Anker Bluetooth Folio Backlit Keyboard Case for iPad 9.7 Inch Review

The Anker Bluetooth Folio Keyboard Case has just about everything I was looking for in an iPad keyboard case, but one thing is bugging me about it.

Weight

While the keyboard is detachable, the top part of the case (that protects the iPad) still adds some significant weight to the seemingly feather-light iPad. The case with the keyboard adds 1.5 pounds on top of the iPad Air 2’s weight of 1 pound.

However, I’m sure the added weight is there for stability reasons. The keyboard base needs to be heavy enough to support the weight of the iPad to prevent the unit from tipping backwards.

Design

Despite the added weight, I really like the versatility of the case. When I want to use the iPad as a tablet for reading, I can easily just pull it off of the keyboard thanks to the magnetic hinge. When I need to type something up, I can easily reattach it to the keyboard without needing to remove the case each time.

Features

The backlit keys are also very much appreciated for late night typing. However, the letters on the keys are completely transparent, thereby allowing the individual LED bulbs to be visible and making it difficult to see what the actual letter is.

There are dedicated keys for volume and brightness control, as well as copy and paste.

The keyboard automatically turns on when the case is opened, so there is no need to remember to flip a switch each time you want to use the keyboard. There is also a magnet located in the keyboard to activate the iPad’s sleep/wake feature, so the iPad automatically sleeps when the keyboard case is closed.

How do you change the backlight color on the Anker Bluetooth Folio Keyboard Case?

Oddly, this is not covered in the manual, but here are the steps:

1. First, hold down the “Fn” key
2. Next, also hold down the “Alt” key located to the right of the space bar (you’ll notice it has a little bulb icon on it).
3. While holding down these two buttons, press the Up or Down arrow to cycle through the colors. Once you find the color you want, you can let go of all of the buttons.
4. There are two brightness levels for each color as well. To change the brightness, hold down the “Fn” key while tapping the “Alt” key located to the right of the space bar.

Battery Life

Battery life on this keyboard so far seems good. Even with the backlight feature on, I’ve been able to use it an hour or two daily for a week now and have not needed to recharge it yet.

Unfortunately, recharging requires a Micro USB cable. I would have liked to see a Lightning port input for charging so I would only need one cable to charge both the keyboard and the iPad.

[review]

https://youtu.be/bLlVJojAbZQ