Macally Bluetooth Keyboard Review

Great Magic Keyboard alternative with easy switching between 3 devices

This is a great keyboard. I am using it on Apple products (a Macbook Pro, a MacBook Air, an iPad, and an iPhone) and haven’t had any problems connecting with each of the devices or switching between devices. I haven’t had the keyboard long enough to rate the battery life, but I will check back in when I do have to change batteries to give an update. The keys are satisfying to type on and I feel right at home with the configuration being nearly identical to any of my devices built in keyboards or the Mac Magic Keyboard.

Advantages of Magic Keyboard

I think this keyboard has many advantages to the user who wants to own and use a Magic Keyboard but doesn’t want to shell out the $99 for one. I use one at work, and I like it well enough, but for when I work at home, this keyboard actually has more features that I find useful than the Magic Keyboard.

1. I can switch between devices quickly after I set them up with (command+1, command+2, or command+3), which makes switching between my two Macbooks a breeze.
2. It takes maybe a second to unpair and repair to the newly selected device. This is a fantastic feature that is not included on the Magic Keyboard.
3. Being pensive about buying a non-mac keyboard, a lot of other keyboards reviews on Amazon talk about lag between the keyboard and the computer, but there isn’t any more lag on this than the Magic Keyboard, which is to say there isn’t any lag that I can perceive. When you press a key, it registers on the screen immediately, even in a flurry of keystrokes.
4. There is an on/off button on the side, but I haven’t been using that, instead opting for the keyboard to shut itself off when it is no longer being used. It does so, and I will report back on the battery life at a later date, as I said above. When I come back to the keyboard when it is off, I just press a key and within about 3 seconds I am up and running on the last device it was paired with.

Final Impressions

Overall, I am very impressed with this keyboard’s price, features, and usability. I am glad I didn’t shell out $99 for an official Magic Keyboard from Apple, at least at this point. On a side note, I bought the 4 year extended warranty for a $1 and change just to cover my investment, so I will also report back if anything breaks or dies on the keyboard, but I don’t see that happening.

Bottom line, a great keyboard with easy device switching at a great prize with zero lag. I would definitely recommend this keyboard to anyone using a Mac and not wanting to pay full price for an official Apple keyboard.