This keyboard has changed the way I use my iPad. Logitech Combo Touch - review
The Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case has changed my attitude towards iPad keyboards. Previously, I used Apple's Smart Keyboard, agreeing to compromises. After testing Logitech's devices, I know that these are not necessary.
I changed the iPad keyboard theme in all possible ways. I used Bluetooth keyboards with the tablet, and when I switched to the 7th generation iPad with Smart Connector, I acquired Apple's Smart Keyboard.
The story could end there. I accepted the limitations of a dedicated product from experience knowing that I would not find anything better. An important caveat to this story is that I didn't want to make my iPad look like a laptop. I was not interested in compact designs that pretended that the tablet became a notebook. The advantage of Smart Keyboard is that I detach it from the device with one move and put it aside, significantly reducing the weight of the set.
The second objection is even more important. When mouse support appeared in iPadOS, I was not thrilled. The function was placed in the Accessibility settings, so I treated it as a facility for disabled users, which I will not use. A significant change (including gesture support) came with the appearance of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and iPadOS 13.4. Using a keyboard with a trackpad made more sense and made the experience more like using a MacBook.
Logitech Combo Touch - a sensational alternative to Smart Keyboard.
When I took the Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case out of the box, my mouth involuntarily twitched into a smile. The first impression was excellent due to the nice material texture of the accessory and its quality. It consists of two parts. The first is a case with a stand for supporting the iPad, the second is the keyboard itself, which we connect to the iPad using the Smart Connector. This fact makes it an absolute plug and play - connecting the keyboard with the tablet makes it work.
Admittedly, the set is quite heavy. On the positive side, it provides good protection for our iPad. The manufacturer also managed to find a place for the stylus.
The angle of the iPad can be smoothly adjusted in the range from a little over 90 degrees to about 120 - 130 degrees. I did not check it with a protractor, but the manufacturer is definitely telling the truth, declaring that the adjustment angle is 40 degrees.
The tablet remains stable on the table or desk. Less stable on the knees, but also in this position you can use the keyboard.
The keys have a backlight, the intensity of which can be adjusted in four ranges.
The trackpad is of course smaller than on the MacBook. Its width is 9.5 cm and the height is 5.4 cm. The touchpad, however, is large enough to use the gestures that I will talk about below. The only caveat I have to the trackpad is its travel too high. A long time had to pass before I got used to having to press the plate harder.
How do you spell on Logitech Combo Touch?
The keyboard has an almost identical layout to the one on the MacBook. The sizes of the keys are also similar (though not all). The convergence is so large that when changing devices, your hands do not have to get used to the new keyboard. You have the feeling of using the same device.
The keys have more travel than the MacBook Pro's butterfly keyboard, but slightly smaller than the Magic Keyboard 2 for Mac. The text is entered quickly and without errors.
The keyboard obviously supports classic shortcuts (cmd + c, cmd + v etc.). The top row of keys offers dedicated buttons to exit to the home screen, screen backlight, on-screen keyboard, key backlight, multimedia support, volume and device screen lock.
If we look for flaws, we find them at the interface level. For example, I switch to the Slack application with a gesture - when I do it on a Mac, the cursor will automatically position itself in the text field. On the iPad, after changing the application, I still have to manually place the cursor in the appropriate field. A small thing, but quite annoying.
The trackpad changes everything.
The Logitech keyboard is much more comfortable than the one in Apple's Smart Keyboard, where the key travel is too soft. However, it is not her that persuades me to change. The game rules are changed by the trackpad, which makes the work on the iPad similar to the one on the MacBook. This is due to gestures.
In the case of a keyboard without a trackpad, the rhythm of work is often disturbed by the need to reach the screen to, for example, switch between applications. The trackpad is a much more natural way to navigate when you're already using the keyboard.
So we will scroll the screen up and down with two fingers. The three-finger upward gesture takes you to the app switching screen or the home screen. If we do it sideways, we seamlessly switch between applications. The Slide Over view can be reached after moving one finger beyond the right edge of the screen. By moving in a similar way in the upper right corner we call the Control Center, and in the left one the Notification Center. A list of gestures can be found on the Apple support site .
Logitech Combo Touch - is it worth buying?
We come to difficult questions.
The case with the Logitech keyboard costs PLN 649. In the case of the 7th generation iPad, it is more than 30 percent. the values of the new tablet. A lot. Readers who are not used to the prices of Apple's branded accessories will scream "olabog". But hold your horse. The Cupertino Smart Keyboard for iPad 7th gen. And iPad Air 3rd gen. Costs PLN 749. And it is worth mentioning here that it offers much less - both in terms of ergonomics and hardware (it does not have a trackpad). In turn, the great Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro costs PLN 1499 for iPad Pro 11 and PLN 1699 for iPad Pro 12.9. It's just to outline the context.
The Logitech kit isn't cheap, but it's worth the money. We get a premium product with a very nice-to-touch texture and high functionality.
Working with iPad becomes more comfortable and efficient thanks to trackpad gestures, and entering text is efficient and fast. When changing the device from an Apple computer to a tablet, we will not feel any significant difference in the comfort of work.
After disconnecting the keyboard, we can sit on the couch and go into passive content browsing mode. The stand on the back of the case will also be useful without the keyboard. When we set it at the greatest angle, we can draw comfortably with a stylus. Under the small one, we can watch multimedia in a friendly manner. The original Apple Smart Keyboard seems to be poor relatives of Logitech's equipment in this comparison, which may be a bit surprising.
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This keyboard has changed the way I use my iPad. Logitech Combo Touch - review
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