atonaldenim

About the article, I always disable the Safari setting 'Open "safe" files after downloading' - I am shocked that Apple would have any default setting that allowed random things downloaded from the internet to be automatically opened! File downloads can easily happen without the user realizing. I don't know if that would mitigate this particular vulnerability, but I would definitely recommend that everyone disable that Safari option.

Paul_B said:

This application called Console provides everything the Operating System is rendering - Their is no privacy - How many times do I have to post the same comment?

Command-Space type Console.

 Hi Paul, the Console is a normal part of every operating system, it's a place where you can see your computer's "inner monologue" shall we say, the countless little status updates that all the background processes are generating behind the scenes. No need to worry about this, it's not a secret and it's not a security risk. Here's some articles about the Console that will hopefully put your mind at ease.  

https://support.apple.com/guide/console/welcome/mac
https://macpaw.com/how-to/use-mac-console-app

Hey Wesley, it's great to hear you are somewhat a fan of this case, and keyboard cases for iPad Mini in general. Would you be interested in doing more reviews of iPad Mini keyboard cases in the future? I'd love to see more coverage of this topic. If you look at the reviews for the Brydge 7.9 keyboard (one of the best keyboard cases for the previous gen iPad Mini) it's full of people begging for a new version. I think there are a number of people interested in this type of product, and like I said really nobody else out there is covering this beat.

That's interesting to hear that some Brydge iPad keyboard cases are able to work in wired mode. As a product reviewer I'm sure you have a lot more familiarity with Brydge's product line than I do! The only recent iPads I've owned are iPad Minis, and the Brydge 7.9 keyboard is the only Brydge product I've owned personally. Out of curiosity I just cruised through the Brydge user manuals page and I only found that the "Brydge Pro" product line user manuals mention a wired mode. All the other Brydge manuals only mentioned a wireless mode. Does that reflect your experience, or do other Brydge iPad keyboard cases offer wired modes too? I know my Brydge 7.9 definitely does not have a wired mode, I just checked it to be sure.

Wired mode mentioned:
Brydge Pro 12.9 For iPad Pro
Brydge Pro 11 For iPad Pro
Brydge Pro For iPad Air

No wired mode mentioned:
Brydge 12.9 Pro+
Brydge 11.0 Pro+
Brydge 12.9 MAX+ for iPad Pro
Brydge 11.0 MAX+ for iPad Pro
Brydge Air MAX+
Brydge 10.2 MAX+
Brydge 10.2
Brydge 9.7
Brydge 7.9

When I was originally shopping for my first iPad Mini keyboard I was interested in a wired mode option, as I thought it would be best for typing sensitive things like passwords. But I didn't find any good options out there, and I realized for sensitive typing I could always just type on the screen. And the ergonomics of plugging in an iPad keyboard case with a cable dangling off the side don't really seem appealing either.

Sounds like we both agree that reviews should target the average user, I guess we just have different ideas of what the average user would want. When you say "most others would probably buy Apple's classic Magic Keyboard" I suppose you mean the desktop bluetooth keyboard, not the Magic Keyboard with trackpad for iPad, since that doesn't exist for the iPad Mini? 

I would have to disagree that someone looking for an iPad Mini-sized laptop-style keyboard case with trackpad would buy a standalone keyboard with no trackpad that doesn't attach to the iPad Mini. That would be a logical choice for a professional writer, but I think the average person looking for a tiny keyboard case doesn't plan to do much writing on it. The laptop-style form factor and the built-in touchpad are the key features I'm looking for, and a detached desktop bluetooth keyboard offers neither of those things, it's just in a completely different product category.

For me the appeal of having an iPad Mini in a laptop-like form factor that can sit on your lap, with a trackpad to enjoy iPadOS's new cursor support, is for the kind of casual lean-back reading / video watching / content consumption usage that I think most people with the iPad Mini would be doing, as opposed to larger iPads that are better suited for more serious work and content creation. Heck I own a 15" Macbook Pro with a pretty good keyboard and I don't do a lot of writing on that, either. Being in the shape of a laptop doesn't necessarily mean its going to be used for extensive typing. Yes occasionally typing the URL of a new website, or the name of a video to watch, or logging in to a site, or perhaps dashing off a short email or note, those are useful things for having a physical keyboard in the package too. But the obvious size limitations of a laptop-style iPad Mini case mean that most people shopping for this type of product are going to have reasonably low expectations for the keyboard's quality compared to a normal sized keyboard.

Thanks for the replies and I suppose we should both get back to work! I appreciate you spelling out your ratings criteria and I suppose it's perhaps refreshing to see a more rigorous rating scale in today's world where 5 stars is often assumed to be the starting point. If you have interest in reviewing other keyboard + trackpad cases for the iPad Mini I would definitely be interested to see them, and I think a good number of other people would too!

Wesley Hilliard said:
it is fundamentally, objectively bad at being a keyboard. There isn't even a wired option. Lol.

This comment suggests perhaps a lack of familiarity with the “iPad keyboard case” market in which this product is competing. Very few iPad keyboard cases allow for a wired connection, except the small handful which connect to some iPads’ Smart Connector (which the iPad Mini 6 sadly lacks.)

Brydge for example is objectively the #1 or #2 best third party iPad keyboard case brand, and I believe nearly all of their bluetooth keyboard cases also lack the ability to connect via USB. It’s simply not a common feature in this product category. 

The article’s suggestion that instead of an iPad-mini sized keyboard case we carry a compact mechanical keyboard, reflects perhaps a somewhat outlier set of priorities on the author’s part. Most average consumers interested in this type of product will not be mechanical keyboard enthusiasts looking for a desktop-class typing experience on a tiny iPad.

Thanks for making us aware of this product! It sounds like the author is not in the niche club of iPad Mini owners desperate for something, anything that resembles this. As the price is currently only $56 with STUDY15 promo code on Lululook's site, I just ordered myself a Gray one to go with my iPad Mini 6 in Starlight. (the keyboard comes in gray or black.)

This looks to be the same keyboard under a different brand name that YouTuber "VeryLastDollar" called "The BEST PREMIUM iPad Mini 6 Keyboard Case" and "The Must Have Keyboard Case For Any iPad Mini 6" which he reviewed at $80. Yes the video is goofy but he's one of the only people I've found that reviews and compares the various mediocre iPad Mini 6 keyboards that are available on the market. He raves about this keyboard and trackpad compared to the other options available. 

I got the Brydge Mini 7.9" keyboard for my previous-gen iPad Mini and I LOVE that size device for a tiny travel laptop. Having a physical keyboard makes the on-screen keyboard disappear, making the screen real estate feel twice as large in some instances. But one of the big drawbacks of the Brydge was the clamps that pinch the bezels to stay mounted to the iPad. When folding the iPad + keyboard combo shut, pressing on the top rear of the iPad (as one normally closes a laptop) caused the iPad to flex in the Brydge's clamps, so the clamps put undue force on the front of the iPad as it folds down. You can see the screen change colors frighteningly from the pressure points of the hinge clamps. The best solution I found was to flip it over so the iPad itself rests on the table and the keyboard is up in the air, and then press on the back of the keyboard to fold it down against the iPad. Not ideal and hard to get in the habit of remembering to do it this way. 

In comparison the magnetic attachment of this Lululook keyboard looks like it will be far more gentle to my new iPad Mini. And a trackpad, so exciting! Unlike the author, I'm not a writer, and so I expect to use the trackpad for web browsing a lot more often than the keyboard. And it will hopefully be a nice travel combo that I can also use to hold the iPad screen in various positions for watching videos etc.

Before the iPad Mini 6 was even available for sale, I wrote Brydge immediately after the Mini 6 was announced, begging them to produce a keyboard with trackpad like this for the new iPad Mini. Over a year later, the old Brydge Mini 7.9" keyboard is discontinued and it's still crickets from them if they'll ever release a new Mini keyboard option, let alone with a trackpad. This Lululook keyboard's nice magnetic cradle solves the old Brydge's hinge pinch problem, and the USB-C charging port is an improvement on the Brydge's micro-USB port as well. I'm not expecting it to be as good as the iPad Magic Keyboard, but I've given up hope anything that good will ever exist for the iPad Mini 6. For about 1/5th the price of a Magic Keyboard, I'm hoping this little keyboard case will be a decent travel companion for my iPad Mini in situations when a full size laptop is too big and too valuable to carry.