JLab’s Go keyboard isn’t as elegant as Apple’s Magic Keyboard, but it’s a fraction of the price at just $20/£20, and its versatile connectivity features make it a good option for use with multiple devices, including Macs, Windows, and iPads .
The Go has a similar low-profile design to Apple’s Magic Keyboard, but the lightweight plastic isn’t as sturdy as Apple’s more expensive aluminum design. We’d probably use it mostly indoors, but nonetheless it should be able to survive the occasional trip outdoors in a rucksack, and it weighs just 325g, so it’s easy to carry around too. It’s also much more versatile than its Apple rival, as it pairs with three different devices and quickly switches between them using handy keyboard shortcuts.
In addition to working with Bluetooth, the Go also includes a USB wireless adapter, which can provide greater range and reliability than a conventional Bluetooth connection. However, the USB adapter has a USB-A interface, so if your Mac doesn’t have USB-A ports, you’ll need a USB-C adapter. We had no trouble pairing the Go with our MacBook Pro and iPad and switching between them repeatedly. The Go also has some extra hotkeys that tell it to adapt to Apple devices, Android or Windows PCs for the various function keys to work properly. All of the standard function keys worked as we’d expect, allowing us to adjust brightness, volume, and activate search on both our MacBook and iPad. And in addition to conventional function keys for volume and playback controls, the Go also has a small dial in the top right corner that lets you quickly adjust volume, play and pause, and skip forward/backward when listening to music.
The compact keyboard is best suited for occasional use, writing emails and browsing the web, but the keys are easy to carry so you can write a few longer documents every now and then if the need arises. The only minor disappointment is that the Go doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, instead relying on two AAA batteries for its power. However, JLab does include two batteries with the Go and says they should last about four months before you need to replace them.
