Typewriter 2.0: search for the perfect writing experience on iPad
Tags: hardware, apps, mechanicalkeyboards, writing
Published: 2024-02-13 07:55:02

---
published: true
title: 'Typewriter 2.0: search for the perfect writing experience on iPad'
description: 'I struggle writing on my desk, so I wanted to find a great mechanical keyboard for iPad that I can take to some nice café with me.'
tags: 
 - hardware
 - apps
 - mechanicalkeyboards 
 - writing
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sxvc8zn6vaywocf67bu7.jpg
canonical_url: https://sapegin.me/blog/writing-on-ipad/
---

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I like to write: [blog articles](https://sapegin.me/blog/), journals, and even [books](https://sapegin.me/book/). However, I struggle writing at home, especially at my desk.

What works best for me is going to a nice café and writing on an iPad with an external keyboard. I’m less distracted by other tasks and somehow the ambient noise helps me to focus on writing (though sometimes I want to know the gossip of that couple at the table nearby or wear headphones when it’s too loud).

We’ll talk about the best environment for writing some other time — this article is about finding the best keyboard and software for writing on an iPad.

## Finding the best keyboard for an iPad

### Apple Magic Keyboard

The first keyboard I tried with an iPad was the [Apple Magic Keyboard](https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK2A3LL/A/magic-keyboard-us-english). It’s a bit better than the built-in keyboard in my MacBook Pro 2019, which is so bad, that it’s hardly an achievement.

![Apple Magic Keyboard on iPad](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/gxy9wp0duwkxns333adi.jpg)



Moreover, since I started using a mechanical keyboard on my desk, I wanted a similar experience on iPad too.

The overall experience of working on an iPad with a hardware keyboard is nice though. Many shortcuts work the same way as on the desktop (like Cmd+Tab to switch between apps, Caps lock to switch input language, and so on).

**Storytime:** I’ve used ergonomic keyboards throughout most of my career as a software engineer (probably for about 15 years or so), with the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 being my favorite — a great 50€ keyboard. I never liked the idea of a mechanical keyboard — I thought I wouldn’t like the noise they make and the pressure one needs to apply to type. However, I was disappointed by the poor quality of the newer and significantly more expensive Microsoft Sculpt and Surface keyboards. So when one of them died just one year after I bought it, I decided to try a mechanical keyboard. I ended up buying a split [Mistel Barocco](https://mistelkeyboard.com/products/bd20945a731491407807e80d48c5d790), which quickly converted me to a mechanical keyboard fan. The split design turned out to be equally, if not more, comfortable than a traditional ergonomic keyboard.

**Verdict**: Apple Magic Keyboard is a decent choice for travel — very small and light (240 g). However, the typing experience isn’t great.

### YMDK Air40

The next keyboard I’ve tried was 40% [YMDK Air40](https://ymdkey.com/products/air40-full-keyboard-rgb-via-supported). It’s very cute and tiny and sounds good.

However, there are a few issues:

*  Typing is difficult, especially in Russian — too many of the Russian alphabet’s 33 letters are hidden on other layers (the keyboard has three layers), and you constantly need to remember how to access them.
*  I’m not a fan of a brick ortholinear layout (when rows of letter keys are placed directly under each other, without a half-key shift like on most keyboards).
*  Not great for travel — it’s small but very heavy (495 g without keycaps) thanks to its aluminum case.
*  It’s the only non-wireless keyboard I’ve tried for an iPad.


![Mistel Barocco vs YMDK Air40](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6fprq4ya3bixiyw97d4e.jpg)



**Tip:** The orange/black keycaps are [from Amazon](https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B09ZY6C2JS/).

**Tip:** One thing I do on all my keyboards, is placing the space key upside-down: it makes the bottom edge less sharp when you press it with your thumb.

**Note:** All my mechanical keyboards have brown switches, either Cherry or Gateron. I like the subtle resistance (in comparison to linear reds) and relative quietness (in comparison to clicky blues).

**Note:** I haven’t done a lot of mods for my keyboards, except adding layers of foam and coins to my split keyboard, because separate halves are too light and move a lot on a desk. The YMDK keyboard already came with foam.

In the end, it just suddenly died after a few months of infrequent use…

**Verdict**: YMDK Air40 looks really cool but typing on it is too much work. It’s a bit too esoteric for my taste.

### Anne Pro 2

The next keyboard I tried was a 60% [Anne Pro 2](https://getannepro.com/products/anne-pro-2-mechanical-keyboard-60-keyboard).

There’s a lot to like about this keyboard:

* The layout is very nice, almost no need to relearn anything after a full desktop keyboard since most of the keys are accessible on the main layer and are located at familiar places (almost standard US layout). The only hidden keys are F-keys, Insert/Delete/Home/End/Page up/Page down, and `~` (the only missing Russian letter — `ё`).
* Magic arrow keys — a group of modifier keys, at the bottom right corner, that work as arrow keys when you quickly tap them instead of holding them.
* The sound is almost as good as on YMDK Air40 (the aluminum case helps the latter a lot though).

**Tip:** I also set up the Escape key to be magic: to act as `~` (or `ё`) when tapped quickly, and as Escape when pressed for a longer time, which gives me a complete Russian layout on the base layer with all the letters on their standard places.

![Anne Pro 2 keyboard on iPad](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ufhj9v7wagp95x2zp70i.jpg)



I really like this keyboard except for two things:

* It’s big and heavy (670 g), and not very portable.
* It’s a bit tall, so when you try to use it on your lap, it’s not very comfortable, and even on a desk it would benefit from a wrist rest.

**Verdict**: Anne Pro 2 is a great keyboard for its price ($80) and an awesome choice for using at home on a desk. I think it’s my favorite keyboard of the four overall, but portability and height are too important for my use cases.

### NuPhy Air60

The last keyboard I’ve tried, and so far my favorite, is low-profile [NuPhy Air60](https://nuphy.com/products/air60). It’s also 60%, though it feels more like 65%.

There are a few improvements over the Anne Pro 2:

* The layout is very similar to Anne Pro 2, with the addition of actual arrow keys.
* It’s very light for a mechanical keyboard, only 455 g.

Some things could have been better though:

* The right Shift is very narrow, which makes it hard to target when touch typing but you can get used to it eventually.
* The right Alt and Control are missing.
* There aren’t many alternative keycaps for it, so personalization options are a bit limited.
* The sound isn’t as good as on normal-profile keyboards.
* [Software](https://nuphy.com/pages/nuphy-console) to customize the keyboard is for Windows only (this was fixed in the [Air60 V2](https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/air60-v2)). It’s also very limited, and I wasn’t able to change the behavior of the Escape key (the same way I did for Anne Pro 2), so I need to press the Fn key every time I need to type `~`, or `ё`, which is quite often.

**Tip:** I always switch Control and Command on my keyboards because I prefer the Windows-like experience of Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V and other shortcuts.

The main difference with Anne Pro 2 is that NuPhy Air60 is a low-profile keyboard, meaning it’s much more compact. It’s still heavier and larger than the Apple Magic Keyboard but I could certainly take it with me when I go to a café to do some writing. I even traveled with it on a plain.


![NuPhy Air60](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sxvc8zn6vaywocf67bu7.jpg)


**Tip:** I also got a [COAST Twilight](https://nuphy.com/collections/keycaps/products/twilight-nsa-dye-sub-pbt-keycaps) keycaps set, and mixed it with the default keycaps to make the keyboard look a bit more interesting.

The leather case, [NuFolio V2](https://nuphy.com/collections/accessories/products/nufolio-v3-for-air60-v2), is also quite nice and gives the keyboard good protection in a bag.


![NuPhy NuFolio V2 leather keyboard case](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/519olv1cr8v048c1enn0.jpg)



You could also use the case as a stand for an iPad, and that turned out to be not as good as I thought:

* The bottom edge of the cover is so sharp, that it gets quite painful after using the keyboard on your lap for some time.
* The magnets that hold the keyboard in the case aren’t strong enough to keep it from sliding.
* It makes the screen too close — I like it at 5-10 cm from the keyboard.

**Verdict**: NuPhy Air60 is my choice of portable keyboard for an iPad. It’s not as good as Anne Pro 2 but it’s significantly lighter and smaller.

## Finding ~~the best~~ an okay case for iPad

I don’t like the traditional triangular design of [Apple’s](https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MQDV3ZM/A/smart-folio-for-ipad-pro-11-inch-4th-generation-marine-blue) and most third-party cases, because it makes the bottom surface too small, which makes it unstable when use try to put an iPad on your lap.

The case I ended up buying, ESR Folio, has a large bottom surface and two screen angles, which makes it comfortable for working on a desk and on a lap.

I have a couple of issues with this case though:

* The iPad doesn’t stay well in the grooves and sometimes (especially when you type on your laps) slides.
* When using on the desk, the keyboard needs to be in a very particular position — somewhere on the edge of the bottom surface of the case — otherwise it’s wobbly. Not a big issue for me, this is where I like it anyway.

However, after two years, it’s falling apart, and looks like [they don’t have this design anymore](https://www.esrgear.de/categories/handyhuellen/ipad-huellen/). Maybe I’ll try something else soon.

## Finding the best writing app for iPad

I write mostly in Markdown, and I use it for pretty much everything: notes, journals, articles, books…

I’ve been using [iA Writer](https://ia.net/writer) on a Mac and an iPad for many years, and I think it’s the best app for writing Markdown.


![iA Writer](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/xapk8xhtab9kl60vlvrb.jpg)



However, recently I had to switch to another Apple ID (Apple makes it close to impossible to change the country), and I had to rebuy all the apps I had on my old Apple ID.

Unfortunately, iA Writer prices are totally insane now: about 60 euros for *each* platform. I never thought *luxury software* would be a thing but here we are. iA Writer is undoubtedly a very polished and high-quality app, though clearly not an essential one.

This made me try several _significantly_ cheaper alternatives to iA Writer: [iWriter Pro](https://serpensoft.info), [1Writer](https://1writerapp.com), and [Byword](https://www.bywordapp.com). All have the same issue: Markdown syntax highlighting is too bright for my taste. I can recommend iWriter Pro, though, if you could live with bright colors — it’s a decent app and almost ten times cheaper than iA Writer.


![iA Writer alternatives](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5xhkn7vlw6u9peh3irxz.jpg)



I ended up rebuying iA Writer for Mac and iPad. It’s almost perfect for what I want, except for a few minor(ish) things. I love the monochrome Markdown color scheme, and it has the most beautiful fonts. However, I can’t stand its bright teal cursor and selection color, that you can’t change. However, I can live with that, since other options are worse.

I also use a few other apps for more specialized writing (all support Markdown):

* [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) for documentation;
* [Bear](https://bear.app/) for general notes and personal projects;
* [Notion](https://www.notion.so/) for shared projects;
* [Day One](https://dayoneapp.com/) for journaling.

**Tip:** Check out [my color schemes](https://sapegin.me/squirrelsong/) for Visual Studio Code and Bear if you want to have a monochrome Markdown highlighting similar to iA Writer.

Also, the last three apps work on iPad, Mac, and iPhone, so I can read and edit my documents on various devices.

## Conclusion

I’m quite happy with my current setup:

* iPad 11” with ESR Folio case;
* NuPhy Air60 mechanical keyboard with a leather case;
* iA Writer as a main writing app.

The overall weight (almost 1.5 kg) is comparable to a MacBook, but I like the comfort and flexibility of the external mechanical keyboard. I also like the single-taskedness of the iPad, which allows me to better focus on writing.

And if I want to go out to do some coding, I’ll take my MacBook instead.

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