I replaced my iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard with a cheaper alternative — and it was a huge mistake
The iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) is not only one of the best tablets ever made, it’s my favorite Apple device of all time. I use my iPad Pro a ludicrous amount. It’s hands-down the piece of tech I’ve leaned on the most over the past two years for both work and play.
I also just broke my iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard… because I’m an idiot.
Whether it’s worth the $349 / £379 Apple currently charges for this device is an argument for another day. But as someone who used his Magic Keyboard day in, day out for two years, I confirm that it really is… well, “magic”.
Sleek, sturdy and boasting keys that are a pleasure to type on, pairing the official Magic Keyboard with my iPad Pro was a joy. The floating effect if you tilt Apple’s tablet when connected to the official board at just the right angle is seriously impressive, too.
Of course, that mystic Penn & Teller effect quickly evaporates when you spill a beer all over said keyboard.
At first, everything seemed fine. After a quick clean-up job, I thought I’d dodged a butter fingers-based tech disaster. My iPad Pro’s mini-LED screen was functioning as it should, and there didn’t appear to be any adverse effects with my Magic Keyboard. Not until I tried to use the ‘Y’ key…
Not so magic moment
Further problems quickly developed. Not only had ‘Y’ gone the way of the dodo, ‘U’, ‘I’, ‘O’ and ‘P’ were no longer functioning. I like to think I have a fairly decent vocabulary — but writing articles without said letters would prove as challenging as trying to scale Everest with chopsticks instead of pitons.
With my Magic Keyboard now kaput through my own stupidity, it was time to source a replacement. The trouble is, I couldn’t justify sinking another $349 into a peripheral I mainly use for YouTube searches. To save my wallet some pain, I decided to opt for the far cheaper $85 / £117 Dracool Magnetic Keyboard Case (opens in new tab).
IDracool’s keyboard feels like you’re carrying around a boulder that just so happens to have an iPad Pro attached to it.
And you know what? It’s pretty good! With its ‘Floating Cantilever’ design, it does a decent job of recreating the…
