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Keyboard with Trackpad for iPad Pro
- walterbell 7y agoNice keyboard that brings iPad Pro closer to Macbook Air. It seems inevitable that Apple will launch an Arm laptop form factor with iOS. Has Apple blocked keyboard makers from using the Smart Connector on iPad Pro 3? All 3rd-party keyboards for iPP3 are using Bluetooth, which does not have a good security track record. Apple's iPad Pro keyboard does not have backlighting, media keys or good key travel. For iPad Pro 1 and 2, Logitech made good external keyboards with media keys and backlighting, using the Smart Connector (no Bluetooth). On iPad (regular) and Air, Apple's keyboard has a magnetic connector at the bottom of the iPad, which has the ability to remotely enable (?!) Bluetooth, even if the user has turned it off. No onscreen prompt is given to the user to let them know that Bluetooth was turned on at the time of keyboard magnetic attachment.
- shantly 7y ago> It seems inevitable that Apple will launch an Arm laptop form factor with iOS. Dropping 32bit already killed all the paid software my wife and I had, so please, Apple, go Arm soon before we buy any more. At least that way anything we buy for our Intel machines will probably be multi-arch and ready for the future.
- saagarjha 7y agoYou only bought 32-bit apps?
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- shantly 7y agoAll my wife’s Steam games (mostly solitaire type games and search-based narrative games) are 32-bit only, and so was her copy of Scrivener. Every Mac-capable Steam game I have that I checked doesn’t work, either. So yeah, we did. Luckily I haven’t paid for any “serious” software but it was really annoying to have I install Win10 on a desktop machine again so my wife can remote-play her games. Between that and usb-c she kinda hates her new MacBook Air.
- giancarlostoro 7y agoAFAIK they make devs share code so Apple can recompile their apps to arbitrary platforms we dont know about. This means ARM too. I have seen a comment about this on every other Apple app store / arch thread here on HN. Anybody who knows better feel free to clarify or let me know if I misread them all.
- Eric_WVGG 7y agoI don’t see the connection between Apple releasing laptops with ARM and Apple releasing laptops with iOS. I do wish they’d do more with the smart connectors...
- m_mueller 7y agoavailability of compatible apps I think is an argument for iOS on ARM laptops.
- jmercouris 7y agoiOS apps could very easily run on macOS with a thin compatibility layer. The CPU architecture is not related.
- chillaxtian 7y ago> The Brydge Pro+ has been designed to bring a better experience to the iPad Pro. We've created hardware that maximizes the current functionality within iPadOS, and as accessibility features evolve and improve, the user experience will become more intuitive.
- vmurthy 7y agoAs someone suffering from RSI, I’d buy this in an instant if it worked with MacBook Pro and connects wirelessly (so that I can rest the keyboard on my lap). Promising !
- AceJohnny2 7y agoWould the Logitech K810 fit the bill, or are you specifically looking for something that would magnetically attach to an iPad but still be able to detach and connect to other devices?
- vmurthy 7y agoI don’t use my iPad much so that doesn’t matter. Thank you for the suggestion of k810. I’ll check it out !
- earenndil 7y agoIf you have RSI, you would probably be better served by a bowl keyboard like a kinesis or a maltron; or, at least, a split keyboard like an ergodox.
- vmurthy 7y agoIt’s been sometime since I last checked out either but the last time I checked they were all wired and Windows specific? I know I can re-map keys and all that but was holding out mainly because I need to keep the keyboard on my lap.
- earenndil 7y agoDefinitely not windows-specific; they're standard USB, so should work anywhere. As for holding in your lap, the cord on mine (kinesis advantage) is long enough that I can comfortably take it off my desk and put it in my lap. YMMV, of course, depending on how you have your desktop set up, but I doubt that's an insurmountable problem.
- skocznymroczny 7y ago
- 20191224234044 7y agowhere is this made? Can't find information about country of origin.
- diffeomorphism 7y agoBrydge is headquartered in Utah: https://www.brydge.com/pages/about-us https://www.brydge.com/pages/about-us For the manufacturing they don't say, but probably same as Apple: "Designed in the US, actually made in China".
- soneil 7y agoI have the non-trackpad version of this, and you almost nailed it word for word. The bottom is marked “Designed in Park City, UT. Assembled in China”
- j45 7y agoThat looks really nice. Kudos to them. These are nice enough that Apple could acquire them. Too bad it’s still possible to bend the iPad Pro in without much force or pressure. This keyboard would be a big reason to consider an iPad Pro. I ended up with an iPad mini for this reason, but the thought of an iPad mini pro would be intriguing. I hope someone might make a keyboard (maybe expanding) for the iPad mini
- yborg 7y agoI have had the 3rd gen iPad Pro since its introduction and game on it daily for extended periods often held by one edge or corner, because gaming. If I'm not bending this thing, I don't know what "without much force or pressure" means to anybody. I don't travel with it - if you're dumping this thing in a backpack or something without support and with other stuff in there, I'm sure you can bend it; I'd suggest not doing that, I keep my laptop in a separate shock case in my messenger bag for this reason.
- Stay_frostJebel 7y agoGod damn it. I bought the non trackpad version. Its garbage. Keys drop when you type unless you hit dead center and hit hard.
- oefrha 7y agoAre you talking about the Apple Smart Keyboard Folio, or some non-trackpad keyboard from this vendor (Brydge)? If you’re talking about the former: well, it’s not my experience (with my 12.9’’ anyway), I’ve been trying hard to make it drop a key for the last minute and not a single one dropped. If you’re talking about the latter, then it’s making me have reservations about the new product, which seems somewhat attractive.
- quxpar 7y agowhich version? I have the 10.5 inch and it's given me way less problems than the keyboard in my 2019 15 inch macbook pro.
- kristiandupont 7y agoI have made something similar by detaching the display from an old Macbook Air. That gives me the keyboard that I love the most with the best trackpad, placed below the keyboard the way I like it, working with my PC.
- odshoifsdhfs 7y agoI have been thinking about doing this with an old macbookpro where the display died. Any tips/guides on how to make this 'machine' be just a remote keyboard/trackpad to another machine (namely a i5k iMac)
- kristiandupont 7y agoI run macos on it, and use a fork of Synergy called Barrier. It works quite well. Now and then I have to VNC to it to fix a problem and since the wifi antenna is in the display that doesn’t work so I use a USB ethernet widget to connect it.
- awiesenhofer 7y agoHow do you connect the two?
- kristiandupont 7y agoI run macos on it, and use a fork of Synergy called Barrier. It works quite well. Now and then I have to VNC to it to fix a problem and since the wifi antenna is in the display that doesn’t work so I use a USB ethernet widget to connect it.
- qubex 7y agoI like the design and would buy it in a heartbeat (particularly as my iPad Pro’s current Logitech keyboard recently had an unfortunate run-in with honey that seeped under the space bar) but it seems I’m unable to register for updates.
- oefrha 7y ago> it seems I’m unable to register for updates. Same here, clicking “register now” just makes the page jump to the comments section for whatever reason. And I’m probably not gonna make an account just to subscribe to an email newsletter. Missed opportunity for them. I’m in the potential audience of this but isn’t convinced enough to preorder, but might take another look when it’s actually shipping and reviewers have taken a spin. Now I’m most likely gonna forget about it.
- saagarjha 7y agoI’m not a fan of the hinge’s aesthetic :(
- osobo 7y agoIt's nice. It's also kind of blatant advertising. Is that going to be a thing here?
- oefrha 7y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. If you have a nice developer-oriented product to sell that good hackers find interesting then by all means. In fact, check out Show HN.
- mmgutz 7y agoAny non-Apple trackpad usually leads to disappointment. Has brydge made trackpads before or will this be one of the typical trackpad clones?
- discordance 7y agoAnyone know if using a mouse/trackpad with iOS works well?
- zidoo 7y agoYes. Works well in the browser, and in my case, that covers a lot of time in google docs. I believe that is the case for a lot of people. For a lot of actual mobile/tablet app, it is kind unintuitive.
- haecceity 7y agoDoes iOS support mouse cursors?
- saagarjha 7y agoKinda, there’s this accessibility circle thing in iOS 13.
- RBerenguel 7y agoIt’s “decently functional”. I mapped several of my mouse buttons for “go home”, “show dock” and “open multitasking” I don’t remember and the experience feels “better” than using MacOS with a non-Apple mouse.
- benjaminwootton 7y agoI find it so frustrating that it doesn’t yet - just the accessibility dot. I could have moved full time to IOS years ago with this one change. iPad pro and Bluetooth keyboard are right in the sweet spot of how i live and work, but I need a mouse for PowerPoint design.
- jpalomaki 7y agoIMHO: The Macbook (the small one, that was killed) made more sense than these iPad + keyboard attachments. You had a one, slim package that was easy to use on lap and carry around with one hand (even if open). It was able to run normal software, there was no need to resort to hacking to do for example software development. The negative thing with Macbook was the price point. It was a bit expensive to have as a second computer and on the other hand not powerful enough to be the primary workhorse. Also the battery life could have been better.
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- zitterbewegung 7y agoThey also have reliability issues with the CPU and SSD. I got a 2016 with an i5 series y processor and 512 Gen of SSD for around $615 about a year or two ago on the used market.
- rock_artist 7y agoI have a 2015 one. it was great form factor but eventually with the exception of web browsing I went on 2018 13" due to lack of power. my MBA 13.3" 2013 is still my fav machine from last years.
- camillomiller 7y agoHave you ever tried to process RAW pictures (including pictures from Hasselblad and Fuji medium format cameras, or Canon and Sony full frame cameras) and/or edit 4K 60p video on a MacBook? Well, me neither, because it's simply impossible. Surprisingly enough, that's what I do on a regular basis on an iPad Pro. The power of the ARM setup on that machine is unbelievable. So, there you go, that's single-handedly a reason why this kind of computer makes more sense to Apple (and to me) than an underpowered Intel MacBook. I do agree that the keyboard and trackpad setup is bullshit though, as it won't really improve the apps I use for what I mentioned above--they're built for touch, not for a mouse pointer. As always, it's a matter of what's your purpose. As a developer you'll be much better off with a MacBook Air, for that measure, which I think is a much better piece of hardware than the 12" MacBook.
- RBerenguel 7y agoI have a Brydge on my Pro V1 and iPad Mini 5 (the previous iteration of the Brydge mini) and they completely change how you can interact with them. Specially for the mini, which then becomes a very small laptop-ish. Very recommended products.
- evgen 7y agoToo bad it doesn't let me swap Caps Lock and Control. This fact alone makes this (and most other iPad keyboards) a non-starter for me.
- rock_artist 7y agoNow if only Apple would provide decent iPadOS Xcode, and ability to sideload apps (call it disabling SIP or whatever) we'll be able to actually use it. I got this year a 2019 iPad 10.2". I even bought a logitech crayon. with the exception of entertainment and being a nice tool to learn (watching online courses, reading). it's not a computer replacement yet. and Apple's multi-tasking gestures are horrible. p.s. - Swift Playgrounds is interesting but not only it is limited I saw some bugs with it and were able to make it unresponsive quite easily (without infinite loops or nasty coding on my end...)
- rodgerd 7y agoCongratulations, you've invented the Surface.
- k_sze 7y agoTheir keyboards for Microsoft Surface Pros also make them interesting alternatives to Surface Book and Surface Laptop.
- _ph_ 7y agoLooks very nice. And shows us, that Apple wouldn't need to bring out a separate ARM powered MacBook. If they wanted, they could have effectively had an ARM powered laptop years ago. Just by unshackeling the software of the iPads they make. My iPad Pro would be a great laptop for me, except for the limitations of the software. Proper mouse support for applications which require it would be one thing. The other would be dropping limitations about what kind of Apps are allowed on the machine the other. I fully support that Apps are sandboxed and plain MacOS would not be an ideal fit for a tablet, which is mostly operated by touch. But that doesn't mean that applications like tmux aren't allowed in a sandbox. Or full IDEs.
- rahuldottech 7y ago> 3-Month Battery Life Per Charge * * But... there's no * * footnote.
- ooklala 7y agoFWIW, I've got the one for the iPad Air and it seems to live up to that...
- funkaster 7y agoI bought the logitech one, with a full keyboard. I would imagine this is similar but have the same drawbacks (for my use case). It's nice, but a bit clumsy and won't allow me to swap caps <-> ctrl. These days I'm using a very small stand and a 61 keys wasd keyboard: I can swap caps <> ctrl and even choose a dvorak layout at the hardware layer. Keybord is small enough that I can carry it with me on my backpack. It's not good for "laptop" mode, of course, but super easy to setup on any desk/coffee shop. wasd keyboard: https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/wasd-vp3-61-key-custom-mechanical-keyboard.html https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/wasd-vp3-61-key-custom-mechani...
- mwlp 7y agoI recently purchased a Ducky One 2 SF [1], which has built-in mouse functions. After remapping caps lock to Fn: left pinky + wasd for movement, q left click, e right click, r/f scroll. The default tracking speed is low, but thankfully iOS lets you change that. Configuring accessibility stuff to hide by default, you get a “mouse” when you need it and a pretty good keyboard when you don’t. Other features: USB-C connector. It let me swap windows/alt-option so the command key is in the right place. Light weight plastic, but it’s Ducky so it still feels well built. Surprisingly, the silent red switches bottom-out quieter than my MacBook keys. I leave you with my PgDn macro: sleep snug, smug. [1]: https://www.duckychannel.com.tw/en/Ducky-One2-SF https://www.duckychannel.com.tw/en/Ducky-One2-SF
- SkyMarshal 7y agoHow does this connect to the iPad, via Bluetooth or the Smart Connector electrical contacts on the iPad? I have a 2nd gen iPad Pro and Logitech keyboard that uses the Smart Connector. Great combo. I don't really want a Bluetooth connection though.