Gadgets

6 things to consider when buying a tablet case

Published

3 days ago

December 31, 2024

Empowerment

6 things to consider when buying a tablet case

Summary

A case for your tablet isn’t essential, but can help you use it in more ways.

Keyboard cases can turn your tablet into a mini laptop, but add extra bulk.

Ultimately, you have to decide what you’re using your tablet for, and how protective you need your case to be.

Unless the ultimate owner of your tablet is a child, using a case isn’t critical. Most tablets are well-constructed enough that you don’t need to worry about breaking them, and they’re mostly used while stationary.

What a good tablet case can do for you is make your tablet more functional, adding features, propping up the screen, and keeping any extra accessories you might have safe. With so many options to choose from, you want to make sure you know what you want before you buy. Here’s what you should keep in mind while buying a tablet case.

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1 Decide how you want to use your tablet

The activities you’re using it for could change the case you need

What you actually plan on using your tablet for can greatly change the kind of case you might need. If, for some reason, you do plan on using it outside, you might want something more protective. But it can be even simpler than that. Knowing that you might use your tablet in landscape orientation rather than portrait orientation could mean you need a different case.

If you’re using your tablet in landscape orientation to watch movies, you might want a case that can help prop it up. If you’re just using it to take notes or read articles, something that just protects the back of your tablet from scratches might be more important. Apple’s Smart Folio cases are expensive but strike a balance between acting as a simple stand and protection for the back of your iPad, but a silicone case with raised edges might do the trick too.

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Install a virtual keyboard on your Android tablet to enjoy touch-sensitive typing and smooth mouse movements using your PC or laptop.

2 To keyboard or not to keyboard

A built-in way to type takes up space

If you want to use your iPad as a tool for document creation or general writing, you might want a case with a keyboard. All modern tablets can connect to Bluetooth keyboards of all stripes, but it can be convenient to have that keyboard (and even a trackpad) directly built-in.

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Apple Magic Keyboard for 11-inch iPad Pro

Apple’s Magic Keyboard is an iPad keyboard case that can be posed at multiple angles, has a built-in trackpad, and a pleasant-to-type-on keyboard. It’s much easier to use on a lap than other options, too.

Committing to a keyboard case does mean that you have to deal with extra bulk, and that you might need to take your tablet completely out of its case to use it any other way. That’s the way Apple’s Magic Keyboard works, but you can get Logitech’s Combo Touch case or Samsung’s Book Cover Keyboard and remove the keyboard from your tablet when you’re not using it.