mjrwhitehead

I have the 11” iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard Folio. I also had the 10.5 iPad Pro with the Smart Keyboard. 

We all have our own opinions - and that’s a good thing. Mine differs wildly from the author’s. 

I did not really much like the 10.5 Smart Keyboard. And to me the new one for the 11” is a big improvement in multiple ways: 

- multiple display angles 
- much more solid when typing, including on your lap, where the old one was prone to collapse at any moment (#1 improvement!) 
- you can pick it up and move it around without it falling apart like the old one
- the key action seems to me to have just a touch more travel - I like it a lot, and can write for several hours on it without any major issues
- keyboard section seems stronger and stiffer - if you are silly enough to pick the system up by that protruding keyboard section, the old system would bend a lot, whereas the new one does not. 

I would rate the old solution for the 10.5” at about a 6/10 (light, thin, decent key action) - whereas for me the new solution gets an 8/10 (to me pretty much all the same benefits of the old one, plus vastly more solid in use, with more viewing angle options). 

I agree the fold over with keys facing outward is kind of odd. But the two sides join quite solidly, again via magnets, and the keys are reliable in not being active, so i just accept them as grip - or pull it off and put it in my bag if mobile, or to one side if at home. 

My wife is also a user of both old and new solutions, and feels just the same as I do - so I feel justified in thinking I’m not the only one with this opinion