Review: Logitech Combo Touch keyboard + trackpad for iPad-The Logitech Combo Touch is a keyboard cover for the iPad. What sets this cover apart from many other accessories is that it also includes a built-in trackpad. In this review, we discuss how the keyboard feels and whether the trackpad works properly.

Logitech Combo Touch review

Since iPadOS 13, iPads can use a mouse . That makes it a lot more attractive to use the iPad for serious work, along with the long-standing keyboard support. In iPadOS 13.4 , Apple made extensive support available for mice and trackpads. Apple also announced its own Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro , but it’s quite pricey. The Logitech Combo Touch that we are discussing here is a lot cheaper and also works with more types of iPads.

Logitech Combo Touch in short

These are the main features of the Logitech Combo Touch:

• Two variants available: one for the iPad Air 3 and one for the iPad (7th generation)
• Full keyboard with number row and function keys, especially for the iPad
• Trackpad with so-called ‘springboard’ design
• Support for multi-touch gestures
• Can also be used only as a protective cover without a keyboard

In addition to a keyboard and trackpad, the Logitech Combo Touch is also a protective cover. The latter is fine, because it is a thick, sturdy cover with an upright bumper to protect your screen from the table. There are cutouts for the headphone port, charging port and speakers. Strangely enough, there are also cutouts on the left, while there are no speakers there. The sleep and volume buttons are easy to operate through the cover. A small disadvantage is that you cannot use all wired headphones due to the small recess.

On top of the cover is a loop where you can store your Apple Pencil. You cannot easily remove it. If you are sure that you will never use an Apple Pencil, you can consider this, but it will cause damage.

Trackpad: small, nice, but above all small

The most important new feature for iPad users is the trackpad. Since iPadOS 13.4, Apple’s apps have been largely optimized for trackpads. Your cursor is a small transparent circle. When you hover your cursor over a row of buttons, the cursor disappears and the individual buttons are highlighted as you move from left to right. In our opinion, that makes it easier to select the right button, because it is all small. We compared it with apps that are not yet supported and the difference is noticeable.

App developers can also do this with updates. The updates of well-known names are already trickling in and that promises a lot for the future of this concept. If all major apps get advanced support for trackpads and mice, that means Apple will consider this a priority. Future iPadOS updates will include more improvements for people who want to use their iPad for work.

What is not so nice is the size of this trackpad. Now it should be noted that I am personally spoiled with the large trackpad on my 13-inch MacBook Pro . The Logitech Combo Touch trackpad supports a variety of multi-touch gestures to switch, scroll and zoom between apps. It all works well, but you quickly feel the fabric surface next to the trackpad when you use them.

It is not too bad, because the work you do on an iPad will not require much mouse work. After all, the apps are built for use with touchscreens. If you mostly use Microsoft Office , you will experience few problems. In addition, you can also adjust the speed of the trackpad in the settings. The same goes for the ‘tap to click’ feature, which does not require you to physically press the trackpad to click.

In this photo you see the Dutch model of the Combo Touch. Here, certain keys are smaller than on Logitech’s marketing images, such as the left shift key, for example.

Keyboard: little key travel, but types fine

We think it is of course important that a keyboard types fine. To begin with, we can report that the so-called key travel is okay on this keyboard. Key travel is how far you press a key until a character appears on your screen. Some people like to have little key travel, while others swear by a large mechanical keyboard. We think the Combo Touch keyboard is good enough to perform ‘normal’ work. If you are planning to write an entire essay, you could, but we cannot really recommend it. In terms of key travel, the keyboard is a bit between the 12-inch MacBook and the previous generation of butterfly mechanism keyboards on, for example, a 2018 MacBook Pro .

Because you are limited by the width of your iPad, chances are that this keyboard is narrower than the keyboard you are used to. Although the letter and number keys are all large, less frequently used keys are compensated by making them narrower. Anyway, it takes some getting used to, but that went fine for us.

What we often see with special iPad keyboards is the function row at the top. That is also not left out with the Combo Touch. On the top row you will find buttons to adjust the volume, control media, adjust the brightness of the screen and keyboard lighting and more. If you’re used to a Mac keyboard, you’ll master the Combo Touch in no time. By the way, you can rerout some keys to another function. In theory, for example, the caps-lock key can be used as an escape key, just to name an example.

BENEFITS+

• Beautiful, sleek design with fine materials
• Great key travel
• You can disconnect the keyboard and trackpad
• More and more support in apps

CONS-

• Small trackpad, but not dramatic
• You cannot use all wired headphones

Conclusion

All in all, the Logitech Combo Touch can be a good replacement for your laptop. If you download the right apps for your job, you should in theory no longer need your work laptop. The Office for iPad offering from Microsoft is extensive and very powerful. Because the keyboard ticks away fine, we can also recommend it if you have to email for work. Taking notes in your note taking app is also fine. If you really type a lot, we still recommend a larger Bluetooth keyboard for iPad .

As for the trackpad, it’s fine. It may be small, but you are not going to open gigantic programs on an iPad where you have to mouse an awful lot. Plus, you can still use the iPad’s touchscreen for all tasks.