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Odd Combination! iPad 10th Gen (2022) and Magic Keyboard Folio

12:59 video

The 10th-generation iPad and the new Magic Keyboard Folio are an odd combination. I’ve had them about five hours, so these are initial impressions.

The basics

The iPad comes in yellow, pink, blue and silver (finally, colors) and starts at $449, with 64 GB or 256 GB, Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi plus cellular. It follows the design of the 2018 iPad Pros and the iPad Air 4 and 5. The kickstand-and-keyboard case is made specifically for this iPad and costs $250 on top of the $449.

What I like

  • The design language. I’ve loved it since 2018, and I think it’s a fantastic design for a piece of glass you hold and interact with. Adding colors is exactly what the base iPad needed. I thought the yellow would be brighter; it’s more matte, almost gold, but a pop of color on a lower-end consumer device is nice. I wish Apple would bring colors to more of its higher-end devices.
  • The camera moved to the landscape side. A big change for video calls: with a keyboard case or holding the iPad with two hands, you used to look like you were looking away from the camera, which looks unprofessional and disengaged. Moving it to the front is exactly right and should happen on every iPad. It’s the same wide-angle camera as the last few devices, with Center Stage.
  • USB-C on the base iPad. It opens a whole new world of accessories (I’ll cover them in an accessories video), plus charging and data transfer.
  • The display isn’t as good as the iPad Air’s or Pro’s: no P3 wide color, not laminated. But it’s pretty darn good, nice and bright and colorful. Unless you compare it side by side with P3 media, you won’t notice. There’s a slight air gap you can see at the right angle, but you don’t notice it using it.
  • The keyboard layout: a full row of function keys, finally, which we’ve been begging for: Escape, lock, media, brightness, volume, dictation and Do Not Disturb. The keys feel like the iPad Magic Keyboard’s, with good travel and sound, and the trackpad is very similar to the 11-inch Magic Keyboard’s: you can click anywhere, and gestures are fluid.
  • Speakers: not great, but with enough volume, and it’s hard to expect more at this price and size. They’re a true stereo pair.

What I don’t like

  • Touch ID. I really don’t like the Touch ID button on these iPads; it’s nowhere near as good as Face ID. I never had this problem with the old home-button Touch ID, but here I place my finger multiple times, and then often press the button and turn off the display. I find Face ID more accurate, consistent and simple.
  • The Apple Pencil adapter. The iPad only works with the first-generation Pencil, which needs an adapter to pair and charge. The cap comes off and you lose it, and it looks ridiculous. There had to be a better solution. If you don’t already have a first-gen Pencil, don’t buy one for $100 plus the dongle. The new Logitech Crayon, about $79, charges by USB-C, needs no adapter and works with any iPad without pairing; I’ve only used it a little, but it may be a better option.
  • The kickstand design. I’m not a fan of kickstand keyboard cases: they need a big footprint, don’t work well on a small desk, and are wobbly on your lap. This one also doesn’t go back far: I tilted it back a little and the back popped right off. So it doesn’t have the angles you might expect, and comes off easily if you tilt it from the wrong spot.
  • Closed, it’s slippery. The keyboard portion slides all over the front glass, which I imagine will cause scratches if any dust gets in, and I’d expect it to come loose in a bag. You can flip the keyboard around to cover the keys and keep it attached, but because it flips all the way around, there’s a long hinge area, so when connected normally, it popped off.
  • No backlight. For $250, you’d expect it. Logitech will sell its Combo Touch for $90 less with backlit keys, and I’ll compare them.
  • Incompatibility. The iPad isn’t compatible with the iPad Pro 11-inch or iPad Air 10.9-inch keyboards and folios. Moving the smart connector to the bottom, rather than matching the Air and Pro, makes no sense: you spend $250 on a case that isn’t great except for the key layout, for this one device. If you upgrade, you can’t use the case; if you want a better case, you can’t use it with this iPad.

Who is it for?

I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s for someone who wants to use an Apple Pencil, and given the combined price, I don’t think it’s for someone who wants a keyboard. I think it’s for the general couch iPad user who browses, plays games, and needs a bigger device than a phone now and then. Does this iPad make sense to you, or will you skip, upgrade or downgrade?

In this video

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