adjustable backlighting, which will be managed utilizing the highest row of operate keys, whereas different keys management media playback, quantity, or take you to the house display screen. or locking.

The one notable compromise within the design of the Slim Folio Professional is that it ditched the Sensible Connector, which gives each connectivity and energy for the Create keyboard, and opted for a Bluetooth connection as a substitute. Bluetooth pairing is fairly easy, however which means the Slim Folio Professional wants its personal rechargeable battery, which Logitech says ought to final three months if used for about two hours a day.

The battery expenses by means of a USB-C port, so you possibly can cost it from the USB-C port on the newest iPad Professional fashions whereas in use. Sliding the USB-C cable out of the again of the keyboard is not essentially the most elegant charging answer, however you should not must do it fairly often, and in all different respects the Slim Folio Professional provides a substitute for Apple’s vary of equipment.

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