Follow-up post on Power Keys!
Hello again! I have gathered some more thoughts after using the Power Keys intensively since Saturday. So I thought it fitting to make an update on my previous post. Hopefully it can answer the questions some of you guys left last time as well.
*The first pic is a silly reference to MrMobile's Clicks Cruciform on his video.
I know most folks getting this thing probably aren't doing it for the wireless charging features, but I tried it out anyway. To my experience, Power Keys managed to help the phone maintain its charge but never boost it. It also said 'slow charger' on my iPhone every time I tried it, which indicates that it was likely charging at below 5W. Also, the keyboard also entered reserve mode and paused charging only minutes after charging whenever I tried charging with it. Hopefully I'm not looking at a defective battery here. There should be more options to tweak the charging behaviour in the app when the update comes so I look forward to finding some fixes there should there be any.
The typing experience continues to impress me. The smaller size of the keys compared to the case became negligible after few days of usage and I found myself getting used to the new layout and size quite quickly. The added symbols are also very useful along with the media controls accessed via the num row + sym key.
I mentioned the top-heaviness last time and after spending more time typing, I can safely say Power Keys is a huge improvement over the case in this department. Typing while standing or walking outside feels way more secure and you never feel like the phone is flying off of your hands once you got a good grip going, whereas with the case, I would feel very cautious about dropping the phone because of how heavy the top of the phone feels. That being said, the case might still be a better choice for typing for long periods in a stationary position due to its larger keys and lighter weight.
I still stand by the impressions I left last time regarding the build quality. The slider feels sturdy and never collapses on its own while typing. It takes a light jolt with a hefty phone like the 17 Pro Max to shut the keyboard and I found that to be a satisfying, albeit unintentional way of closing it with one hand.
A few more grumbles before I go. I wish the keyboard connects faster after you deploy it. It takes about 3/4 of a second to connect, which is just long enough to feel like you're waiting for it a little. Also, I encountered a few occasional signal drops with my iPad. Hopefully the connectivity is something that they can improve with firmware updates.
That about does it for me this time! I probably won't post anymore impressions like this for the meantime until there is something huge to discuss/share. Once again, I welcome any questions you got and am happy to answer them :)