There’s a new iPad-related case in town from Pad & Quill: a case for Apple’s newly released Magic Keyboard, which is itself a $350 case for your iPad Pro. It’s called the Copertina, and it retails for $99.95. It looks a little bit like the hard cover of a book; it is made, apparently, from archival-quality buckram linen, which is also used in bookbinding. It is undeniably beautiful.
And yet, its existence troubles me. Not all cases are created equally; we hold that particular truth to be self-evident. However, the question must be asked: why would you need a case to go over a case?
Does the first case — which has a very nice keyboard that essentially turns your iPad Pro into a laptop — not adequately protect your thousand-dollar investment? Is the Copertina (Italian for “sleeve” or “protective jacket”) purely aesthetic? Do aesthetics even matter now that you, iPad Pro / Magic Keyboard owner, are working from home? What are computers now, anyway?
Pad & Quill’s Copertina doesn’t answer any of these questions because it doesn’t have lips. I suspect the answers will be revealed in time.