ASCII.jp tried to write a manuscript with iPad Pro and an external keyboard for the first time

The warm Silver week in IPhone7 is also over, when we feel the arrival of autumn. I tried to update iPad Pro to iOS10, which had been on hold for a while, and found that Japanese input had improved a lot.

IPad Pro 9.7in model. Japanese input is much better in iOS 10.

The author has used the so-called US-ASCII arranged English keyboard for about 20 years.

When the PC-98 series, which was once the mainstream in Japan, officially began the transition to AT compatible computers, the author, as a high school student, predicted that the future keyboard would take US arrangement as the mainstream and import English keyboards from the United States. It may be influenced by "Asky monthly" and "Super Asky", which he loved at that time.

However, JIS arrangement has been widely used in Japan since then. According to people in the PC industry, it is estimated that less than 10% of people actively choose the US array, and the choices are limited to Mac, ThinkPad, VAIO and so on.

JIS sequence (top) and US sequence (bottom) model of Magic Keyboard. In iOS devices, Japanese keyboards arranged in JIS are easier to use.

Recently, although the number of mobile models sold in Japan in the form of US arrangement is also increasing, its recognition is very low, and it is sad to be pointed out in the comments on the mail order website that "the arrangement of symbols is very strange".

The "Smart Keyboard" used by Apple's authentic iPad Pro is currently only available in the US array.

For using these English keyboards in a Japanese environment, the key is the software that can customize the key array. But iOS basically can't do this kind of customization, which is a difficulty. Pay attention to the update, because macOS Sierra does not yet support "Karabiner" of key replacement software.

What bothers me in particular is the switching method between Japanese and English (or full-width and half-width).

For example, on Mac's JIS array keyboard, you can use the "English" and "katakana" keys around the space bar to switch between English and Japanese. Instead of switching actions that change each time you press the half-width / full-width button in Windows, it is convenient to press the key to determine the input mode.

Microsoft's Universal Mobile Keyboard (Japanese version) can use "English" and "katakana" on iOS devices.

The author likes this, the use of English keyboard Windows PC and Mac can also be used for key replacement software, reproduce the same action.

However, iOS cannot make such customization, and it is also difficult to change the operation of iOS 9 from "Command+ space" to "Ctrl+ space".

On the other hand, iOS 10 adds a new feature to switch input methods even with the "CapsLock" key. In this way, even a third-party English keyboard can be switched with a stroke as long as it has a CapsLock.

In iOS 10, new features such as "Caps Lock switch to English mode" have been added to the keyboard settings.

In addition, even if the "Smart Keyboard" of the iPad Pro that still has only the US array, you can use the CapsLock in a position that is easier to press than the language toggle key at the bottom left.

Ideally, no matter what the keyboard is, you want to be free to use "alphanumeric katakana", but first take a step forward.

In addition to the switching function in CapsLock, the Japanese input of iOS 10 also improves its behavior during conversion, reducing the feeling of discomfort.

Of course, compared with ATOK and Google Japanese input, there are a lot of regrettable actions, and it is easy to add extra auxiliaries or switch candidates regardless of context, which is stressful.

But it is making steady progress compared to levels previously thought to be "faster to turn on MacBook". I have a feeling of "exceeding the threshold" and can handle real input work such as writing a manuscript.

When you often take your laptop with you, the chances of bringing out the iPad Pro diminish and stay on the typical iPad use of lying down watching videos and reading books. But in iOS 10, I think it's worthwhile to re-examine the different uses of iPad and PC.

In fact, this manuscript is also the first to write a configuration in Apple Pencil, watching it while entering text using Microsoft's "Universal Mobile Keyboard".

For the first time, I only used iPad to finish my manuscript.

Although in the photo management and decoration and other aspects with the help of PC, but the text part as the author for the first time, from the beginning to the end is written in iPad manuscript.

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