Brydge11 MAX+ Wireless Keyboard Case with Multi-Touch Trackpad for iPad Pro 11" & iPad Air 11", White Magnetic SnapFit Case, Silver Keyboard

I have tried a LOT of different keyboards for my iPad Air 5th Gen and this one is the best for me. I love the fact that you do not have to put the iPad in a separate case in order to use the keyboard. It magnetically attaches, so you can just pop it out to use it in "tablet mode." And just as easy to pop it back in for "laptop mode." Yes, the trackpad is the diving board style which makes it harder to click towards the top. I have mine set in tap mode anyway so it's really not that big of a deal. Frankly I don't even think of it.The typing experience is really good even though it is a slightly shrunk down size. I can type pretty fast on it and it feels solid and premium. The backlight is nice but I keep it off. I really don't care about my keyboards being backlight.This is a bluetooth keyboard so it's not as seamless as the Magic Keyboard that uses the smart connectors. That being said, the pairing on this is really fast and seamless. I have not noticed any problems with the trackpad's gestures because of this. All of the usual ones work very well.It is a bit heavy. When you have the iPad in it, you will certainly notice that you have a handful of device. It really doesn't bother me that much but if weight is a concern for you, keep this in mind if you buy one. As far as the protection it would afford in a drop, I guess it would help protect the iPad some but at the cost of itself. The edges of the device are exposed and I could see damaging the keyboard case in a drop.But I guess that's better than breaking your much more expensive iPad.The only improvement that I can think of that would make it 100% perfect is if it used the Smart Connectors. But other than that, this is a really nice keyboard that I don't think anybody would be disappointed with. I love it!! Definitely a keeper.

This is the case that gets you closest to a laptop-like experience with iPad. The huge touchpad is perfect and the biggest touchpad I’ve seen on any other available keyboard cases (also a lot bigger than the one on the Magic Keyboard case). The keys have a nice travel and are well lit (brightness is adjustable). Battery life of the keyboard is great but that will depend on usage. So far I have used it about 20+ hours with 2 weeks of Stan-by and it still has 40% charge left. The concerns about the viewing angle are not a concern for me. I’m always able to find an angle that’s comfortable for me without pushing the hinge to its limit. The hinge itself looks sturdy and I don’t foresee any issues. Attaching and taking the iPad off the keyboard is easy and well designed with the integrated flaps. The USB-C port on the keyboard is for charging the keyboard only and it doesn’t offer pass through charging for the iPad which is ok with me as I usually don’t plug anything into the iPad port besides the charger. If I do then I have a USB-C hub which gives me more ports. iPad plus keyboard are a little on the heavy side but this keyboard finally let my iPad become a serious laptop replacement so I stopped carrying my laptop with me. Using it on your lap is not the best experience as the whole setup is top heavy (at least with my 12.9” iPad Pro), and I prefer to use it on a solid surface, however the top-heaviness can be counteracted with a smaller viewing angle. Should I have any more insights down the road I will post updates but after 1 month of use I’m ready to call this keyboard case a must-have iPad Pro accessory.

I’m a big fan of keyboards, and especially those that turn an iPad into a mini computer. For the last few years, I’ve had the 10.2” iPad, and I had two different keyboards for it: a Brydge keyboard and a UAG keyboard. Each of these had different strengths and weaknesses, but the Brydge was the better performer of the two, while the UAG provided better protection. When I upgraded to the iPad Air 4th generation, it was time for a new keyboard.If you’re in the market for an iPad keyboard, you know there are a lot of choices. For me, it came down to the offerings from Logitech, Brydge, Zagg and Apple. Apple’s Magic Keyboard is the one that I thought I wanted, but the price is just ridiculous, so it wasn’t really an option. Zagg has the most reasonable price, while Brydge and Logitech offer several different options. Ultimately, I decided to go for the Brydge because of my previous experience with Brydge, as well as the aluminum construction, which pairs perfectly with the iPad Air, making it look like a smaller MacBook. Finding the Brydge 11 Max+ on sale for Black Friday sealed the deal for me.The first thing you notice is how the iPad attaches to the keyboard. Previous Brydge keyboards used small clamps at the bottom corners of the screen, and while this certainly worked, it was never an ideal solution, since the clamps were always visible. My previous 10.2 Max keyboard for the iPad (8th generation) used magnets in the integrated case to attach to the clamps, which were smaller than in previous models. I liked this much better, but the Snap-fit case on the 11 Max+ is genius! The iPad simply connects to a plastic back panel using magnets. This not only makes it easy to connect the iPad to the keyboard, it also makes it easy to take it off, when you want to use it as a tablet. Another big plus of this design is that the hinge holds the screen in the right position without needing a kickstand. Kickstands work just fine on a flat surface like a table, but less so on your lap. That’s not an issue with the 11 Max+, and it’s just as good on a desk as it is on your lap. This makes the Brydge stand out in a market with so many kickstand-based tablets.The Snap-fit case makes the combination of keyboard and tablet look like they belong together. There is, however, a drawback to this approach, and that is that the 11 Max+ doesn’t provide as much protection as other keyboard cases. For me, that’s not a problem, since I bought this more for productivity than for protection, but you should know this if that might be a problem for you.The reason to buy a keyboard is typing, so let’s talk about that. The keys on the 11 Max+ have good key travel and feel really great. Obviously, the keyboard is smaller than a full-sized keyboard, but it doesn’t take long to adapt. Pretty soon I was typing quickly and accurately, and I typed this review on it. I’ve used a lot of keyboards, and this one is very, very good. It is backlit, with 3 levels of intensity, although honestly the backlight isn’t great because it’s just putting light around the keys instead of through them. It also includes a row of keys across the top of the keyboard, including brightness, volume, and music playback controls. Why Apple doesn’t do this is beyond me. For the most critical function, typing, the 11 Max+ does it right.What about the trackpad? This is the area where so many keyboards stumble. There are 2 main elements I’m looking for when evaluating a trackpad: performance for things like scrolling and gestures, and how well it handles clicking. I didn’t realize how different iPad trackpads could be until I got this one and realized how bad the one on my UAG keyboard really is. I had begun to think that Apple’s implementation of mouse functions just wasn’t very good. But the Brydge 11 Max+ showed me that’s not the case. This trackpad is smooth and responsive, and scrolling with the trackpad is just as good as scrolling on the screen with a finger. Very nice!Many online reviews of this keyboard and others hammer it because of the absence of palm rejection when typing. This is a genuine problem, and it will quickly cause you to choose not to use the keyboard at all. Having your cursor jump all over the place is maddening! With the Brydge keyboards, there’s an additional setting that allows you to turn off the tap to click feature. This requires a full click of the trackpad to register a click, and while it’s not as smooth as just tapping, it does solve this problem. I’m not sure if this is something that is provided by the Brydge firmware, but that seems to be the case. I haven’t seen that offered with my UAG keyboard (which does not offer firmware updates), so I assume it’s a Brydge thing. However they did it, it restores usability to the keyboard. This is most important when doing a lot of typing, but you can turn tap to click back on if you you want. To me, this is the missing piece that makes Brydge the one to beat. I’m not sure how many other manufacturers offer this, but it’s a must-have, in my opinion. I did have trouble selecting text to copy and paste, but I’m not sure if this is an iPadOS thing or something with the trackpad. Time will tell.I’ll see how things play out over time, but I’m loving this keyboard so far! Overall, it’s the best total package I’ve ever had for an iPad, and I’ve had several. It has everything: good looks, great typing experience, nice trackpad, and solid construction. It’s a little heavy, but not overly so. It really needs to have some heft to it so that the iPad doesn’t topple it on the table. To top it off, you don’t have to fully commit to keeping your iPad Pro or Air in the 11 Max+ all the time, since it’s so easy to remove it and not have to worry about damaging the case or your iPad.At full price, you’ll want to do the work to figure out which is better. On sale, this is better than anything else out there. Even at full price, this is a solid keyboard. Don’t listen to the naysayers, this thing is great!