Speck WanderFolio Luxe for iPad Review

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Truth be told, I’ve always been a fan of Speck’s product design, though I haven’t owned any of their products for any of my devices.  So I was very excited when I got the opportunity to review their WanderFolio Luxe iPad case.

The WanderFolio Luxe is made with top-grain leather and has pockets for your travel needs, like passports, cash, cards, etc.  It also has the always nice magnetic sleep/wake function that we all like to see on our iPad cases.  Speaking of magnets, there is also a magnetic latch that keeps your iPad closed.  Speck calls this a “smooth-close” tab and it gives a satisfying click, letting you know that your WanderFolio is securely closed.

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In my opinion, an iPad case needs to look nice, feel good in your hands, and function well while typing as well as viewing your iPad screen.  Spoiler alert:  This case covers those bases pretty well.

Lets go into detail on my experience …

The leather on this case is super soft and luxurious feeling.  There is a nice cushioned give to the leather that makes you feel like your iPad is secure.  Plus, the softness makes you feel like you won’t drop your tablet while gripping it.  The leather looks gorgeous. The review unit I received was the “Cognac/Cream” color, which sounds very fancy, but it’s basically brown leather. There’s a soft raised bezel that holds your iPad in exactly the right position.  The bezel is raised so that if you accidentally drop your iPad, the bezel will hit the ground first, rather than your beautiful retina display.  The one issue with this bezel is that it has a bezel tab that needs to be removed in order to fold the iPad up into viewing positions.  When you want to close your WanderFolio, you must reconnect this bezel tab in order to fold it up perfectly, or else the sleep/wake function will not work well.  All in all however, the WanderFolio Luxe makes my iPad look and feel very safe, dapper, and indulgent.

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A really great feature of this case are the many viewing angles it can be set to; you can prop up this case any way you’d like in order to achieve the best possible angle for yourself.  You can prop it up just enough to type comfortably, or you can prop it up vertically, perfect for watching a movie.  There’s a microfiber pad that catches the edge of the raised bezel that holds your iPad in any of these positions and it works extremely well.  The one snag I’ve found is that it is quite difficult to get your iPad into keyboard position.  I’ve read elsewhere that this is a known problem with this case, but that it gets easier as the leather loosens up a bit with use.

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Overall, I would highly recommend the WanderFolio Luxe to any iPad user who travels and wants to keep all of their essentials in one place.  There are a couple of minor hiccups with this case, but in terms of design, quality, and function, it’s hard to get much better.

The Speck WanderFolio Luxe is available directly from the manufacturer and from other retailers.

MSRP: $129.95

What I like:  Quality, lush materials;  Looks beautiful; Works in many viewing angles; Pockets to hold documents.

What Needs Improvement: Folding the case into the keyboard angle should be easier;  The bezel tab is inconvenient to always attach and detach when folding, but this is minor

Source: Manufacturer Supplied Sample

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About the Author

Perry Brauner
I'm an architect by trade, but the overarching theme of my life has always been trying to keep up with the newest, coolest technology. Ever since I picked up an NES controller, I've been hooked on the latest and greatest gadgets, gizmos, and toys. Whether it's gaming, mobile phones, and accessories, or PCs and Apple products, I'm interested. I use many Apple products in my daily life, such as the iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook Pro. I've also built a few PCs in my day, so I'd like to say that I'm a pretty well-rounded techie.