The Brydge keyboard makes it very slightly easier to attach the iPad, while the Apple keyboard makes it easier to detach. The Brydge MAX+ tilts back further than the Magic Keyboard, which can be a benefit when using it in some confined spaces. Conversely, I greatly prefer the convenience of dedicated function keys. The Brydge keyboard has a Siri button bottom-left, and I’m not a huge fan of that as I found I would occasionally catch it accidentally when using the left shift key. I switched back and forth between the two, and have already noted above the differences in feel. I do like a large trackpad, so the Brydge wins out on size, though I prefer the smaller travel of Apple’s. Personally, I’m pretty adaptable when it comes to keyboard feel, so don’t have a strong preference – though I’ve become used to the modern Apple ones. If you’re a fan of older Apple keyboards, you’ll prefer the Brydge if you like the current MacBook ones, you’ll instead favor the Magic Keyboard. Some people have a strong preference for one over the other, and if you fall into this category, you’ll know which you prefer.
It’s really like the classic Apple chiclet keyboards of old versus the current-generation ones.
The Brydge keyboard has a little more travel, and the springs are stronger, giving more resistance. With the keyboards open, the Magic Keyboard of course enjoys that cool “hanging in the air” look, but the Brydge definitely wins out for me, with the anodized aluminum looking way more premium than the plasticky surround of the Apple.Īlthough the actual keycaps are very similar in size, the Brydge ones are better spaced – and they have a row of function keys missing from the Apple keyboard.įinally, the Brydge trackpad is much larger than Apple’s, measuring 6.25 inches diagonally versus 4.25 inches. It’s a different story from the rear and side, however, as the Brydge keyboard looks very much like a laptop, while the Apple one looks, frankly, cheaper. Unless, that is, you opt for the white version of the Brydge, which is course has a very different look. Both have a very bland-looking black rubberized cover that isn’t going to win any awards for, well, anything. With the devices closed, looked at from above/the front, there’s little to choose between them. With the latest model, however, Brydge is adopting the same magnetic attachment approach of Apple’s Magic Keyboard. Both made the iPad a little awkward to attach and detach. Later models used smaller corner prongs that initially proved challenging, but Brydge solved the problem in the production models. In older models, this was via two aluminum prongs, which needed rubber covers to protect the iPad against scratches. The one drawback was always the way the keyboard attached to the iPad – or, more accurately, how the iPad attached to the keyboard. Made from anodised aluminum, both look and feel are MacBook-like. I’ve long been a fan of Brydge keyboards, and have used them with all my iPads – but have so far been using Apple’s Magic Keyboard with my 12.9-inch iPad Pro…īrydge keyboards for iPad always struck me as the keyboards Apple should have made. Both are premium-priced keyboards with integrated trackpads, and are essentially chasing the same user demographic. When it came to trying the upcoming Brydge Max+ keyboard for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, it seemed most sensible to write it up as a head-to-head against the Apple Magic Keyboard.