I purchased the 9.7″ iPad Pro to be a couch computer and note taking machine, but also to be something I could easily take with me on short trips, or to the coffee shop. Which means I needed a keyboard for it, and given how much I love the Smart Keyboard Cover on the larger iPad Pro, it was an easy decision for me to buy it on the smaller iPad Pro as well.

I’ve now spent some time using it and I find myself missing the larger keyboard with every keystroke.

Too Small

I make too many mistakes on this keyboard, and it’s too small to be something I ever want to use. Ultimately it works fine in short spurts, but whereas with its larger sibling, I never prefer using it.

The compression Apple has done to the keys is nice, easily the best 9.7″ keyboard I have used, but that’s not saying much, as I have mostly hated every 9.7″ keyboard I have tried. It is simply too small.

It’s hard to learn finger placement on, and ultimately only a passable typing experience. Faster than on screen, but no where near as fast as its larger sibling.

But So Nicely Compact

The appeal of this keyboard, and its larger sibling, is how compact and easy to carry they are. Unlike with the larger model, this keyboard adds very little bulk to the iPad Pro. For that reason alone, I like it. At almost no weight and device size cost, I can always have a reasonable keyboard with the iPad.

Every other iPad keyboard I have tried leads me to an overall package larger than a MacBook. With this 9.7″ iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard cover, the setup is minuscule.

Overall

When it comes right down to it, the smaller size outweighs the crappiness of typing on it. I’d rather have this keyboard than any other keyboard which would work with my smaller iPad Pro.

But there will never be a time when I won’t rush to the larger iPad Pro for typing if it is reasonably close by. The typing difference is night and day and the larger keyboard wins without a shadow of a doubt. But I cannot forget that this little keyboard is massively convenient.

This is a purchase of convenience, just as was my reasoning for the smaller iPad Pro, and in that light this is a very nice little keyboard — but very much overpriced.

You can buy one here.