If you haven’t seen my earlier editions in this series, I’ve previously written about the assembly process and some initial impressions on the Framework’s hardware. Today I’m sharing my final thoughts after using the machine for a handful of months.

Performance and Thermals

My needs for a laptop aren’t particularly demanding from a performance standpoint. I do most of my video conversion and gaming on other machines. The Framework is primarily used for media playback, web browsing, and text editing. But I have spent a bit of time playing Hearthstone and emulating various retro systems. The Framework handled it all like a champ.

For those that would like some more hard data, I’ve done a few passes with Geekbench in each of Ubuntu’s power profiles and you can find the averages below:

It’s worth noting that the fan gets quite loud when the system’s under load for a period of time. I’m not sure how this would compare to non-Apple laptops, since that’s what I have experience with. But the Framework fan is louder than any MacBook I’ve owned, for sure.

Battery Life

I haven’t done any formal testing of battery life on the Framework. It’s much worse than what I get on my M2 MacBook Air, but I expected that going in.

To put a ballpark number on it, I’d say I get 4-6 hours of battery life depending on what I’m doing. That is enough for my needs. It’s incredibly rare for me to use a computer for that length of time without access to a charger. Especially since the Framework isn’t the computer I use for work.

If I was using the Framework as my work machine and took it to a meetup, I could imagine the limited battery life being a bit more precarious. But that isn’t my use case. And even if it was, I suspect there is more I could do to improve things. I haven’t made any adjustments to the bios and am mostly using Ubuntu’s defaults for power settings.

Expansion Cards Revisited

When I first ordered the Framework 13, I ordered it with four USB-C expansion cards. Much of the cables and accessories I use each day are already using USB-C so it wasn’t clear to me what I would actually want beyond that.

I figured the port setup would evolve over time, but wanted to live with it as USB-C only at the beginning and simply monitor what adapters and dongles I used to better inform my decision on the expansion card setup.

Since then I’ve purchased two additional expansion cards — USB-A and microSD. The USB-A expansion card lives in the Framework while the microSD just lives in my bag and functions as a dongle. I don’t actually use microSD cards often enough for it to live in the Framework, but I figure, if I’m going to own and use dongles, they might as well be Framework expansion cards. With that in mind, I suspect I’ll end up with more of them in the future.

I ended up with this setup because, while I don’t often connect multiple accessories to my laptop at a time, I could imagine scenarios where I would want the machine connected to a power adapter while also connecting multiple hard drives. Since most of my cables are USB-C, I figured a third USB-C port would be more beneficial than a second USB-A port.

Minor Hardware Details

Just to cover some additional, relatively minor hardware details, here’s some rapid fire impressions:

• Fingerprint Reader — it works well and doubles as the system’s power button. I wish I could get it working with 1Password, but that’s more of an Ubuntu and 1Password issue, I’m sure.
• Webcam and Mic Switches — I like that these exist and they work as intended, but I don’t actually use them.
• Speakers — They sound just fine. Not as good as a MacBook, but better than the average Windows laptop, I would say.

Linux First

This is the first workstation I’ve ever owned that has only had Linux installed on it. No Windows, no macOS, just Linux. It feels pretty cool.

I’ve gone with Ubuntu 24.04. That’s mostly because it’s the distribution that I have the most experience with, but also because I prefer a more stable release that I can rely on for a longer period of time — 24.04 being a long term support release. Ubuntu also happens to have a massive wealth of community knowledge published on the web. Just about any issue you could possibly experience has been asked and answered on Reddit, Ask Ubuntu, or documented on someone’s personal weblog.

I still feel like I’m fairly new to Linux, despite dabbling in it for years at this point. And I occasionally find myself completely lost, but having access to such a massive amount of documented solutions is reassuring. It helps me feel like I can tackle anything that comes up.

The biggest caveat for me with Ubuntu is snap packages. Honestly, because much of what I read online paints them in a negative light. But I’m also not in love with the fact that Ubuntu is (as far as I know) the only distribution that even uses them. That alone indicates that they may not be long for this world.

Rather than trudge using snap packages, I’ve followed this guide to completely remove them from Ubuntu. I just rely on .deb packages and Flatpak instead and haven’t found any apps that I’m unable to install using those methods.

But setting aside the specifics of my Linux setup, you may be wondering why I decided to purchase a dedicated Linux machine at all. Well, I’m tired of being reliant on Apple’s ecosystem. The company has changed and I don’t find their products to be as exciting as they used to be.

It doesn’t feel like Apple makes products that are designed for people like me anymore. People who like to tinker and have control over their hardware. People who like to upgrade components in old systems and re-use machines for new projects. People who believe that a computer’s life should span well beyond the manufacturer’s willingness to provide software support.

In contrast, Framework is a company that is built upon those principals and creates products that embody them. I like that. A lot.

I don’t expect I’ll completely remove myself from Apple’s ecosystem. The iPhone is still a tremendous piece of hardware. Despite Apple’s insistence on holding back the platform with foolish App Store policies, I continue to prefer iOS. Android offers significantly more freedom, but it’s hard to get beyond some of its clunkier design details and inferior third-party applications — there are entire categories of apps for which the best option on Android wouldn’t even make the top five on iOS.

The goal for me with the Framework, though, is to refocus my use of software and services so that the possibility of leaving the Apple ecosystem entirely — even if it never comes to that — is much more attainable. I want Apple to be in a position where they need to do more to convince me and others like me to continue buying their products.

They should have to work harder on that. But in order to make strides toward that end, I need to disrupt the platform lock-in. I need to move away from applications that are only available on macOS and iOS and start using cross-platform alternatives. The Framework laptop with Linux will be the catalyst for that change.

Overall

Despite its tradeoffs, I absolutely love the Framework laptop. I hesitate to call it my favorite laptop of all time, mostly because I don’t want to fall victim to recency bias. But it’s definitely in the running.

The other laptop that would be in contention for that crown would be the 11-inch MacBook Air. I used the 2011 model as my primary machine for about seven years. It’s the most compact laptop I’ve ever owned and I’ve used it to run some of my favorite releases of macOS ever.

The Framework is a different type of machine, though. It’s less portable and doesn’t quite have the same level of fit and finish of Apple computers, but I can swap out the expansion cards to get the exact ports I need. I can upgrade any components down the line, including the entire mainboard. I can run an operating system on it that isn’t macOS and that is a feature that’s officially supported.

The Framework is flexible in ways that Apple computers aren’t. And I’m excited about what possibilities that will bring for me.

Continuing my discussion of the Framework laptop that I started earlier this month. Today, I’m going to talk a bit about the notable hardware components of the machine.

As a bit of an aside, this one took me a little longer to finish writing than I originally expected. The Christmas season is always hectic, but for some reason this year felt like it was especially so. I’m still hoping to have the final part of this series published before the end of the year, though, in which I’ll share some final thoughts and touch on how the Framework feels to use.

Physical Size

The Framework 13 is a bit larger than the laptops that I’ve used in recent years — I’ve spent most of my time on an 11-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

If you’re used to the 14-inch MacBook Pro, though, I think you’d feel right at home. Although the Framework is slightly larger by volume, it’s not by all that much. Due to the Framework display’s aspect ratio, the laptop is slightly deeper, but makes up for that with a more narrow chassis.

The Framework is quite noticeably lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Pro — weighing just 2.9 lbs compared to the 3.5 lbs of the MacBook Pro. That weight is comparable to the 2.7 lbs M2 MacBook Air, which is my current work machine.

In practice, the thickness is really the only thing that I notice. It’s far from a deal breaker, but it is sizable when compared to the svelte offerings from Apple that I’m accustomed to.

I think that additional size is worth it, when you take into consideration what you get out of it — unmatched repairability and the option to upgrade down the line rather than having to buy an entirely new machine when you really just need some additional storage, memory, or performance.

Display

I was a little hesitant about the Framework’s 3:2 aspect ratio. It’s been a long time since I used anything that wasn’t 16:9 or 16:10. And although it felt a bit odd for the first few days, it already seems normal to me. I don’t know if I necessarily prefer it over 16:9 or 16:10 — it feels more like a lateral move.

I’m glad I ended up with the higher 2.8K display. Text looks great and I appreciate that it works well running with resolution scaling set to 200% in Ubuntu.

The display is plenty bright, features great color accuracy to my eyes, and the matte finish is a good change of pace compared to the glossy displays of Apple products.

I do have one complaint about the display, though — it wobbles. This is something I can make my MacBook do if I tap the bezel above the display or if I set it down on a hard surface quickly, but that’s not something I do in normal use.

The Framework will exhibit this behavior if I’m simply typing with the laptop on an unstable surface, such as my lap.

It doesn’t ruin the experience — the vast majority of the time, it doesn’t happen at all. And, as time has gone on, I find myself noticing it less frequently. I’m not sure if I’m subconsciously avoiding scenarios where it will happen or if you just don’t notice it unless you’re looking for it. But either way, it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re looking to purchase one of these machines and might find a slightly more wobbly screen irritating.

Keyboard

I love this keyboard. It reminds me of Apple’s laptop keyboard before they introduced butterfly switches. Compared to the old scissor switch keyboard the keys have a little bit more travel and the plastic used in the Framework’s keycaps makes each key feel more substantial — less hollow.

I’ve had to get used to the placement of some of the keys. Compared to Apple laptops the control and fn keys are swapped and the alt and super keys are as well. The function keys feature media controls, volume, brightness, and so on. And the order of those does not match Apple’s keyboard.

Those changes are something you get used to with time. At this point, I’m able to switch between the two keyboards with ease — with only rare instances where I miss-type a keyboard shortcut or have to actually look at the function row to find the one I’m intending to use.

The keys have backlighting, but it doesn’t seem that there is any way to have the brightness automatically adjust. Maybe this can be done in Windows, but on Ubuntu I have to make that adjustment manually with a keyboard shortcut.

Overall, Framework’s keyboard is exceptional. I’m not sure if I’m ready to call it my favorite laptop keyboard of all time. But if someone told me they felt that way, I wouldn’t argue with them. It’s really good.

Trackpad

There isn’t that much to say about the trackpad. It doesn’t feel as smooth as Apple’s, but it feels fine. It does use a diving board mechanism for clicking, so it’s more difficult to click toward the top of the trackpad, but in my use that is essentially never an issue.

The only thing that’s notable related to the trackpad is that two-finger scrolling is more sensitive than I would prefer. This may be an issue that more to due with the inability to customize scrolling speed in Ubuntu.

As far as I can tell, there’s no way to customize this in the Settings app and in my cursory glance through suggestions online, the solutions are more fiddly than it’s worth. Hopefully Gnome/Ubuntu will implement customization of trackpad scrolling speed at some point. Until then, I’ll just take it slow.

Expansion Cards

I started with four USB-C expansion cards and that’s what I continue to use today. I added a handful of expansion cards to my Christmas list, but never ended up receiving any.

After some time with the machine, I think I know the setup that I’m aiming toward — three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port.

I’ve douse myself using a USB-C to USB-A adapter with my Framework a number of times, so I know I’d benefit from having USB-A built-in. The only other dongle I’ve used with the Framework is a USB-C to SD card adapter. I used this to do some SD card shenanigans for a Nintendo 2DS that I recently purchased. But that’s not typical use for me.

I think I’d get along just fine if interfacing with an SD card required an adapter for my laptop. Id much rather have the additional USB-C port in case I ever needed to plug in multiple devices while connected to a power adapter.

Update 4/3/25 — Framework: Final Thoughts

I placed my order for a Framework 13 at the end of October. My primary motivation for ordering a Framework rather than an Apple laptop was a deep desire to break out of the Apple ecosystem. Or, at the very least, give myself an opportunity to get one foot out the door.

Most of the time that I’ve spent as an Apple user, I was incredibly happy. Apple was making the best hardware in the market and I felt like their machines offered unmatched versatility. You could install Windows, you could install Linux, you could run virtual machines for any operating system, you could connect external graphics cards, you could even make minor upgrades to your system’s memory or storage.

Most of that has gone away, though. The trend started about a decade ago — maybe longer — but it didn’t really feel like it impacted me much until around the time they transitioned to Apple Silicon.

That transition resulted in the end of Boot Camp, major limitations for virtual machines, no more support for external graphics cards, and even less hardware repairability.

I’ll keep one foot in the Apple world for now — my iPhone, iPad, Mac Mini servers, and work MacBook aren’t going anywhere — but I thought it was a good time to more seriously explore the world outside of the walled garden.

Specifications

Framework 13 DIY Edition
AMD Ryzen 7640U
2.8K Matte Display
32GB of Kingston FURY Impact Memory
2TB Solidigm P44 Pro SSD
A Black Bezel
International English, Linux Keyboard
Four USB-C Expansion Cards

In terms of my thought process regarding this setup, I chose the DIY Edition because the assembly process seemed straight forward enough. I’ve built many desktop PCs in my day and have worked on the internals of just about every Apple computer I’ve ever owned. Framework was built for this sort of thing.

The 7840U offers a good performance bump compared to the 7640U that I ordered, but I figured I’d save my money a bit at the outset and consider upgrading to a higher end chip a few generations down the line. Given that the chassis is likely to be supported by Framework for several years, I’m pretty confident that this option will be available to me when the time comes.

I definitely wanted the higher resolution display. There was a brief period of time where I actually considered ordering the lower resolution option with the idea being to upgrade to the 2.8K later on. That would have given me a lower cost of entry, but the display part is just so darn expensive to buy on it’s own that I’d feel foolish doing so.

The memory choice just came down to picking one that Framework mentioned on their compatibility document. Similarly, the solid state drive was based on a recommendation that I saw on Reddit.

I went with the black bezel because I thought it looked the best out of the options available. If I were to have ordered one of the colored bezels, I think orange is nicest one.

As for the keyboard, I chose the only Linux variant offered because that will be the machine’s primary operating system.

The expansion cards probably took me the longest amount of time to make a decision on. I ultimately decided to just get four USB-C cards because I’ve spent several years with MacBook’s that only offered USB-C and I’ve transitioned much of the cables and accessories in my life over to USB-C as well. At the very least, my plan was to live with it like this for a bit and see how much I’d benefit from swapping out a port or two for something else.

Assembly Impressions

The process of assembling the Framework 13 was just about as easy as I expected. They have a great guide to follow and it’s basically as simple as installing the memory and storage, attaching the input cover, connecting the bezel, and tightening a handful of screws.

The biggest snag I ran into was with the bezel. I’ve seen some other reports online of similar experiences, so I knew to slow down for that portion of the process. The crux of the issue is that it’s not clear how the wires should be routed alongside the hinge, which can make it difficult to get the bottom edge of the bezel seated properly. It took me a few tries to get it right, but I eventually managed.

It’s a great touch that the Framework comes with a screwdriver — the only tool that you need to assemble the machine. I think the screwdriver itself is deserving of a bit of criticism, though.

The handle end of the screwdriver has an integrated spudger. That can be useful when working with ribbon cables or gently prying two parts away from one another. The spudger end had a tendency to dig into my palm when I was using it as a screwdriver, though. It didn’t break skin, but it made the screwdriver uncomfortable to use for me.

Program Note

I have a lot of thoughts on the Framework laptop and have decided to break up my review of the machine into three separate articles. So you can look forward to reading the rest of my thoughts throughout the month of December.

The next installment will include my thoughts on physical hardware and design — the keyboard, trackpad, display, and so on. The final article will be all of the details about actually using the machine — battery life, performance, thermals, fan noise, etc.

Update 12/27/24 — Framework: Hardware
Update 4/3/25 — Framework: Final Thoughts

Automattic has a pretty generous laptop replacement policy — there aren’t too many restrictions on what I can get. Essentially, we have a limit on the amount of storage and memory we’re able to select, but beyond that we have the option of ordering any of Apple’s notebooks. It’s an interesting position to be in.

With this much freedom, the major deciding factors (for me at least) are physical size and performance. The last go-around, I opted for a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. It was a nice machine and served me well over the past two years, but I was more than ready to upgrade.

This time, I ordered an M2 MacBook Air in silver with 24GB of memory, 10-core GPU, and 512GB of storage. I thought I’d share my thoughts on each of the major aspects of the new machine.

Physical Dimensions

The differences between the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) and the M2 MacBook Air seem so minuscule. All Apple laptops are thin and light these days. But the M2 Air is about 12% lighter than the MacBook Pro, which is definitely noticeable in my bag and when carrying the machine around the house.

I was actually a little concerned about the difference in depth — the M2 Air is 0.26 cm deeper than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The backpack I use has a zipper compartment where you have to kind-of shimmy the laptop in from the side and it always felt like a snug fit for the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

I was a little concerned that it would be even worse for the MacBook Air with that additional depth. But I guess the thinner chassis more than made up for it. It’s actually easier to put the M2 in and take it out of my bag than it was for the Pro.

Two Thunderbolt and MagSafe

Moving from four Thunderbolt ports to two Thunderbolt ports plus MagSafe would likely be a deal breaker for others, but it’s made absolutely no difference for me. I don’t actually connect much to my laptop. On the rare occasion, an external drive or SD card adapter, but more often than not I’ll use the ports to top-off my iPhone or AirPods. Two ports are fine for my needs.

MagSafe is an interesting feature for me. Despite my affinity for it on older laptops, I haven’t even used it on the new MacBook Air and I’m not sure I ever will.

At my desk, I have a single USB-C cable running from a power adapter to the desk surface. I use that same USB-C cable to charge my MacBook, iPad, Retroid Pocket 3, and most other devices I use (since most charge over USB-C). It’s nice having just a single cable for all of this — I can just swap it to whatever device needs charging the most.

If I used MagSafe, it would be a dedicated cable only for use with my MacBook. That would mean I’d have to keep another cable around for charging everything else. But it’s not like I’d get any of the benefits of MagSafe at my desk. It’s not really possible to trip over the cord because of it’s positioning. It’s all downside.

Similarly for travel, if I took the MagSafe cable with me, it would be a dedicated cable that only works with my MacBook. I want the cables I bring to be usable by as many devices as possible. I’ve even gone so far as to buy little USB-C to Lightning adapters, so the cables I use for my iPhone and AirPods can also be used to charge everything else.

I would see the benefits of MagSafe while traveling, since it’s more likely I’d be in scenarios where the cable can be tripped over, the battery life on this machine is incredible. I can be strategic about when I charge my laptop to limit the chances of the cable being tripped over.

MagSafe just doesn’t seem worth it at this point when compared to the benefits of a universal cable.

Battery Life

Speaking of battery life. It’s amazing. I’ve had a few days where I’ve tried working my entire day from battery alone and ended at around 30% each time. None of those days included any Zoom meetings, but I didn’t make any adjustments at all — no dimming of the screen or avoidance of apps, it was just a normal day for me.

I’m pretty confident that, even on days with meetings, I’d be able to make it through without much trouble at all.

The Notch

It stinks. It really does. Hopefully Apple will find a better way. Maybe the Dynamic Island will make an appearance in future Apple laptops, but even that is a stop-gap measure until they eventually find a way to hide all of that tech seamlessly behind the display.

Until then, I’m using Boring Old Menu Bar to hide the notch. With a black menu bar, I forget that the notch even exists. Until I open Thunderbird and notice the massive gap between the “Window” and “Help” menus. Or my mouse cursor disappears underneath it.

Silver

The last two laptops I’ve used were of the Space Gray variety. It was time for a change. Silver is classic and looks better as it ages. It doesn’t show scratches as easily, which tend to accumulate around the ports especially.

No Touch Bar

The Touch Bar was not a good feature. The idea of having a specialized interface for each application sounds like a neat idea on paper, but in practice, I would just rely on the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad for interact with my apps. Eventually, I switched the Touch Bar to displaying the exact same interface regardless of what app was running and everything it contained just mimicked the functionality of a traditional function row.

There is one single feature that I miss about the Touch Bar, though — an indicator for Fast User Switching.

For those unaware, you can actually use Touch ID to quickly switch between user accounts on your Mac. I have a user account for work-related tasks and a separate one for personal tasks. This way I can remain focused while working and have a separate environment when I take breaks and want to check in on Mastodon or something similar.

With the Touch Bar, I could rest my finger on the Touch ID sensor that’s associated with my personal account and there would be an indication displayed that I can press the button to quickly switch accounts. This same functionality exists on Macs without Touch Bars, but the indicator isn’t present.

This can cause some annoying results. Touch ID can, in some instances, misread your fingerprint and then when you press the button, you’ll just be kicked back to the Lock Screen where you’ll have to select “Switch User” and then login to the other account. This never happened with the Touch Bar because the system would indicate when it was ready to switch to the other account. Now I just have to set my finger on the sensor, wait a moment, and then press it, hoping that it will switch to my other account like I want it to.

I wish Apple would add an indicator of some kind on the system’s main display to mimic the Touch Bar’s functionality in this process. It would do a lot to smooth out the rough edges.

Performance

It’s incredible how fast this machine is. And that Apple was able to build it without any active cooling system. It’s faster than any computer I’ve ever owned in my life and is completely silent under full load.

For comparison’s sake, here are the Geekbench 5 results I received on the M2 MacBook Air alongside the results from a few other devices:

I’m not sure if there’s all that much to say beyond that in regard to performance. It can handle everything I’ve thrown at it and then some. At this point, the performance of my machine isn’t a limiting factor for my workflows.

Overall

I love this machine. Great performance and incredible battery life in a thin and light chassis, what more could you want? The notch is really the only blemish of note and there’s ways to hide that with software to minimize it’s annoyances.

Unless you really want a larger display from the MacBook Pro or you need to save $200 with the M1 MacBook Air, this is the laptop to buy.

I ordered the Magic Keyboard for 11-inch iPad Pro just a few hours after pre-orders became available. I had a feeling that this was going to be a transformative accessory and based on the reactions I’ve seen online so far, that hunch was correct. Now that I’ve spent a few days with it, I can confirm it’s an incredible piece of tech, but I’m not quite sure its going to change the way I personally use my iPad.

When the package arrived, it was much heavier than I was expecting. Even after seeing reviews that noted its weight, I wasn’t really prepared for it. After just a few minutes with it unboxed, though, the term “heavy” was rapidly replaced with “dense”.

The Magic Keyboard is heavier than most of us expected, sure. But it’s not really the weight itself that’s so surprising, its the accessory’s weight compared to its physical size. It feels solid, like it’s absolutely packed with technology. Albeit to a lesser degree, this is a similar feeling to what I had when I purchased the first iPhone in 2007 — I just couldn’t believe how small it was with the features it offered.

The Magic Keyboard is filled to the brim with magnets, features a comfy little trackpad, a backlit keyboard, a nifty hinge that’s reminiscent of the iMac G4, and an extra USB-C port to boot. It doesn’t seem like Apple should have been able to get this much into such a small package. But they have and it’s delightful.

The magnets in the lid are very strong. To the point where I’m not worried at all about the iPad falling off when I don’t want it to. That does make it a bit tricky to remove the iPad, though. I tend to brace the keyboard with one hand and lift up on one of the bottom corners of the iPad itself with the other. It’s a bit too easy to have the iPad slip during this process, though. Often this causes the opposite corner of the iPad to bump against the keyboard, which isn’t ideal.

It’s definitely a trade-off, but I’d rather it be a little finicky to remove than have to worry about the iPad falling out unexpectedly. And I’d place this in the nit-pick category, for sure, it’s not like it’s that difficult to gracefully remove the iPad.

The backlit keyboard feels comfortable to type on, despite some of the keys being smaller than usual. I might have made slightly different decisions when designing the layout than Apple did, specifically the narrow hyphen key, but that’s mostly because of my own typing style — I almost certainly over use em-dashes.

It also would have been nice to see a function row with an escape key, but I don’t know how often I’d really use those. It’s omission is likely because of physical design limitations, though. If a function row was added, it would often be located uncomfortably far behind the bottom edge of the iPad. Since that’s the case, it’s probably better that Apple left it out.

You can get the functionality of the escape key mapped to one of the modifier keys, though. If you navigate to Settings > General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard > Modifier Keys, you can select one of the modifier keys and set it to act as an escape key. I’ve done so for the globe key, since I don’t use anything other than the standard virtual keyboard on my iPad.

The trackpad below the keyboard, is what many consider to be the star of the show. It’s the hardware feature that really sets the Magic Keyboard apart from what we’ve seen with the iPad previously. It functions exactly how you’d hope it to, giving you the ability to two-finger scroll, three-finger-swipe, tap to click, and all of the other nifty trackpad features that Apple added with iPadOS 13.4.

The physical size of the trackpad isn’t as generous as we’ve seen in Apple’s MacBook-line, but that’s because of the size limitation of the iPad itself. In the first few days with the accessory, I would mouse around with my middle or index finger and then attempt to click with my thumb. That’s my normal behavior on the MacBook Air and naturally have been trying to do so on the iPad too. But too frequently I would find myself missing the bottom edge of the trackpad entirely. I’ve since adjusting my hand positioning a bit, keeping my thumb a smidge closer to my mousing finger. I’ve also been more heavily relying on tap-to-click, which has worked just fine for me.

Coming from such a large trackpad on the MacBook Air, getting used to the trackpad in the Magic Keyboard has been an adjustment, but nothing that was insurmountable. And already I’m finding myself rarely running into these issues anymore.

The trackpad might be what sets the Magic Keyboard apart from the crowd, but the hinge system is makes the accessory’s design so striking. It’s clearly designed with weight distribution in mind. Allowing the iPad to float over the keyboard means that the entire package’s center of gravity is never too far back, which would cause it to tip over too easily.

With the two hinge system, I’ve never been concerned about the device tipping over. Even when tapping at the top corners of the display with the hinge pushed as far back as it can be — this thing isn’t going to tip over unless you really want it to. And that’s while allowing for a pretty comfortable range of motion. I’m sure there will be some users that are left wanting more — especially if they are a bit taller or frequently use their iPad at a standing desk. But for me, it’s just right.

I find my fingers bumping up against the bottom edge of the iPad while typing on occasion. Typically when I’m reaching for the hyphen or delete keys. I think I type with my hands a bit higher than most, though, so some owners might never run into that issue at all. It’s not exactly bad and it’s happening far less frequently than it did when the keyboard first arrived, so perhaps it’ll simply take a bit more time to adjust for. But if you keep your hands a bit high over your keyboard while typing, it might be something to keep in mind.

Built-in to the left side of the hinge is an additional USB-C port that can be used for charging. My buddy Matt Birchler did some testing and found that the port charges the iPad Pro at nearly the same speed as the iPad’s built-in port when using the stock charger. That was surprising to me — I presumed it would charge at a much slower rate, like half of the normal speed. But this is great news for iPad users that plan to use the Magic Keyboard full time.

Many iPad owners will find it useful to have an additional port available, so they can charge their device through the Magic Keyboard while another accessory is connected through the iPad Pro’s built-in port. But I’ve never actually connected anything other than a charging cable to my iPad. And I’m in the habit of charging my iPad each night, so charging the device while I use it is a rare sight. Maybe when the battery has aged a few years I’ll make use of it, but until then, it’s superfluous for me.

The Magic Keyboard’s base is quite rigid and feels like it was built to last. That combined with the excellent weight-distribution of the double hinge, means that the Magic Keyboard gives you a great typing experience on your lap too. I wrote the entirety of this review on the Magic Keyboard and much of that time was spent with it right on my lap.

It’s not exactly as comfortable to use on your lap as a MacBook is, but that’s sort-of to be expected. Given how much of the weight is located above the keyboard, though, I think Apple did an outstanding job engineering this thing to be useable on your lap. And that’s a huge leap forward compared to what we had available to us previously.

But the biggest surprise to me about the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and what has really shaped my thoughts about it overall is the fact that it made my iPad less inviting to use. For the first couple of days, I kept my iPad in it full time and found myself reaching for my iPhone when I typically would have been using the iPad. Perhaps because of the greater barrier to entry in opening the device with the keyboard attached — the magnets are strong and unlike MacBook’s there isn’t a cutout where you can easily open the hinge.

Or it could also be the indirect nature of interacting with the iPad through the keyboard and trackpad. It doesn’t lend itself well to touching the screen because of its mostly vertical position. And I really enjoy directly interacting with my apps through touch.

It also could have been the added weight, but whatever the specifics are, the Magic Keyboard has taught me that holding the iPad Pro in my hands is my favorite way to use the device by far. And anything that gets in the way of that tends to discourage me from actually using it.

Now that isn’t to say I don’t like the Magic Keyboard. Quite the opposite, actually — I love the Magic Keyboard. It’s my favorite accessory for the device. But for me, it isn’t something I plan to keep my iPad in permanently. The vast majority of the time, I’m going to continue using my iPad Pro exactly how I was before — setting it in Twelve South’s Compass Pro to watch videos, holding it in my hands on the couch to browse the web, tapping away on the screen to compose tweets and shorter links here on Initial Charge, and so on.

The Magic Keyboard plays an important role for me — it will become my default keyboard for the iPad Pro. Instead of getting out my Canopy by Studio Neat when I want to type for long stretches, I’ll grab Apple’s Magic Keyboard instead. This will let me enjoy the benefits of the integrated trackpad, physical keyboard, and its comfortable lap-top usage when I need it. And when I’m done writing, I can detach the iPad and use it as I always have — re-establishing the inviting nature of the platform that I’ve grown so fond of.

Is that worth the $299 price tag? It is for me. But I spent about half that on Apple’s standard Magic Keyboard alongside a Canopy. And I bought those specifically for the iPad — it’s not like I had the keyboard laying around and bought the Canopy to use with it. So I’m not above spending a bit too much money on accessories for my devices.

Considering what the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro brings to the table, I think it’s worth it. Especially if you care a lot about the typing experience and want something that offers unmatched integration with the iPad Pro and iPadOS. It’s a slick piece of tech that every iPad Pro owner should, at the very least, consider adding to their kit.

Josh Ginter, writing for The Sweet Setup:

Apple’s 11-inch iPad Pro is, quite simply, a joy to pick up and hold. It’s wonderfully light and the edges are rounded off and soft, making for a great couch and lounge chair device. This, and the narrower aspect ratio, combine to make the 11-inch iPad Pro the ultimate device for watching movies, reading books, and browsing the web — all the tasks Mr. Jobs proudly pounded into our shimmering eyeballs back in 2010.

Somehow, I think this 11-inch iPad Pro is the exact device he envisioned all along.

A great review with some excellent observations, written from the perspective of someone moving from the larger, 12.9-inch 2018 iPad Pro. I especially enjoyed the side-by-side comparisons showing the two display sizes with different app configurations on screen. And it goes without saying, the device photos are superb.

➝ Source: thesweetsetup.com

I’ve been waiting for a new iPad release since last fall. The iPad Air 2 that I’ve been using as my primary computer since early 2015 was starting show its age. Bluetooth was becoming less reliable, the system itself felt sluggish, and battery life was getting pretty poor. It had served me well over the past five years, but I was very happy to retire it in favor of the newly released iPad Pro.

The announcement of the iPad Pro wasn’t exactly a surprise, it had been rumored for a few months at least. But with the state of the world at the moment, it wasn’t obvious exactly when or how Apple was going to actually end up announcing it. When I first saw the press release, I glanced through the product pages to get a feel for what it offered and then immediately placed my order.

I ended up with the 11-inch, 128GB, WiFi-only, space gray model. I haven’t spent more than 30 minutes with one of the larger, 12.9-inch Pros, but that was enough for me to know for sure that it wasn’t the right size for me. The vast majority of the time I’m using my iPad, it’s lounging out on the couch and I think the 12.9-inch size is better suited for iPad users that spend most of their time at a desk. Or perhaps artists that want a bit more canvas to work with. Given how I planned to use the iPad, the 11-inch was a natural choice for me.

As for the decision to go with the WiFi-only model. While I travel a few times each year for work, at the moment I don’t even plan to bring my iPad with me on these trips. I’m so busy doing my standard day-to-day tasks, working on in-person projects, and socializing in real life with my distributed teammates that I don’t really have time to use the iPad.

On my last work trip I brought my work laptop, iPad, iPhone, and Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch never got powered on and I only ended up taking my iPad out once or twice. But I could have done everything from my iPhone, so I’ll be leaving my iPad at home from now on.

If that changes, though, tethering with my iPhone works just fine for connectivity when WiFi isn’t available. It’s not as slick as having the cellular networking built-in, but it doesn’t cost me a cent more to use and, in my experience, offers great speeds and reliability.

I was very happy to learn that Apple increased the base storage for the iPad Pro. The iPad Air 2 that I was coming from had 64GB of storage, which has been fine. But for the sake of future-proofing, having a bit of extra breathing room is a nice touch. I mean, I used the Air 2 for five years and I expect I’ll use this new iPad Pro for roughly the same amount of time. 64GB might be fine today, but I can’t say for certain that will be the case in 2025.

When the iPad actually arrived on March 25, the most striking difference between it and my previous iPad Air 2 was the lack of home button. I went through that transition on the iPhone side of things this past fall when I upgraded my iPhone 8 to an iPhone 11 Pro. So far, it has been smooth sailing. It only took me a day or two before using an iPad with a home button felt foreign to me.

I miss Touch ID quite a bit, though. It was relatively slow on my iPad Air 2, but it almost always worked. I keep my iPad in landscape mode and it was very comfortable to rest my right thumb on the home button whenever I unlocked the device. But on the iPad Pro, my left hand tends to obstruct the Face ID system. iPadOS notifies me with a handy little indicator, but it’s such a pain.

Do most iPad users actually use their device in portrait orientation? I suspect not and that means that the majority of iPad Pro users end up running into this “Camera covered” notice several times each day. I hope Apple eventually makes the switch to thinking about the iPad as a landscape-first device — rotating the logo on the back and moving the front-facing camera to one of the longer edges.

I’ve really enjoyed the Pro’s 11-inch display, when compared to the 9.7-inch display of the Air 2. It’s such a cozy size. The entire device is barely larger than the iPad Air 2, but still features this stunning display. Watching YouTube videos, viewing photos, and typing with the on-screen keyboard are a much better experience when you have more surface area to utilize. I haven’t found the increased refresh rate of the ProMotion display to be too impressive, though. I just don’t see the difference in normal use. Perhaps my eyes aren’t capable of perceiving that type of improvement.

Speaking of the on-screen keyboard, though. It was jarring at first to have those additional keys on the virtual keyboard. I found myself miss-typing because I’d sort-of lose myself on screen. It only took a day or two before it felt okay to me, but it was a weird couple of days. But I sure wish they didn’t include a caps lock key. I still haven’t hit that thing on purpose and in the extremely rare circumstances where I want it, isn’t double-tapping the shift key good enough?

The overall hardware aesthetics of the iPad Pro have been a pleasant change when compared to the iPad Air 2. I wasn’t too sure about the flat edges, with my primary concern being that it would be difficult to pick up off of a flat surface. But its no more difficult to pick up than the iPad Air 2 was. The benefit, though, is that its significantly easier to adjust the volume on the Pro because the buttons aren’t hidden from the front by the curvature of the device.

The camera bump is less than ideal. When laid flat, the device sits off-kilter and it has a bit of a wobble when tapping near the adjacent corners. But I’m very glad to have an improved camera available to me in this device. It isn’t quite as good as my iPhone 11 Pro — no telephoto lens — but it is close enough in most circumstances.

With a little one in the house, I take a lot of pictures now. And prior to the iPad Pro, I would have to reach for my iPhone whenever I wanted to take a photo. With the improved camera system, though, I can quickly take a snapshot regardless of what device I’m using and know that I’m going to get good results. This hasn’t occurred too frequently, but the peace of mind is worth it. Josh is only going to be a baby once and I don’t want to miss capturing any of these precious moments because my iPhone wasn’t within reach.

I’m ecstatic to have another device in my life that features USB-C. It lets me use the same power adapter with my iPad Pro as I do with my MacBook Air and means that most accessories I purchase for either can be utilized on both. This brings a couple of thoughts to the forefront, though:

• When is the iPhone going USB-C? I love Lightning, but I’m ready to move on and hope my iPhone 11 Pro is the last iOS device I own that uses an Apple-specific connector.
• Why aren’t there any power adapters that have more than two USB-C ports? I want the cables that I use to charge my devices to also be able to connect those devices to my iPad or MacBook Air. I’m not interested in power adapters that offer a mixture of USB-C and USB-A — I want to go all-in on USB-C.

And on the topic of connecting devices, Sidecar has become one of my favorite iPadOS features. It wasn’t available on my iPad Air 2, so I’ve only had the opportunity to use it with my iPad Pro. Over the past week, there have been numerous occasions where I’ve connected my iPad via Sidecar and threw Slack or a second browser window on my iPad. It’s just so darn handy to get a little bit of extra screen real estate when you need it.

But getting back to using the iPad directly, this thing is a screamer. It was a little disappointing to learn that the A12Z offered next to no improvements when compared to the previous iPad Pro’s chip, but most people that buy the new iPad Pro are going to be coming from a much older model. For me, the iPad Pro is about three times faster than the iPad Air 2 in single core tasks and over four times faster in multi-core tasks, based on Geekbench 5.

Here are the benchmark results for all my devices, averaged over two runs:

With the exception of my iPhone 11 Pro in single core performance, the iPad Pro is the fastest computer I own. By a lot. And it feels that way too. Everything on this device is so snappy that it has me wishing I could run Handbrake on it. Converting ripped Blu-ray discs would be a much nicer experience if I could run the app on my iPad Pro instead of one of my macOS devices.

I think the iPad Pro will serve me well as my primary computer for several years. It has more than enough horse power available, an excellent camera system, and a modern charging and accessory port. But Apple also announced a new keyboard for the iPad Pro, which features an integrated trackpad.

The upcoming Magic Keyboard with integrated trackpad will capitalize on the revamped pointer support added in iPadOS 13.4 and give users the opportunity to interact with their iPad like a traditional PC. I plan to purchase the accessory when it’s released, but I don’t think it will become my default interaction method.

Currently, I spend most of my time with my iPad on the couch, browsing the web, managing email, reading news, and occasionally publishing links here on Initial Charge — no physical keyboard, mouse, trackpad, cover, or case. None of that will change with the introduction of the Magic Keyboard. What will change is my setup during longer writing sessions.

When I sit down to write a longer piece for Initial Charge, I set my iPad in a Studio Neat Canopy and type on Apple’s wireless Magic Keyboard. This gives me a more comfortable typing experience for the longer stretches. But up until iPadOS 13.4, I would disconnect the hardware keyboard and edit the text using the virtual keyboard. This let me meander throughout the house while reading and gave me a more ergonomic way to move the insertion point for edits.

With iPadOS 13.4, I’ve started using the Magic Trackpad 2 while editing, which let me type the corrections on the physical keyboard without uncomfortably reaching for the screen to move the insertion point. It’s been nice. So when I purchase the Magic Keyboard with integrated trackpad, I’ll retire the Studio Neat Canopy, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad setup in favor of Apple’s new iPad Pro accessory.

But I’m a little unsure about the dual hinge nature of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Will it feel unstable? Was it given the second hinge for the sake of balance? Would the iPad be too top-heavy without it hovering over the keyboard? Will I be able to push the iPad back so that the silhouette is more akin to a traditional laptop?

Those questions are still left unanswered for the time being. But I can say with certainty that the iPad Pro is an excellent computer. It’s the most powerful I’ve ever owned and runs the most exciting operating system on the planet alongside my favorite applications. If you’re looking to jump into Apple’s tablet offerings or have an iPad that’s starting to feel a bit dated, you won’t regret buying the iPad Pro.

John Gruber:

The things that haven’t changed with the MacBook Air — size, weight, display — didn’t need to change. They were already great. The things that have changed — price, performance, and for me personally, especially the keyboard — have all changed significantly for the better. These new MacBook Airs are a lot cheaper, performance is appreciably improved for both CPU and graphics, and the keyboard has gone from “well, it’s OK” to “damn, this keyboard feels so good it makes me want to write something”.

I’ve used a 2018 MacBook Air as my work machine for almost a year and a half. There were only two things I wanted in my next machine — a reliable keyboard and increased performance. Apple delivered on both.

I’m due for a new work-issued computer sometime in the next few months. And because I work for the best company ever, I’ll be able to pick out the model and choose the build-to-order options that I want to use. I’ll likely wait until I see what an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro has to offer, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up with one of these new MacBook Airs.

➝ Source: daringfireball.net