PITAKA MagEZ case for the iPad Pro and Apple Magic Keyboard review

REVIEW – Back in February, I reviewed the PITAKA Air iPhone 11 series case and loved it. I typically go case-less (aka naked) with at most a thin skin to add grippability to my very slick iPhone. But the PITAKA Air’s minimalistic design, high tech material, and build quality convinced me otherwise…the case hasn’t been removed since I did my review. Fast forward (in what feels like a decade) to October and PITAKA has just released its MagEZ case for the iPad Pro and asked if we would like to review it. I immediately said yes, in hopes it is an equal to its smaller brethren. Let’s see how it compares…

What is it?

The PITAKA MagEZ case is a form-fitted, relatively minimalistic cover for the 2018/2020 iPad Pros and 2020 iPad Air. The MagEZ case is constructed from hardened plastic and PITAKA’s high tech aramid fiber, engineered to work seamlessly with Apple’s Magic keyboard case.

What’s in the box?

• MagEZ case

Hardware specs

Design and features

The MagEZ Case enables “seamless functionality between your 2018/2020 iPad Pro or most recent iPad Air and Apple’s Magic Keyboard”. This minimalistic, lightweight case is engineered to be left on your iPad at all times, even when using Apple’s Magic Keyboard open or closed. 

My 2018 11″ iPad Pro fits perfectly inside the MagEZ case. The case protects the back, three sides, and all four corners of the tablet. The MagEZ case is very thin with the 11″ version weighing in at a mere 3 ounces. The case provides protection against bumps and scrapes though I doubt it would help much in the event of dropping from any real height. 

The right side of the case has a push-thru power button and cutouts for the iPad’s speakers and microphones.

The left side has cutouts for the iPad’s speakers and USB-C power port.

The top of the MagEZ case has push-thru volume buttons and a shallow trench so the Magic Pencil can still magnetically attach to and be charged through the case.

This is definitely a deal killer for me. Here you can see the picture from the PITAKA website showing the iPad Pro’s Magic keyboard completely closed when the the MagEZ case on the iPad***. But the lower pic is the reality of how it sits in real life. The case does not close all the way and opens further with little force. The four pictures above illustrate how everything sits.

***Now I grant you the picture I captured from the PITAKA website has the weight of the iPad Pro and MagEZ case keeping the Magic keyboard closed.

The MagEZ case has a rectangular ring that sits up above the back of the case providing extra protection to the iPad Pro’s camera assembly.

In addition to its physical form factor, the smart connector pass-thru enables the MagEZ case to work functionally with the iPad Pro’s Magic keyboard.  The smart connector pass-thru enables the iPad Pro and Magic keyboard case to communicate and allows for pass-thru charging via the keyboard. 

The build quality of the PITAKA MagEZ is OK/fine/nice enough, but the reality is this is a minimalistic form-fitted, plastic case with a thin (aramid fiber) carbon fiber-looking sticker on the back of it. That’s it… 

What I like

• Engineered to work with Apple’s Magic keyboard
• Nicely fitted for the iPad Pro
• Well place cutouts for optimal operation of the iPad 
• Pass-thru connectivity and charging
• Provides protection against scrapes and bumps

What needs to be improved

• Keeps the Magic keyboard from closing completely/correctly
• Pretty much just a plastic case with a fancy sticker on it
• Expensive with a meager 2-month warranty

Once more thing: for PITAKA to only back this $70 case with a 2-MONTH (yeah you’re reading this right and I have not misspelled “year”) is definitely showing little faith in the long-term survivability of their product. 

Final thoughts

Bottom line: The fact the PITAKA MagEZ case does not allow the Magic keyboard to close securely and/or completely is definitely a deal killer for me. For the most part, the case is nicely engineered: well fitted, minimalistic design, good cutout placement, pass-thru connectivity, and charging, etc. But as I said, it is a plastic case with a high-tech skin on the back it…nothing near as nice as what PITAKA created for the iPhone. I guess I would have preferred an aramid fiber skin for the back of my iPad. And to be perfectly blunt, the Magic keyboard alone does a fine job protecting my iPad throughout my day/travels. 

Price: $69.99
Where to buy:  PITAKA’s website.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by PITAKA.