Logitech’s business division has been on a roll over the last year. They have given their products their own look – OK I give in – Design Language. Besides making them look like they belong together, they have made them work together while targeting and meeting needs customers have. Heck, sometime they address needs the customer wasn’t even fully aware they had. Logitech has been showing us a better way of doing things,of late and a great example of this is the Logitech Spotlight Presentation Remote.
Today the gag order is lifted and I can tell you about their new flagship wireless keyboard which I just love. The keyboard is called the Craft! It works both on the Mac and Windows and completes an Eco-system when paired with their new business mice the MX Master 2S or MX Anywhere 2S . You can connect the keyboard via Bluetooth (LE) or the Logitech Unifying Receiver to pair up to three devices and easily switch between them with the touch of a button. It sports back lighting along with software support for Logitech Options and Logitech Flow. (Flow allows you control multiple computers and automatically switch between computers by moving your cursor to the edge of the screen. Even between Windows and macOS machines.)
Become Office Royalty
Now the trick that makes this keyboard so wonderful and worth the price is the Crown dial. It is a “creative input dial” on the top left of the keyboard. The Crown is what allows you to work fast in apps. This dial, knob, or what ever you call it – ROCKS!
At first you think it is a way to control your volume, which it can do. Tapping it will start and pause audio and that is just scratching the surface of what it can do. It also lets you make adjustments in apps like Adobe Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC or InDesign CC, or act like jog wheel in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
It is smart too; if there are multiple options for a given tool — such as brightness or opacity — you tap to cycle through them and dial to apply. Plus there is “ratchet” option that toggles the dial between discrete steps and continuous operation.
For Business Users Too
The Craft is not just for creatives. It works in Word and Excel too, on the PC. (Sorry Mac folks, Microsoft has not written mac versions of the Office apps where Logitech can plug support for the keyboard into them at this time.)
Scroll through Excel spreadsheets and make graphs. You can also navigate playlists in Spotify or jump from tab to tab in a browser.
SDK Coming
For you devs out there working to make CAD software or audio editing software for example, Logitech plans to release an SDK “soon” so you can add support for the keyboard in your apps.
Price
The Craft keyboard arrives to the US in October 2017 for $200, and will hit the UK sometime in September for £179.00. You can pre-order now on the Logitech website.
