Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Mac
- Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Macbook Pro
- Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Machines
- Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Mac Pro
The Craft keyboard from Logitech is a full-sized premium wireless keyboard that’s been designed to be used on your desk when paired with a laptop, desktop computer, phone or tablet. Hardware specs Connection support: Logitech Unifying 2.4GHz wireless technology Bluetooth Low Energy technology Power: Rechargeable with USB type C cable (included) Size: 5.87 x 16.93 x 1.26 in Design and features The keyboard has low profile non-mechanical keys that are more like a laptop keyboard than a traditional desktop keyboard. You can click the image above to get a closer look at the QWERTY layout which includes a dedicated number pad on the right side and a row of function keys along the top. The keys have a comfortably rounded depression on top of each key and the matte finish of the plastic feels great under your fingertips. Canon imagerunner advance 4235 guide for mac pro.
Even though the Logitech Craft keyboard does not have mechanical keys, I really really like the feel of the keys. I’m a touch typist, so I’m picky when it comes to keyboards, and I enjoy typing on this one. The Logitech Craft keyboard has a power switch on the back and a USB Type-C port beside it which is used to charge the keyboard’s internal batteries.
According to the Craft product page on Logitech’s site, the keyboard’s batteries should last for a full week on a charge. That has to be a mistake because I’ve been using this keyboard for several weeks and it’s still going strong. There’s a small LED in the upper right corner of the keyboard will glow red to indicate that the keyboard needs to be recharged. One of the notable features of the Craft keyboard is the Crown input dial in the upper left corner. This smoothly turning knob provides a different function in a variety of applications and can be customized in the Logitech application that you can install on your Windows or macOS computer. If you don’t install the application, turning the Crown will adjust volume levels up and down on your computer, while pressing the dial will play or pause music, and pressing and turning the dial at the same time will adjust screen brightness. When you install the Logitech Options application, it will detect the applications that you have installed on your computer and will allow you to customize what the Crown can do in each of these apps when each detected app is in focus.
For example, if you are working in a web browser like Chrome or Firefox, turning the Crown will let you switch between tabs. In Photoshop, the Crown can do different things based on the tool that you have selected. If you have the cropping tool selected, rotating the Crown will zoom in and out on your image, if you have a paintbrush selected, turning the Crown will change the size of the brush, etc. Once you can train yourself to use the Crown, it becomes very useful.
You can also add other applications not detected by the Logitech Options app to add Craft Crown capabilities to other apps on your computer. In addition to customizing the function of the Crown knob, you can also customize the function of the F-keys. Unfortunately, you can’t setup macros for the F-keys. You can only choose from a list of features. By default, the function keys already offer features that will let you set screen brightness, media controls including next, previous track, play/pause and volume. But you can also use it to show open windows or show all apps.
The Logitech Craft keyboard also has backlit keys. You can adjust the brightness of the keys using the function keys and built-in proximity sensors will cause the keys to light up to “welcome” you when your hands get near the keyboard after it’s been idle and then the backlight will fade in intensity depending on ambient lighting.
I have the backlight turned off to save battery life, but the “welcome” feature still works even with that setting. This keyboard can be paired with up to 3 devices using Bluetooth and/or the unified USB dongle that is included with the keyboard. Switching between paired devices is easily accomplished using the dedicated 1, 2, and 3 device switch keys next to the number pad. I did all my testing of the Logitech Craft keyboard with my 12″ MacBook and a Pixel 2 XL smartphone. Switching between devices was fast and effortless. What I like This keyboard has a premium look and feel. It’s heavy which is a good thing.
It stays put and won’t slide around on your desk. The feel of the keys and the sound of the keystrokes has a perfect level that’s not too loud or too soft. I like using the Crown knob mainly for adjusting volume and sometimes find that I forget to use it in other apps because I’ve used my mouse or keyboard shortcuts for various functions for so long that it’s tough to break that habit and use a different way of doing things. One feature that I was really surprised to have with the Craft keyboard is a Windows-style delete key that even works when paired with my MacBook. If you’re familiar with macOS computers, you’ll know that the delete key is really a backspace key which removes the character to the left of the cursor but we don’t have a dedicated key to delete the character to the right of the cursor like Windows computers. I am excited that the delete key on the Craft keyboard lets me have the best of both worlds. What needs to be improved If battery life is really only supposed to last 1 week per charge, then that would be at the top of my improvement list.
As I mentioned above, I’ve been using this keyboard for 3 or more weeks every day for at least an hour and it’s still running on the initial charge, so I can’t complain about battery life until I’ve had a lot more time with this keyboard. Look for an update after the first of the year when I am able to get a better handle on battery life expectations. Another improvement I’d like to see is the ability to program macros for the F-keys instead of only being able to choose from a pre-set list of functions using the Logitech Options app. Final thoughts I enjoy using the Logitech Craft wireless keyboard. The keyboard is very well made and I find it comfortable to type on.
The Crown knob adds a new way to interact with my apps that is fun and intuitive. If the $200 price tag doesn’t frighten you away, the Logitech Craft keyboard is worth checking out. Update 03/07/18 Logitech has added support to use the crown knob with Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, as well as additional updates, that allow you to use the keyboard’s Crown in the following ways:. Adobe Reader DC on Windows: Zoom, change the page and scroll horizontally. VLC Media Player on Windows: Skip forward and backward while watching a video, or adjust the volume.
Preview on Mac: Zoom, change the page and scroll horizontally. Quicktime on Mac: Skip forward and backward while watching a video, or adjust the volume.
Safari for Mac: Navigate between tabs. Spotify for Mac and Windows: Play and pause your music, change the volume, or change songs. Update 10/17/18 I’ve been using this keyboard every day with my 12-inch MacBook which is connected to a BenQ monitor. I only just in the past few weeks had to charge the internal batteries.
I still like the look of the keyboard and the feel of the keys. I also like using the knob to flip between browser tabs and in Photoshop. Source: The sample for this review was provided.
Please visit their site for more info and check for lower prices. I hate to quibble over your experiences of over two decades, but I need to point out that every full size Mac keyboard for over thirty years has included a forward delete key; this is not a feature unique to “Windows users”.
Compact Apple keyboards, which became standard only on portables and for a short time when Apple switched to shipping wireless as default with desktops, are not the norm; one could always choose a full size keyboard as a BTO option. For those “stuck” with compact keyboards, simply press Fn-Delete to forward-delete, or swap the function “permanently” or per-application using free third party utilities. If you say so. (: us old timers just use Ctrl-D, as well as all the other standard universal editing keystrokes in macOS nee FreeBSD nee Darwin nee.NIX. I guess your definition of ‘obvious’ depends on what system(s) you grew up with; when I started it was mainframes, then the Apple II was the first mainstream personal computer; PC was late to that game.
Saying Windows is better because its bigger or what you’re used to is like saying McDonald’s is ‘obviously better’ than In & Out, IMHO. Hmmm Odd, I’m also a touch typist, and I’d much rather press a modifier key than be forced to leave the home row for one key. Last time I observed a real world typing class, it was also stressed to learn your modifiers, lest lose time off and back on the home keys. You must hate capitalization and punctuation; and dialogue or writing code must put you in an awful mood. (; Seriously, though, do you really use forward-delete more than backspace? Most people I’ve observed edit mistakes in reverse on the fly, rather than edit top down after completion. And if I see someone reach for a mouse to reinsert a cursor when editing – especially on the same line – I die a little inside.
Even worse is someone who back-arrows just to then use forward-delete. I have allergies and sinus issues 24/7 365 days a year. My nose is almost always a little sniffly. But I know I'm not the only person who has these types of issues. While several people on the team have reviewed air purifiers, the Airdog X5 is the first one I've tried out and the first one I'll be reviewing. Why have I waited so long?
I didn't want to deal with replacing (and buying) HEPA filters. The Airdog has no consumables. Stay tuned for my review coming soon. Please or subscribe to our newsletter so you won't miss my review. (12/11) Latest News.
. Pros Excellent build quality. Specific keys for both Windows and macOS. Cons Expensive. Shallow key travel.
Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Macbook Pro
No wrist rest. Short battery life. Bottom Line The Logitech Craft keyboard offers a unique way to streamline creative workflows, but its price is very high and the typing experience isn't terribly comfortable. Offering creative professionals more efficient ways to work with their photos, videos, and other multimedia appears to be a lucrative business.
Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Machines
Apple charges a $500 premium for a equipped with a Touch Bar that provides customized controls for video editing and other apps, and Logitech will soon enter the fray with its $199.99 Craft. It's eyebrow-raising both for its price and its spinning control dial, which offers a novel method of resizing text, boosting a photo's contrast, and dozens of other functions that its prospective customers are likely to perform dozens or even hundreds of times per day. The dial and solid build quality are the only two things that could potentially justify the price, though, since the typing experience falls short of being worth $200. Premium Looks, Premium Feel The styling calls attention to this premium keyboard's two parts. The conventional part includes a full-sized keyboard encased in dark, textured plastic with a few extras thrown in, like a dedicated screenshot button and a shortcut to your onscreen calculator. There are also physical key labels for functions that are unique to Windows or macOS; the Windows start key doubles as the Option key, and the Alt key does extra duty as the Command key. To ease touch typing, the keys themselves are designed using what Logitech refers to as 'spherical dishing,' noticeably sculpted instead of simply curved, with the square letter keys featuring circular depressions to cradle fingertips and the rectangular keys like Backspace and Enter featuring oval depressions.
The keys are also extremely sturdy, with very little wobble, though not quite as stable as the butterfly switch keyboard on the and MacBook Pro. The downside of stability, however, is key travel, which is extremely shallow on the Craft, akin to what you'd get on an ultraportable laptop (but again, not quite as shallow as the Apple portables). The result is a less-than-satisfying typing experience that is the keyboard's main weakness: the Craft simply doesn't offer the pleasing feel of a mechanical keyboard that will keep the fingers of a novelist or gamer happy all day long. The Craft really isn't intended for novelists or gamers, though, as evidenced by its other main part: a thick strip of aluminium above the keys with a giant rotating dial mounted on the left-hand side. If the keys are the Craft's signature weakness, then the dial is its signature strength.
It's a touch-sensitive piece of aluminium that rotates and clicks to navigate specific functions of certain apps. On macOS, those apps include several members of the, including and, as well as the Firefox and Chrome web browsers. On Windows, you can also use the dial with Microsoft Office apps. To do so, you'll need to install the Logitech Options software, which also includes tutorials on how the dial works with each app.
I used the dial mostly with the macOS version of. In that app, the dial mainly serves as an alternative means of accessing the properties of a selected tool. For instance, with the Brush tool, the dial can control the Size, Hardness, Opacity, and Flow properties. To access them, select the Brush tool with your mouse and then tap on the dial, which will bring up a row of tiles that vaguely resembles the on-screen display of a TV (pictured below). Select the tile you want, like Opacity, and then turn the dial left or right to adjust the value. Operating the dial is fairly intuitive and very accurate: It's easier to select an exact Opacity value of, say, 38 percent, than using your mouse to drag an on-screen slider. On the other hand, it's not quite as accurate as scrubbing your finger along the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar, which can adjust the same tool properties and a whole lot more in Photoshop, including creating new layers and picking colors.
Logitech Craft Advanced Wireless Keyboard Is Made For Mac Pro
Once you switch back to the macOS Finder (or minimize your Photoshop window in Windows) the Craft dial can control screen brightness and volume and play or pause multimedia. For those functions, the dial automatically activates a physical ratchet mode for coarser control, since you don't need fine-tooth scrubbing to select from among your screen's dozen or so brightness levels. To switch between controlling brightness and volume, you physically click the dial as you would a mouse or trackpad button. You've Got Options The dial and the Craft's function keys are all eminently cutomizeable using Logitech's Options software, as you'd expect from a keyboard that costs this much.
You can assign a dial click or a function button to open a web page or even the macOS Mission Control screen, among at least two dozen other options (pictured below). The only aspects that aren't customizeable are the functions that go with Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Office, and the Adobe Creative Suite.
The software also displays the keyboard's battery level and which PC is mapped to each of the three 'Easy Switch' buttons, which allow you to switch between computers, smartphones, or tablets that are paired with the Craft either via Bluetooth or with the included USB Logitech Unifying Receiver. Recharging the Craft's built-in battery involves plugging a USB-C cable into the keyboard's sole port, located next to the power switch at the upper-right hand corner. Unfortunately, doing so will become a regular task, since Logitech estimates that the battery will only last for one week, depending on how often you use the dial, which is apparently very power-hungry. Also power-hungry: the backlighting, which is coupled to proximity and ambient light sensors.
You can turn the backlighting on or off using the Logitech Options software or control its brightness using the function keys, but there's no way to deactivate the proximity sensor, which automatically turns off the backlight after a set period of inactivity and turns it back on once you move your hands close to the keyboard. Problem Solver The Craft clearly sets out to solve a unique problem: how to improve the often-tedious workflows of people whose jobs require them to manipulate images and other multimedia all day long. Because of that mission, it is more comparable to Apple's Touch Bar or Microsoft's than a conventional keyboard. Unfortunately, it falls short when compared with both. On macOS, the Touch Bar has deeper integration with the Adobe Suite and can accomplish much more with the same levels of accuracy because, well, it's a screen instead of a dial.
On Windows, the Surface Dial or a combination of a capable touch screen and an accurate stylus can accomplish many of the tasks the Craft performs at a fraction of the price (the Surface Dial costs $100 and you can pick up a stylus for around $30).