Apple introduced the first iPad in 2010. In 2011, when Apple introduced the iPad 2, it also introduced the Smart Cover, a way to protect the iPad’s screen without adding much thickness or weight. The Smart Cover attached to the edge of the iPad using magnets. When covering the screen, it automatically put the iPad to sleep. When open, you could fold it into a triangle to prop up the iPad either slightly for typing or more for watching videos. It was a great Apple accessory. Apple produced Smart Covers for many different iPad models for many years, and still sells a Smart Cover for older iPad models, but none of the new iPads support a Smart Cover.
In 2018, Apple introduced the iPad Pro 12.9” (third generation), which replaced the curved and tapered edge of the prior iPad Pro with a flat edge. I’m not sure if the new edge would no longer work with a Smart Cover or if Apple simply opted for a change, but starting with that model, Apple replaced the Smart Cover with the Smart Folio. Like the Smart Cover, the Smart Folio covered the front of the iPad. But the Smart Folio also covered the back, and magnets on the back of the iPad hold the Smart Folio in place. When first introduced, I considered the Smart Folio inferior to the Smart Cover it replaced; I didn’t see any need to protect the back of my iPad, and covering the back added to the overall thickness and weight. Nevertheless, I grew accustomed to the Smart Folio over time, even if I never loved it quite as much as the original Smart Cover.
This year, with the new iPad Pro M4, Apple is changing this product once again. Apple did not consider the change significant enough to change the product name, so it is still called the Smart Folio. However, the new version folds up in to a triangle that is a different shape. And while the triangle on the original Smart Folio attached to the iPad in only one way, the new triangle attaches in two primary positions plus an infinite number of positions between those two primary positions.
The reason for the new triangle shape is that the panel closest to the open edge is now much thinner. In the following picture, the Smart Folio for the iPad Pro 12.9” 5th generation (introduced in 2021) is on the left and the new Smart Folio for the iPad Pro 13” (M3) is on the right:
When folded into a triangle, the prior Smart Folio only attached magnetically to the back of the iPad one way: with the triangle tucked near the bottom. The new Smart Foil works in this position too, but in this position with the iPad propped up, the iPad is in almost a 90º position. In the following picture, the prior Smart Folio is on the left and the new Smart Folio is on the right:
The new triangle shape also means that when your iPad screen is facing straight up (the position that many people use to draw on the screen using an Apple Pencil), the angle is smaller than ever before, resulting in an iPad that is at only a slight angle, closer to flat on a table.
Both of these new positions are interesting. When I am sitting at a table, having the iPad screen almost fully perpendicular makes the screen harder to see than if it is tilted back a little more, but I can imagine that there are other situations in which that almost 90º tilt makes the iPad even easier to see, perhaps if you are lying down and watching a movie.
With the iPad facing up as I draw on it with an Apple Pencil, I have quickly gotten used to the new angle and I may even prefer it. Others seem to disagree. For example, Jason Snell noted on Six Colors that “the iPad now sits much lower and flatter in this configuration. This change will probably make more people happy than sad, but I’m in the sad camp on this one.”
This new Smart Folio’s triangle also supports a second primary position. Instead of tucking the end of the Smart Folio near the bottom of the back of the iPad so that the triangle is snug with the bottom of the iPad, you connect it using magnets a little further up.
This is a nice position for the iPad when the screen is upright, and it is fairly similar to the position of the former Smart Folio with just a little more back tilt. In the following picture, the prior Smart Folio is on the left and the new Smart Folio is on the right:
If you are just looking at the iPad in this new position, it works great. Right now, for example, I am typing on a Bluetooth keyboard while I look at my iPad in this position, and it is a nice, comfortable position.
The problem comes when I go to touch the screen. In this position, if I touch or tap anything that is in the middle to the top of the screen, such as buttons in a toolbar at the top of the screen, the iPad rocks back and forth. The triangle held magnetically in this position simply isn’t very steady. And the rocking is annoying.
Even worse, if the triangle attached in this position isn’t on a flat table and instead is on something more uneven like my lap or in my hands, the triangle can come undone, causing the iPad to fall back. I’ve had multiple times where I thought that I was going to drop the iPad completely and have it fall on the ground, although fortunately, I have been able to grab the iPad before that happened.
Between the two positions—one where the triangle is snug and secure at the bottom of the iPad and the other where the triangle is attached somewhat securely by magnets on the back of the iPad—there are additional positions between the two extremes. I suppose there are infinite additional positions. There are apparently two rails of magnets on the back of the iPad so that you can slide the triangle up or down between the two extremes to adjust the angle to fit your preference. If you want, you can even make the new Smart Folio have the exact same angle as the prior Smart Folio:
This is the big selling point of the new design. It is a Smart Folio that can be adjusted to countless different angles. And if you are just looking at the screen, I suppose this is a nice advantage.
These in-between positions are also good because the iPad is more steady in these positions than the extreme position where the iPad is leaning back the most. In these in-between positions, the iPad doesn’t easily rock back-and-forth. You can touch and tap buttons near the top of the iPad’s screen and the iPad stays somewhat steady.
However, when the Smart Folio is in these in-between positions and you pick up the iPad (perhaps because you want to lean back in a chair with the iPad) even a slight touch on the Smart Folio triangle connected using one of these in-between positions can cause the triangle to unfold. And if you are not careful, this could cause the iPad to slip out of your hands.
So if the triangle is snugly behind the iPad, the 90º position isn’t a good viewing angle. The position at the other extreme looks good, but if I touch the iPad, it rocks back-and-forth. At an in-between position, the screen looks good, but if I pick up the iPad, the triangle easily comes apart. Every position has compromises, and all of these compromises can make it seem that the new Smart Folio is more frustrating than the model that it replaces. Yes, I get many more viewing angles, but none of them really add very much for me. I was perfectly happy with the single triangle position on the former Smart Folio. Most of the time, I just keep my Smart Folio in an in-between position that is almost exactly the same angle as the former Smart Folio. But unlike the former product, I need to worry about the triangle falling apart and the iPad potentially slipping out of my hand every time I pick up the iPad. Thus, the advantage of additional viewing angles is minor, and it comes with a downside.
To be fair, I should note that my frustration with the new Smart Folio has lessened over time. The new Smart Folio doesn’t annoy me right now as much as it did when I first started using it last week. I suppose that I’m getting used to treating the product with kid gloves to avoid having the folded triangle collapse. Maybe in a few weeks or a few months, I’ll learn to work around the problems. But I’m not there yet. When I asked Jason Snell about this issue on Mastodon, he responded: “I find it usable but not ideal, my problem is more with the laying-down orientation, which is much worse now.”
The new Apple Folio comes in three colors: black, white, and denim. The denim color is a bit of a misnomer; as you can see if you look at it, it is more of a slate blue. I have the black model, which looks good on the Space Black iPad Pro 13” M4.
Conclusion
Having spent the money to purchase this $100 product, I’m not yet ready to give up on it completely. Perhaps it will grow on me over time. But if you have been using a Smart Folio, or even a Smart Cover, for a long time, be warned that this product is different. If you like the idea of multiple viewing angles, you may be a fan of the changes. If you mainly use the triangle of a Smart Folio to put your iPad almost flat on a table with a slight angle so that you can write on it using an Apple Pencil, this new version works fine, and you may even consider the new angle to be an improvement. But if your main priority is to have your iPad in a safe and stable position while it is propped up and leaning at a slight angle, then be warned that you may consider this new design to be one step forward but two steps backwards.
Click here to get the Apple Smart Folio for iPad Pro 13” from Amazon ($99)