Plugable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard review: Surprisingly portable and affordable

When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone on that Macworld stage all those years ago, it essentially marked the beginning of the end for physical keyboards in the mobile space. Sure, BlackBerry managed to kick around with its Bolds and Curves for a few more years, and people still wax nostalgic about the “good old days” of tactile typing on phones. But as comedian Dave Chappelle once said, “Those days are over.”

But they don’t have to be. While touchscreen phones have become the norm, they’re not ideal for every task — typing long emails, annotating documents, or taking detailed notes can still be a hassle. That’s where portable Bluetooth keyboards come in. Today’s models are sleek, lightweight, and surprisingly functional, far from the clunky relics you may remember from the early 2000s. After using the Plugable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard for the past two weeks, I’m convinced that physical keys still have a place in our mobile arsenals.

Price, availability, and specs

Plugable’s foldable keyboard has a retail price of $50. It’s available for purchase on Amazon and Plugable’s own website, and it comes in just a single color: gunmetal gray with jet-black keys. While it would be nice to see more colorful options, this combination offers a professional look that coordinates well with most portable devices. Speaking of which, while I mostly used the keyboard with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, it also works with our favorite Android phones and tablets, Macs, iPads, PCs, and most other Bluetooth devices.

What’s good about the Plugable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard?

Impressive design and build quality for the price

I don’t know what I was expecting when I opened the Plugable box, but it caught me off guard. The keyboard presents surprisingly well in its folded state. It measures 6.75 x 5 inches, and the included phone stand wraps around it like a book cover. In fact, it very much resembles a small book or journal, which is a delightful detail should you ever decide to carry it by itself, sans bag. At least you won’t look like you’re toting around a keyboard.

Unfurled, it’s even more impressive. Its tri-fold design opens up like a pair of double doors, and as you flatten it out, the hinges lock into place. When fully extended, the keyboard measures nearly a foot long and sits extremely thin. The design results in a surprisingly comfortable layout with a full-function key row at the top and solid spacing between keys.

Unfortunately, the keys aren’t backlit, and I haven’t figured out a way to pair the Plugable with multiple devices, but most of the other features you’d want in a gadget like this are here. There’s an LED light that shows you the status of things like battery, caps lock, and when you are in Bluetooth pairing mode. An FN key gives you easy access to pairing and shortcuts, and a System key lets you quickly execute commands like copy and paste. You even have arrow keys, which really come in handy for scrolling around web pages and documents.

Things like battery life and durability take months of consistent usage to really dissect, but I did want to touch on them briefly here. The Plugable has a 200mAh battery, and the company says it can provide “weeks of typing” before needing a charge. I’ve only put about three hours of combined typing on it thus far, but for what it’s worth, I haven’t seen anything that would suggest their claim is unfounded.

As for durability, the shell is made of anodized aluminum, and the underside of the keyboard certainly feels and sounds metal when you tap it. The biggest question marks here are the two hinges that run the tri-fold mechanism. They appear solid, and after hundreds of folds they are still working fine, but it’s hard to predict how they will do long-term. Fortunately, Plugable does include two years of warranty coverage.

Then, there is the included carrying case. It’s made of a leather-like exterior that, in addition to looking sharp, also does a great job of protecting the keyboard. There is a softer material on the interior to prevent scratches, built-in magnets for the clasp, and it’s been designed so that you can fold it into a tent-like stand. It’s stable enough for most flat surfaces, and it’s really just a nice bonus feature for an already solid accessory.

What’s bad about the Plugable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard?

Missing features and shallow key travel

I mentioned in the previous section that this keyboard has most of the features you’d want, but I should have specified: “in this price range.” There are some omissions that I let slide, that I think I’d be more upset over if the price was, say, $100. Not having backlit keys is a good example of this. I haven’t done a ton of typing on this keyboard in dark rooms, but because the keys are black, they are tough to read even in dimly-lit environments — especially the shortcut labels, which are written in a smaller, blue font.

There is also no way to pair multiple devices simultaneously, which would allow you to quickly switch between a tablet and a smartphone. I suppose you could connect to one via USB and one via Bluetooth and bounce between the inputs, but that’s not a very user-friendly solution. Another egregious snub is USB-C connectivity. As I said before, I don’t think you’ll have to spend much time charging, unless you use the keyboard extensively daily, but the decision to use micro USB here means you’ll have to keep track of an extra charging cable, which is super annoying.

You also can’t change the keymap; the board’s shortcuts are defined. While labeled for user-friendliness, a way to customize the FN key could have taken this board to new heights.

Finally, let’s talk about the key travel. The Plugable uses scissor switches for the keys, and they are extremely shallow. They just don’t have anywhere near the audio or tactile feedback of normal-sized keys. That’s not to say it’s terrible to type on — I used it several times without issue during my testing period, including to type large swaths of this review — but I can see the more abrupt typing experience being a bit of a turn-off for some users. For a more tactile and premium portable typing experience, you might consider the Logitech Keys-To-Go 2. It also uses scissor switches, but the action is smoother, and there is noticeably more spring.

Should you buy the Plugable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard?

Plugable presents a very compelling package. This includes the carrying case that doubles as a stand, the compact tri-fold design that expands to nearly a foot for pleasant key spacing, and the two-year warranty that gives you peace of mind. Yes, there are some missing features we would have liked to have seen, but it seems clear these were omitted in the name of price and portability.

The price is the real deal-sealer here. Again, if this keyboard was $100, you would likely be more upset that it didn’t have USB-C support or backlit keys. But at $50, you are more likely to be impressed by the design and build quality. When folded, it isn’t much bigger than the best ultra-compact keyboards out there, and when opened, it presents as nearly full-sized. If you are at all considering a portable keyboard to improve your on-the-go productivity, and you want something affordable, the Plugable should be at the top of your list.