Getting Started With the iPad Pro M4 Smart Keyboard
I picked up the M4 iPad Pro keyboard when it launched last year and spent about two weeks figuring out what actually works versus what Apple's marketing copy claims. Here's the honest breakdown of what you're dealing with and how to set it up without wasting time. First off, the name is a lot of words for what amounts to a magnetically attached keyboard with a trackpad and a USB-C passthrough port. The M4 iPad Pro pairs with three distinct keyboard options: the Smart Keyboard Folio, the Magic Keyboard, and the newer Ultra Finishing Keyboard variant. They all attach the same way. You line up the magnets on the back of the iPad and let them snap into place. That's it. No Bluetooth pairing screens, no waiting for firmware updates before it works. What most people miss is that not all keyboards support the same features. The standard Smart Keyboard Folio gives you keys and a case. The Magic Keyboard adds a floating stand mechanism, a trackpad, and that USB-C port that lets you charge the iPad through the keyboard. The Ultra Finishing version is the most expensive and has slightly better key travel and a different texture on the palm rest. If you're just typing documents, the Folio is fine. If you're doing any mouse-driven work, you need the Magic Keyboard or Ultra.
Here's the thing nobody tells you about setup. When you first attach the keyboard, go into Settings and check Display & Brightness. Then look at Scroll Zoom in the Accessibility settings. By default, trackpad scrolling is inverted compared to what you'd expect if you've only ever used a laptop. It feels wrong for about three days and then your muscle memory catches up. You can flip it in Settings > General > Trackpad if it bothers you enough, but most people don't bother. I ran into a real problem about a month in. The USB-C passthrough port on the Magic Keyboard would randomly stop charging the iPad while the keyboard itself kept working fine. The iPad would show "Charging via Accessory" and then suddenly drop to "Not Charging" with no explanation. Turns out the port is a bit finicky with third-party cables. I was using a Belkin 65W cable and it worked intermittently. Swapped to an Apple-branded cable and the issue went away completely. If you're having charging problems through the keyboard, try a different cable before assuming the keyboard is defective. Key travel is worth discussing because it's different from what you get on a MacBook. The Magic Keyboard uses a scissor mechanism with about 1mm of travel. It's shallow. If you come from a mechanical keyboard or even a thick laptop keyboard, it will feel mushy at first. After two weeks it stops feeling wrong. Don't return it thinking it's cheaply made. It's designed this way intentionally for battery efficiency and thinness.
Here's a counter-intuitive point about the trackpad. Most people use it like a laptop trackpad, which works fine for basic navigation. But the iPadOS trackpad gestures are actually more powerful if you treat it like a mouse. Right-click by tapping with two fingers opens context menus that standard touch gestures don't always reach. Three-finger swipe left and right switches between apps. Four-finger pinch closes all apps. Learning these takes about forty-five minutes but it makes the iPad feel significantly more like a computer and less like a big phone. Let me be clear about the downsides because the reviews don't mention them. The keyboard adds serious weight. The Magic Keyboard plus iPad Pro M4 weighs about 1.5 pounds more than the tablet alone. If you plan to hold the iPad up while typing, don't. Your wrists will complain within twenty minutes. This is a desk accessory, not a couch accessory. The stand also has a limited angle range. You can tilt it back maybe thirty degrees and that's it. If you need a more ergonomic typing angle, you'll need a separate lap desk or stand. Battery life changes noticeably with the keyboard attached. Apple claims up to ten hours of web browsing on the iPad Pro M4 alone. With the Magic Keyboard connected and in use, expect roughly six to seven hours of active typing and browsing. The keyboard draws power directly from the iPad, so it's not an extra battery to manage. Just plan accordingly if you're traveling without a charger.
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One more thing that trips people up. The keyboard has its own firmware that updates automatically when you connect to Wi-Fi. Sometimes these updates take ten to fifteen minutes and the keyboard will become unresponsive during the process. Don't panic. Don't detach it. Just leave it alone and it'll come back online. I learned that the hard way when I yanked it off during an update and had to reset the connection by powering the iPad off and on. If you're coming from a Surface or a Chromebook with a detachable keyboard, the iPad setup is simpler but less flexible. You can't detach and reattach the iPad from the keyboard freely like you can on those platforms. The iPad locks into one position. It's either typing mode or it's not. There's no tent mode, no stand mode separate from the keyboard. That's a deliberate design choice by Apple and it works if you're okay with that constraint. For most people buying this, the decision really comes down to whether you'll type more than a few paragraphs a day. If the answer is yes, get the Magic Keyboard. The trackpad alone justifies the price difference over the Folio. If you mainly use the iPad for consumption and occasional notes, the Folio is sufficient and saves you a couple hundred dollars. The Ultra Finishing keyboard is a niche product. The build quality is marginally better but the functional differences are minimal. Save your money unless you specifically prefer the palm rest texture.
