Logitech Slim Combo for iPad 6th Generation - The Real Slim Deal?

It will come as absolutely no surprise to the readers of this blog that I write a lot! Even when I’m not publishing posts here, I’m either working on something in Word, or taking notes in OneNote, even if only to capture a particular idea, or to catch a train of thought before it derails. What you see here and on my German blog is maybe ten percent of the total notes I have in OneNote. Bear in mind that this doesn’t even include any “legacy” notes saved in other applications. So yes, I write a lot, which also means I type a lot, and I almost always carry my iPad with me as a writer’s notebook, together with an external keyboard. For years, this was my trusty Microsoft keyboard, but that has recently been showing the telltale signs of prolonged use, with components becoming lose, and cracks appearing in the casing. It was time to replace it.

I wasn’t originally going to go for a Logitech keyboard. While they had been my go-to brand for peripherals for over a decade, both in Germany and later in Ireland, they had had some rather embarrassing breaches in recent times and build quality had seemingly taken a nose-dive as well. In addition, the ability to have the keyboard separate from the actual iPad was rather important for me, simply from a flexibility point of view. However, most other 3rd party keyboards were either outside my price range or looked decidedly wonky, so when I saw the Logitech Slim Combo become available on Amazon for 50% off, I decided to go for it. 

While the name Slim Combo may seem a bit counterintuitive at first, it is actually quite descriptive, as the device consists of two parts. The first is the actual keyboard, which snaps into place magnetically, much like an Apple Smart Cover, while the second part consists of a hard case for the iPad itself, and sports a holder for Apple Pencil, as well as a fold out stand similar to those found on a Microsoft Surface. The keyboard connects to the iPad via Bluetooth, by the way, at least for my 6th Generation iPad. This might differ for other models, as Logitech does offer versions of this keyboard with a Smart Connector. All in all, the general layout and appearance turns an iPad into something more akin to a Microsoft Surface, which is a device and concept that I’ve been fascinated with for quite a few years now.

For a case labelled "slim", the Logitech Slim Combo is actually pretty chunky!

As for the device itself, it appears rock solid, like I’ve grown to expect from Logitech. The colour scheme is pretty bland though, and the grey/anthracite/whatever look with the fabric insets is unlikely to win any beauty contests anytime soon. Everything is plastic, as you might expect, though it does feel pretty well made. Despite its name, the Slim Combo will add quite a bit of bulk to your iPad, and when fully assembled and closed, it looks more like a netbook than an iPad. Given that I started this blog on a netbook, this bit of nostalgia is far from unwelcome, however those out there who always want the slimmest device possible may want to give this one a pass. The keyboard does offer a backlight, which is rather impressive, even though the actual light is rather anaemic. Still, it’s better than nothing, and can make quite a difference in poorly lit cafés and such.

When fully set up, the whole assembly more closely resembles a Microsoft Surface like device, rather than a traditional iPad... not that I mind.

Typing is a breeze with the Slim Combo. I've had much more expensive laptops with worse keyboards.

The keyboard attaches magnetically, and connects to the iPad via Bluetooth. As such, it can easily be separated when needed.

The case with its built-in stand makes watching videos easy, especially since the keyboard is detachable.

The quality of the keyboard itself is pretty spectacular though. It feels more like it would fit right in on a decent mid-range laptop, rather than “simply” being a mobile device keyboard. The one irritating issue is the rather large bottom “rim” with the company logo. After working with laptops, netbooks, ultrabooks, etc., over the years, my thumbs tend to gravitate towards where they’d expect a trackpad to be. To be fair, this is less of a product issue and more an issue of my muscle memory playing tricks on me, but I just thought I should put that out there. Apart from that little potential trip wire, it really is a very well laid out keyboard.

There are a few downsides to it though. Firstly the case and keyboard don’t form a complete seal, there’s a quite obvious gap in between the two halves. This is mainly a cosmetic issue, but could be off-putting for some. Speaking of gaps, some of the gaps for the iPad power button, microphones or headphone jack are a bit too wide, which might be a bit of a no-go for some people. Personally I haven’t found this to be a major issue at all, but again, it might be an issue for some. Having personally come across cases where people have inspected their new phones with a magnifying glass, nothing really surprises me anymore on that front.

A Logitech Slim Combo in its natural habitat, a café. You can barely make out the keyboard backlight in this shot. It is equally faint in real life.

There is however one rather large elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. If you’ve checked out the Amazon reviews for the Slim Combo, you’ll probably have noticed that these are less than stellar. less than stellar. Apparently, some users are experiencing issues with the longevity of the keyboard, and with keys becoming unresponsive after only a few weeks in some cases. Having only had this keyboard for about two weeks when this review goes online, this is naturally not an issue I can address from first-hand experience. I did notice something rather interesting about these reviews. They seem to be pretty widespread on the British and UK sites. However, as I’m German, I also checked amazon.de, and lo and behold, the reviews there were far more positive. Now, this can be due to any number of reasons, but given my compatriots’ reputation as world championship whingers, I was rather taken aback by this. Anyway, I’ll be keeping an eye on that issue and put out an update to this review if needed.

For now, I have nothing but praise for the Logitech Slim Combo. I’m not sure whether it’s the ultimate iPad keyboard case, but it is certainly in the running for that spot as far as I’m concerned. While the potential longevity issues are of course a bit of a concern, the overall device is rock solid, if not nearly as slim as the name would suggest. If you do decide to go for this, I would however suggest waiting for a sale or a discount, as the regular sales price is a bit steep.