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1248 Review
23 Karma

Review on πŸ”‘ SPARIN Bluetooth Keyboard: Compatible with iPad Pro 12.9 / 11 Inch, iPad 8th Gen, iPad Air 4, iPad Mini & More! White Wireless Keyboard for iPads/iPhones by Justin Zilinskas

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Mixed Mac Compatibility

I bought this keyboard as I was looking for an alternative to expensive Apple keyboards with the same general features. In fact, I would have preferred to find a wired USB version of the same keyboard, but unfortunately I only found the Bluetooth option. What am I complaining about? It's not the keyboard's fault, it's an inherent Bluetooth issue. As a power saving feature, the keyboard goes into sleep mode after 10 minutes of inactivity. It's a heavy habit to press a button and wait a few seconds before resuming use after it goes to sleep. I would have liked a shorter battery life and longer sleep intervals. There is a version of this Anker keyboard that offers 30 minutes. I would be happy with that. It's also a pity that these keyboards (be it Sparin or other "brands" that seem to be the same) don't work with the Mac Mini as they seem to fit them perfectly. In fact, I decided to try this keyboard out with my Mini just to see what wasn't compatible about it. It turns out the only thing that doesn't work on the Mini is the same thing that doesn't work on my Mac Powerbook: the F keys. Well, they work for many of the additional functions provided on the buttons. For example, they can be successfully used to control volume and brightness. But they cannot be used like real "F-keys"; B. F7, F9, etc. Pressing the Fn key in the bottom left corner supposedly activates these keys, but it doesn't. It also has no CAPS lock indicator. To be fair, Sparin's support is excellent! I contacted them with these issues and their responses were immediate and very helpful. They even refunded me a few dollars for the trouble! Plus, as other reviewers have pointed out, it's still a great keyboard. It's well built, prints well, looks good. And that's the deal!

Pros
  • Good product for the price
Cons
  • Poor