Technically Speaking

A few years ago, I needed a new laptop for my secondary job. I wanted something lightweight with a long battery life, while also being capable of playing light games and streaming videos. At the time, summer of 2021, the windows laptop scene was bleak and, to get something that wasn’t e-waste in the box, it seemed I would need to spend around $1500 minimum to get an overpriced device.

Instead, I decided to knock off two birds with one stone as I was also in the market to get a tablet to replace my original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from nearly a decade prior. As the world of Android Tablets has been bleak for years (and potentially changing now that large foldables are becoming more popular), I decided to give the iPad Pro a shot. After all, what is a computer?

Well, I swiftly learned that, despite the Pro in the name, the iPad simply is not capable as a laptop replacement. Rather than using a keyboard case, I carried a mechanical keyboard and a mouse with me to do my work and, at the best of times, it worked okay. The “solution” was clunky, time consuming to setup, and by no means lightweight. The iPad’s gaming selection was poorer than I realized, but it does serve as a great media consumption platform.

Ultimately, I caved a year later and bought a new laptop that ultimately served all of my needs better than the iPad and I relegated the tablet to a media consumption and note taking device. However, while I love my laptop, occasionally the small footprint and extra portability of the iPad could serve as a quick writing tool. So as a happy medium between the laptop and notes written by hand, I decided to once again attempt to use the iPad as more than just a media device.

Enter the Logitech Folio Touch.

At $159 USD, the Folio Touch sits comfortably at a middle price for keyboard cases for the iPad. Above is the Logitech Combo Touch and the Apple Magic Keyboard, below is the Zagg Pro Keys or the Logitech Slim Folio. I decided on the Folio Touch for three primary reasons: protection, connection, and pencil storage. The Folio touch offers a bumper rim around the ipad, unlike the Magic Keyboard, it provides direct connection rather than Bluetooth like the Zagg, and it provides some coverage for the pencil to keep it in place unlike the Combo Touch. I also liked they idea of having a small touch pad, though that wasn’t a driving factor.

So, what are my first impressions of the device?

The Keyboard

I’ll admit, I expected the keyboard to be mid at best. It’s a scissor-switch, laptop style keyboard, which I expected to feel mushy or awkward. Instead, I’ve found the keys to have a delightful, tactile bump, a decent travel (akin to higher end laptops), and the design makes it simple for a touch typist to feel at home. The keys are smaller than your typical laptop, but they are not so small that I get lost searching for underused keys. They are ABS plastic, so they will shine and smooth with time, but as a first impression, I’ve found myself capable of typing with ease.

The keyboard also comes feature packed for its small size. The keyboard has a full row of iPad specific function keys, as well as Mac modifier keys. The function keys provide quick access to brightness, media controls, screen lock, quick desktop access, search, and the on-screen keyboard. The keyboard also includes backlit keys, though, as the power for the keyboard is drawn from the iPad itself, the backlight is hardly impressive. Just enough to offer some assistance in a darkened room.

The keyboard also includes some additional elements I wouldn’t ordinarily expect. A full arrow cluster not locked behind an alternate layer is delightful. The “globe” or “planet” or “web” key (to be honest, I have no idea what Apple expects me to call the button) provides a meta layer through iPadOS, though it is often app dependent. The palm rests are just large enough for someone with my large hands to still find them comfortable without being distracted by the edges jabbing the palms of my hands.

For the price, I expected a good but not great keyboard. My first impressions are that it’s actually better than expected. We’ll see if the keyboard holds up after a year or two of mild to moderate use.

Build Quality and Design

The Folio Touch is by no means a rugged case, but it provides a confidence boosting amount of rubber around the edge and back of the case. I initially noticed the heft and rigidity of the case. Unlike the plastic and lighter weight Speck case I previously had on the iPad, this case feels more durable and resilient.

The case is covered both on the keyboard and on the shell in a textured material feeling like cloth. While typing it provides a comfortable rest for the palms and, in the hand, it provides a premium feeling tactile experience. It reminds me of the cloth case Amazon offers for its Kindle products, and I’ve always enjoyed the feel of those products in the hand.

The case comes with a stiff kickstand used to put the tablet in laptop or media mode. The kickstand has a rigid travel allowing it to stay in a variety of positions; however, it also causes the footprint of the device to be larger, in laptop mode, than either a traditional laptop or the Magic Keyboard with its floating stand. Still, for the price, the rigid stand feels nice and I feel I can trust it to hold its position. That said, we’ll see how long that rigidity lasts, and if, in time, the stand loses its usefulness.

That’s not to say everything is rosy about my initial impressions. Unlike the Speck case, there is no protective cover for the camera lenses on the back. The camera bump is sufficiently protected, but, while traveling, the lenses have no protection from scratches. On the flip side, the case provides wrap around protection for the edge, where the Speck left the power button and volume rocker exposed for easier access. This means the Folio Touch requires you to push on the case itself to operate the buttons on the iPad.

The keyboard is also more flexible than I initially expected. While the flexibility does not seem to cause any discernible difficulty when typing, I am concerned about the long term durability of the palm rests. Finally, the case is not quite compatible with all models of the iPad Pro. While size-wise, the case will fit an iPad Pro from the 1st through the 4th generation, the speaker cutouts on the case do not quite line up with the speaker grills on the 3rd and 4th generation iPads. There seems to be enough space to not cause a material burden in the audio output of the device, but it is disappointing that a premium device advertising compatibility is not fully compatible.

Taken in whole, even in light of the problems with the case, I am happy with the design and quality of the case, and it seems to be in line with my expectations of a $159 product.

Trackpad

There is not much to say about the Folio Touch trackpad. It is glass covered pad, so tracking is silky smooth, but, as to be expected given the size of the case, the pad itself is reminiscent of trackpads on netbooks from a decade ago. That said, it supports touch to click as well as distinct left and right click zones. It supports multitouch gestures, and has an excellent feeling response time (though do note, I’ve not actually tested this in any meaningful way).

The primary question for the track pad is if it’s worth the extra money over the Slim Folio. I’d say yes for now. The Slim Folio and Folio Touch appear to have the same keyboards, but the Folio Touch moves the keyboard up and provides a palm rest. The Folio Touch design also provides the more functional kickstand rather than the traditional “tenting” approach of most folio cases. As such, I think the track pad is a worthwhile addition.

Pencil Protector

Perhaps the weakest part of the case is the Pencil protection. The case is held shut with a strong magnet behind the keyboard flap connected with a strap attached to the back of the case. The strap will stretch over the pencil providing some protection against lateral movements jarring the Pencil loose from its magnetic perch on the edge of the iPad. This only provides protection while the case is closed, but that’s more than the other cases identified above can offer.

All that said, the strap seems more designed to fit with the flatter Logitech Crayon. The strong magnets on the case are slightly higher on the back of keyboard flap and so require a looser hold on the pencil than if the magnets were a few millimeters lower. The Crayon can slot into a sleeve in the flap, which offers a more secure hold than the looser grip with the Pencil. Still, some protection is better than none. The Speck case had a, in effect, a slot for the Pencil; however, the slot offered little protection and the Pencil could easily be jostled from the case.

We’ll see if this protection offers more than the Speck or if it simply offers a different type of protection.

Conclusion

As you have no doubt surmised, if you have made it this deep into a first impressions review of a years-old product, I’ve typed this article as an excuse to use the keyboard I’ve just acquired. All in all I’m happy with the keyboard. I notice my battery life has drained faster than expected while using the board, so it is likely I’m losing some of the theoretical 10 hour maximum on the iPad Pro to the operation of the board, but I cannot yet tell if it is more than I lose to keeping the Pencil charged or if its somehow a significant amount of drain. It’s something to keep an eye on and may ultimately shade my opinion of this case.

Still, with my first impressions, I’m happy with the case and look forward to the added functionality for the pad.