Brydge on Wednesday rolled out the first firmware update for its Pro+ keyboard for iPad Pro. It’s designed to fix some of the issues users and reviewers have been experiencing with the built-in trackpad — and it’s certainly a good start.
But there are some things you should be aware of before you rush off to buy a Pro+ for your iPad Pro.
I reviewed the Pro+ last month and I had lots of nice things to say about. I had to point out, however, that its built-in trackpad simply isn’t good enough:
You might look at the Pro+ for the first time and think that the trackpad is small. That’s the least of your worries. Instead, you’ll be more frustrated by unreliable tracking and erratic scrolling that often stutters or stops working altogether.
The first Pro+ firmware update improves things a little, but Brydge has plenty of work left to do.
Brydge Pro+ for iPad Pro isn’t fixed yet
After updating to the latest Pro+ firmware and playing around with it for a while, I can confirm that tracking is much-improved. It feels significantly smoother and more reliable. Sadly, the same cannot be said for scrolling.
Scrolling is still … broken. It’s too fast — even if you turn down the scroll speed in iPadOS — and it has a tendency to keep scrolling even after you’ve lifted your fingers off the trackpad. It’s not at all fun to use.
Brydge is aware of this. “This firmware made the overall scroll much smoother but at this stage it hasn’t addressed the bounce experience in menus, web pages and the home screen,” it told one Pro+ user on Twitter.
It is great that Brydge is aware of the problems and that it isn’t shying away from them. It said on Wednesday that its first firmware update is “just the beginning,” and that it will be “making regular updates” to the Pro+.
I want to love the Pro+
Here’s to hoping everything gets fixed eventually, because I want the Pro+ to be a terrific product. I’m a huge fan of Brydge — I’ve been using its keyboards with iPad for years — and I think the Pro+ has the potential to be outstanding.
Not only is the Pro+ more affordable than Apple’s Magic Keyboard ($199.99 for the 11-inch model and $229.99 for the 12.9-inch model), but it’s better at delivering that laptop-like experience we’re all so familiar with.
If you already own a Pro+, you can update its firmware now by downloading the new Brydge Connect app from the App Store.
UPDATE: February 25, 2021: Brydge is currently preparing a big firmware update for the Pro+ that promises to eliminate its trackpad issues for good by adding native multitouch gestures. That means the Pro+ will soon offer exactly the same functionality as Apple’s own Magic Keyboard.
We have yet been able to test that firmware update, but we have heard that it lives up to Brydge’s promises.
