As a heavy user of Apple Notes for on-the-fly thoughts, ideas, and trip notes, adding a physical keyboard to a tablet or your phone is a dream for those who regret their MacBook Air M1 is tagging along.

Personally, a keyboard only expands the touchscreen experience, leaving more screen real estate for photo editing, social, and all the other small business tasks we face daily.

There are hundreds of varieties, shapes, and sizes. After hours (minutes) of scrolling, I landed on two that fit three basic requirements:

Foldable and compact
Bluetooth with a long battery life
Compatible with Apple products and shortcuts

For scale, the Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is in the mix. It’s ‎11.5 x 5 x 0.76 inches if you’re wondering.

Photographed with the digital compact camera Ricoh GR IIIx

Top to bottom: ipad mini 6, iclever bk02, apple magic keyboard, Samsers Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard

iClever BK03 Portable and Foldable Keyboard

2nd Gen apple pencil and a bluetooth keyboard are a powerful tech combo for the 21st century road warrior.

Here we go, hunting and pecking on the tiniest keyboard you have ever seen. It's a match made in nerd heaven.

At first glance, this keyboard looks fantastic and syncs with the iPad Mini 6 with grace and speed, but the compact size will be hard to overcome.

Of the two reviewed, this clever little piece of kit was the hardest to say no to; frankly, it is easier to look at between you and me. The design is brilliant, modern, and a win-win for my iPad workflow, making it more streamlined and efficient when captioning photos and updating notes.

HINGES on the outside of the keyboard design allow for a more natural feel.

Sync this fully QWERTY keyboard with up to three devices.

One of these days, Siri will accept my mumbling as human speech, but at the moment, voice dictation is a lost cause if the thought goes beyond a sentence. Often my workflow favors a physical keyboard, and at under $35, it's a no-brainer to add one of these two to your travel kit.

The iClever is responsive and fun to look at, but my hands need help finding keys and stumble even with its innovative design. Thank goodness for spell check and the tiny backspace key.

It doesn't move or slide around, but the company has included tiny silicon feet that attach to the bottom of the keyboard if you so desire.

iClever

SPECS

5.7 x 3.66 x 0.63 inches
6.56 ounces
USB charger included
Bluetooth
Pocket-sized, tri-folding
Aircraft-grade Aluminum
Mac OS / Windows / iOS / Android

KEY FEATURES

Near instant sync speed
Design, it looks cool.
Sync with three devices.
Apple function keys, along with keyboard shortcuts for iPad.
Portable and lightweight.
No keyboard backlight

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Samsers Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard

I wanted to like this keyboard; it's the largest of the two reviewed and almost feels like a laptop keyboard. It's so close.

The scissor-switch keys have the same feel and response as most Apple laptops, but the reach between b, n, g, h, t, and y, makes typing so awkward you lose concentration fighting the tech rather than streamlining your life.

My larger takeaway is there is nothing perfect about typing on a tiny foldable keyboard that fits your jacket pocket.

Samsers’ scissor-switch keys are great but the hinges get in the way.

The design is what you most expect from a foldable keyboard, which might be the most significant issue — the hinges are like a Great Wall of China-sized obstacles thats easy enough to maneuver around but a deterrent for the lazy barbarian.

Form over function unless form impeds function and this keyboard has all of that — the middle keys, closest to where the keyboard folds, are cramped and have an odd sizing. The stretched and awkward key layout is hard to overcome, even for a sub $30 Bluetooth keyboard that is responsive and syncs on a dime.

I wanted to like this keyboard — it has the best tactile feel and is most similar to writing on my laptop, but the form takes it out of the running altogether.

Given time, you might stop fighting the form and learn to use it quickly, but the learning curve will play out repeatedly, forcing a fight that will interfere with getting down your thoughts.