Premium Leather iPad Pro 11 Gen 1 Case

What Problems Does This iPad 11-inch Case Solve?

• Provides a quality way to protect / transport your 11" and accessories
• Will last at least as long as you own the tablet
• Feel good knowing you've chosen a product made from ethically sourced leather
• No need to keep buying cover after cover due to poor quality
• Meets your need for a professional, well made, durable and aesthetically pleasing way to protect your Apple tablet
  
• Options allow you to customize the case to best meet your needs

Is This the Best iPad Pro 11 Leather Case for Me?

If you're tired of buying case after case on amazon or similar sites only to have them quickly fall apart or are tired of spending hours searching for a quality cover then this handcrafted leather iPad Pro 11 case is for you. If you're ready for an intelligently designed, beautifully made alternative to the plethora of disposable, low quality Apple tablet available everywhere else, this is the Folio you’re looking for.

The Best iPad Pro 2018 11 Gen 1 Case For You?

While the term "best" is a subjective thing, everyone knows it when they see it relative to what is important to them. Every once in a while we get a phone call, letter or email from the customer who has a very clear idea in their mind about what the "best" is to them.

In this instance, what makes up the best genuine leather iPad Pro 11 case.

• Is it leather?

• Does it allow for customization?

• What is the quality like?

• Is there a Pencil holder available?

• Does it look professional?

• Will it last?

• Does it represent a great value?

• Will it protect the Apple Pencil when the Pencil is charging?

Do these sound like the types of questions you were asking when you started looking for a genuine leather 11" iPad Pro case you would call "the best"? 

One such customer, Mark W. recently wrote to tell us of his journey. Pay particular attention to the long list of competing products he also tried before sending them back and keeping the MacCase Premium Leather 11" Folio.

11-inch iPad Pro Leather Folio Case Review

"This is my second MacCase iPad Folio. I had one for my iPad Pro 10.5” and now for the 2018 11” iPad Pro. I was immediately thrilled with 11" Folio. The padding used in the exterior, the quality of the genuine leather and interior cloth, the careful attention to details like stitching and camera protection were all amazing.

I also tried the Kavaj London, Toro, and Pad & Quill. The Kavaj product has always given me the impression of having used thin minimalist materials whose edges won’t last the month. The Toro used good leathers and soft cloth but we’re mounted on a flimsy inner board that bent easily especially at the corner from hell (camera, on/off, and volume).

The Pad & Quil used a very thick leather cover material, was stitched very well, but had NO edge protection. The 3M mounting adhesive system simply ‘glued’ the back of the bare iPad to the inside of the cover...meaning, no edge protection. And I could never get used to the strap.

The MacCase 11" Premium Leather Folio uses the best leather I’ve seen. This stuff is the real deal. There are so many companies out there, especially on sites like amazon, who claim to be "genuine leather" and are just not.

The padding on the MacCase is just the right thickness and closes authoritatively onto the surface of the iPad (I count five small round magnets under the inner padding of the lid). A polymer tray is used to hold the iPad securely in place.

I spent a while on the phone with Michael at MacCase who discussed the uses of all available tray/shell materials. Poly-carbonate was considered, but in time, it cracks. Silicone was considered but dirt and grim build up on its surface.

Security for the Apple Pencil

The polymer material selected for use in this folio is strong enough to hold the iPad securely especially in the corners and along the bottom but is thick enough and elastic enough to act as a rubber bumper of sorts along the short edges and bottom.

The top edge of the iPad is uncovered just enough for the secure attachment of the new Pencil. Additionally, the flaps of the folio extend past the long edge of the iPad just far enough to cover even the pencil insuring that it won’t get knocked off its attachment point to the iPad. Of course you can go for the optional Pencil Holder that mounts to the front face of the over. 

The Vintage leather is natural and unfinished....and Very Soft. It will show scratches and in time natural oils from your hands. Regardless, it is in my opinion the way a fine leather should be showcased.

Since it’s prone to dry out more quickly, Michael recommends treating it every 6 to 12 months with the same product used on baseball gloves, boots, and tack. If you took the time to read this review, I think you’ll like this Folio as much as I do. "

We'd like to thank Mark for taking the time to write such an extensive review. It was so extensive it did not fit in the standard product review format on the product page. So we included it here in it's entirety. 

Genuine Leather iPad Pro 11 Case - Design Review

The latest in a series of interviews about the story behind the design of MacCase products. For this interview, we are speaking to MacCase President Michael Santoro about the what makes the MacCase 2018 genuine leather iPad Pro 11 case for Apple's latest mid-sized tablet so special. 

JDK: The groundbreaking MacCase Premium Leather 11" case for iPad Pro has arrived and the response has been exceptional. Customers calling it the best iPad Pro 11 case available. How does it feel to be finally shipping them to customers?

MS: Throughout the 9 year history of designing and building the gold standard in Apple tablet protection MacCase has learned a lot. All the ideas, knowledge, understanding, passion and talent have gone into creating an 11" Folio of real distinction and elegance. 

When the newest iPads were announced by Apple, MacCase got right to work. Contrary to popular belief, MacCase finds out about the new Apple products the same way as everyone else does, at the Apple Events. 

We got what we expected with the new Apple tablets. Two new designs without a home button and a minimal bezel that incorporates all the technology of the latest iPhones. 

Designing for the 11-inch

Once we had a look at the new offerings, our design process begun. Choices are made and directions are taken to bring new products to life with the features, functionality and design excellence MacCase has built it's 20 year leadership reputation on. 

MacCase has been making Apple tablet cases since Steven Jobs introduced the first one back in 2010. We feel the solutions for our new Premium Leather 11 iPad Pro Folio and 12.9 Folio are the most advanced, feature filled folio designs to date. In essence, this is the best work we've ever done for a folio. 

JKD- We've spoke about the 12.9 design. How is designing for the new 11 inch different?

MS: It's much harder. When you have less of something, it's harder. If you think about architecture, what architect doesn't want more space, more land, to design in and around?

Typically, in creative situations, as things get reduced, so do your options. That's the challenge. The task of reducing the size at the same time you're trying to keep the beauty intact was the biggest challenge when I sat down to design the new genuine leather 11 folio. 

Creating a Hi-End Leather iPad Pro 11 Case

JKD: Specifically, what issues do you have to address due to the smaller size?

MS: The overall size of the 11 model is same as the old 10.5. There in lies the rub: If you trade up of the new model, you get a bigger screen in the same compact size of the 10.5 model. All current MacCase 10.5 cases like our Premium Leather  iPad Pro Sleeve and Flight Jacket fit the new 11 with the exception of our Premium Leather Folio.

For the new hi-end 11" design, it was time for a revolution vs. an evolution of our existing 10.5 design. We didn't think outside the box, we threw the box away. How the Apple tablet is held in the Folio has changed radically. The near bezel-less screen called for this. 

We have seen bezel-less or frame-less designs for handheld devices before. Several competitors for the iPhone feature screens that go to the end of the device with some that even curve and go over the edge like a waterfall along the long axis. 

We start out with our custom designed 11" polymer tray and build the case around that. First off, the Folio has to function. It has to protect the iPad and the Pencil when it's charging. That was the first priority. We always make sure the case is going to do the job our customers are excepting of us. 

JKD: Is this tray protective? How does it compare with your older, framed designed?

It always amazes me how so many of the Folio-style options available provide so little protection. Since starting MacCase over 20 years ago, designing, engineering and building products that provide excellent protection at always been Job 1.

It doesn't matter how pretty a case is if your hardware gets damaged because the cover failed to protect. Worse yes, so many solutions are not only not attractive, but offer little protection at the same time. 

Innovative 11-inch Tablet Protection

The difference between the new tray and old framed design is night and day. For this new hi-end 11" leather Folio, we have these beautiful trays that hold the iPad securely place. They're flexible and heat sensitive.

This insures they'll never crack like the hard plastic covers. Their flexibility allows them to adapt. It can be a bit confusing when you first unpack the folio because the tray can appear too small for the Apple tablet.

Once we had the tray in place, we can start to build on that. What the smaller size does is compress the design. The 2018 12.9 Folios have 3 magnets on the front cover to secure the accessories. For the 11 inch, we only have room for 2. I tried to make it work with 3 but visually, it was too crowded and looked like it was trying too hard to be it's big brother. 

That is another challenge when you're trying to reduce a design theme to a smaller scale, not making it look like a cartoon. It happens all the time in car design. Car companies are notorious for trying to fit the theme of their big luxury car on the much smaller entry level chassis.

Best iPad Pro 11 Case with Pencil Holder

JDK: As a designer, how do you address such changes in scale?

MS: You have to be very aware of the sense of scale and to scale things accordingly. If the larger product has elegance and grace and you try to fit that into a much smaller package, you can easily wind up with a parody, a cartoon or a pastiche. 

Understanding this sense of scale to make sure the leather iPad 11 case has all the elegance and grace of it's 12.9 big brother is part of the MacCase design magic. Once you have the scale sorted, then it's just a matter of sizing all the parts that make up the Folio design theme to insure the elegance and grace remain. 

Of course you have to account for the changes in scale of things like the Apple Pencil Holder. It's relatively much large when paired with the 11' than with the 12.9. What we tried to do is create the best iPad Pro 11 case with Pencil protection and scale that accordingly. I think we have succeeded. 

Pragmatically, there is a lot of juggling that went on with the accessories as well. 

JKD: How so?

MS: On the 12.9, you can fit all the accessories, the pencil holder, paper and card holders and the accessory pouch on the front cover at the same time. It works wonderfully and we have had many people order all four accessories to use with the keyboard models. 

Again, scaling down for the 11 inch, there is just not enough room in the roughly 8.5" x 11" space that makes up the front cover of the cover. We tried a few things and it wound up looking like an overloaded pickup truck. It was not something a professional person would want to walk into a meeting with. 

So you go back and try again and again until you get something that works. For the new 11-inch Folio accessories, we expanded on what we had done with the keyboard models and added an additional magnet to the front of the paper holder. 

This allows customers to hold both the Pencil case and pouch at the same time. This was not possible on the original, 3 magnet paper holder we introduced earlier this year. 

Luxury Leather iPad Case

JKD: I understand a lot of MacCase customers come to you after having bad experiences with other Apple tablet cases. Can you speak a bit about your experience in talking with these customers?

MS: Many of our customers are professional people. They use their hardware to make their living. It's a tool that has become an indispensable part of how they do their job. They're tired of getting burned by purchasing inferior quality products that either don't protect, don't last or both. 

At the end of the day, Apple portables are a luxury item. Other, less expensive tablets can do many of the things Apple tablets can do. Apple has built a international, luxury brand on their technology and product design.

Our products dovetail perfectly with these same values and experiences. When someone spends $170 on a protective tablet case, it better be a luxury leather iPad case experience. Just like Apple, our products deliver on that promise. 

I ask customers, if they're tired of buying cover after cover on amazon or similar sites only to have them quickly fall apart? If they're tired of spending hours searching for a quality cover? Many times the answer is yes. If they are looking for a leather case for an 11" iPad Pro, then our 11 inch case is what they are looking for. 

We've been doing this for a long time. Actually, we've been doing this longer than anyone else. When you invent a market, you get to say such things with such authority. I believe in our designs and their ability to improve the lives of our customers.

Buying a MacCase means you can stop wasting time. It means never again will you buy a case for your Apple portable then then have to turn around 2 weeks, 6 months or 2 years later and have to start looking again. Our products endure. 

If you're ready for a intelligently designed, beautifully made, handcrafted alternative to the plethora of disposable, low quality iPad cases available everywhere else, this is the Folio you’re looking for.

A Premium 11-inch Folio

JKD: Can you speak to the actual design of Apple's 11-inch tablet itself. What did they change from the 10.5 to 11 and how does that affect your Folio design?

MS: The overall length and width of the 11 tablet will remain similar to the 10.5. Thicknesses has been reduced yet again yet each generation seems to pack more and more technology and features inside a slimmer case. One way they were able to decrease the thickness was to square up the rear panel. 

The new rear panel doesn't have the "lead in" to the edges the previous models had. Putting a much more squared up shoulder on the rear panel of the housing, allows for much more room for much more stuff. Apple took advantage of this. 

This is the kind of opportunity MacCase looks for. 

Of course for MacCase, Apple eliminating the bezel around the screen meant there was no way of holding the iPad in place based on our legacy Folio design. MacCase has been using a custom stamped alloy steel frame that held the Apple tablet in place for our Premium Leather Folios over the last 8 years. 

This was achieved by covering the bezel with the frame. No bezel, no frame, no way of holding the tablet in place! With Apple releasing a design without a bezel, our Premium Leather iPad Pro 11 Folio had to be radical.

As mentioned, the overall experience for the cusotmer is lightyears ahead of our prevois design and any other design out there. It's truely the best iPad Pro 11 case.

Genuine Leather iPad Pro 11 Case Accessories

JKD: Can we talk about the Magnetic Accessory System. What is it and how does it work?

MS: How MacCase responded to the new Apple tablets is something we are very proud of. Customers have been asking for features like a place for business cards, a paper holder and a place for the AC adapter and cable. Our new designs provide options for those who want one of more of these features without penalizing those who don't. 

The Paper Holder in particular is of note. It allows you to expand the number of accessories you use at a given time from 1 to 3 for the 11-inch Apple tablet. The Paper Holder has an additional set of magnets on the front face. If you;re using the Paper Holder, that's already one accessory. Add the Pencil Holder and the Pouch or Card Holder and you've gone from 1 accessory to 3 in an instant. 

Along with these 3 optional accessories, a separate genuine leather Apple Pencil case is also available in matching distressed Vintage brown or classic, black pebble grain hides. The Pencil Case beautifully integrates into the front cover of the 11" Folio through the use of heavy duty, high-Gauss magnets.

If you've been shopping for a genuine leather iPad Pro 11 case for your Apple tablet on sites like Amazon or eBay, you may have noticed a lot of options priced well below what the cost of the new MacCase is. This is because these cases are designed to be disposable. Literally. There not designed to last much longer than a pair of children's sneakers.

Why? So you buy another a month later, of course. It's a sick cycle of designing garbage, selling garage and then you, the customer, finally throwing the garbage away. 

A Most Durable iPad Pro 11 Leather Folio

JKD: How does MacCase look at this differently than the rest of the marekt?

MS: We have a much different way of looking at product design at MacCase. It's one rooted in caring about quality, about producing authentic products of substance and about building long term relationships with customers.

Another way of looking at it is our iPad Pro 11 leather folio is $170. At that price, you cannot do anything wrong. The product has to excel on every level as far as the customer is concerned. If it doesn't, the value goes away. We sell on value not on discount. When you sell on value, at $170 for an iPad Pro 11 leather folio, it cannot come with a single excuse.

You don't last 20 + years in an industry dominated by companies producing really cheap competing products unless you're doing something fundamentally right. It always pays to remember that if you've purchased an Apple tablet, you've bought the most expensive tablet computer on Earth. The most expensive.

The world is being taught to buy things on discount while the quality of the actual product was stripped out long before it hit the shelf, or now, your screen. Many customers write to tell us how happy they are with the durability of our covers after years of using them. 

This is blatantly apparent when it comes to Apple tablet cases. The market is littered with low cost, poorly made attempts at protection. MacCase stands as an anathema to this. We try to put the best product we can into the world. We make cases, bags and sleeves that are designed to protect your investment in your digital technology.

Do you really want to protect it with the cheapest case you can find? Would you park your expensive, luxury car in a garage made from refrigerator boxes and duct tape? 

Quality matters.

If it didn't matter to you, would you have bought an Apple tablet when there are so many more less expensive options available? Why should your choice in a case to protect it and express your personal style be any different? 

Quality iPad Cases That Last

JKD: It seems you're on a never ending cycle of replacing the old with the new and reacting to the latest Apple product. Is this the case?

MS: At a certain point in the iPad product development cycle, Apple got off the yearly development cycle treadmill and moved to an 18 month development cycle. The iPhone remains on the yearly cycle. Maybe the innovation curve, competition and rate of change in the phone space in so great that Apple has to stay on the yearly cycle for iPhone. 

But for the iPads, Apple saw a chance to take a deep breathe and relax a bit. I sure this news was welcomed by the family members of all the Apple employees who work on the tablet design and development programs. Having 18 months to bring a product to market versus 12 means less overtime, less working weekends and stress being brought home from the office. 

The push out to an 18 month product development cycle was also welcomed news at MacCase. It means less stress for us too. Being on a 12 month product cycle is extremely difficult and stressful.

Looking at the prospect of developing potentially new designs for the iPad Pro 11 inch case, we know that if we do so, they'll be around a while. This helps with managing development costs, inventory, production, almost every aspect of our business. 

But with any program that we take on, our main focus is always on the customer, the potential and returning customer. We always ask ourselves what might our customers want in a new 11 inch case?

What are they looking for in a case that they are not getting in our current lineup or assortment now? How can we improve our current designs to make them even better? What is the best to you?

These questions and more were the guiding light for the design direction we followed to create the world's best 11" iPad Pro cover.   

Best iPad Pro 11 Cover Installation

JKD: So you've got what you consider the best iPad Pro 11 cover. You start shipping and what is the response?

MS: Overall extremely positive. The only customers who seem to have questions or concerns with the new 11 cover are long time customers who were used to our old design. 

JKD:A few customers who have purchased the standard and keyboard models have called and asked about how to install the tablet in the case. Can you explain that process?

MS: Yes, it can be a bit confusing. Right out of the box, when you open the folio and look at the tray inside, it can appear too small. Again, people might have used a hard plastic cover in the past which is just about the same size as the back of the tablet. 

Our tray is designed to stretch, grab and hold your 11 inch. This is what makes our polymer it such a great material for this job. That, and the fact it's excellent at absorbing impacts! If you want some level of impact protection vs. having the raw, open edges or raw, unprotected corners of the iPad exposed, this is the best material we have found for the job. 

Does it provide the same level of protection as some big, clip on box type case that holds the tablet? Of course not. But our customers are not looking for a off-roading, mud and muck, construction zone case. They are looking for the Rolls Royce, the S-Class Mercedes or Bentley of protection. That is what we do. The design is protective but in a elegant, almost invisible way. This is what makes it the best iPad Pro 11 cover of it's kind.

Installing Your Tablet in the iPad Pro 11 Folio Case

So back to the installation. What you want to do first is tuck the upper left hand corner of the tablet into the upper left hand corner of the tray holding the top, outside edge of the tray to support it. 

Then push the tablet up and under the top lip of the tray running your finger from left to right along the edge sealing the edge of the tray against the aluminum edge of the tablet. Then, holding the lower left hand corner, run your finger down the right edge where the Pencil attaches for charging. 

Lastly, slide you hand under the back of the tray and lightly coax the material forward, up and around so the lip of the tray comes up, over and locks the iPad into place. Then check the alignment of the edge of the tray with the edge of the tablet. If there are any waves, just run your finger along the edge to smooth it out and align them. If everything is aligned correctly, the tray will nearly disappear. 

If you find the edge of the tray puling away from the edge of the screen, you can run your finger along the edge to reseal it. Again, the material is temperature sensitive. Going from say, a very cold car into a warm house or office might cause the edge to move slightly. Don't panic. Running your finger along the edge should do the trick. 

The installation is not as challenging as it sounds. It takes under 10 seconds to do and once the tablet is installed, there really is no reason to remove it but easy to do if you want to. The screen can easily be cleaned when it's in the tray as no part of the glass is blocked. Overall, it really works well and is a quantum leap forward vs. the old, stamped frame we used for the last 8 years. 

The frame worked great. It was an excellent solution when the bezel around the screen was 10 or 15 millimeters. Now with near, bezel-less screens, the frame became obsolete. The tray provides more protection than the frame, especially around the corners. It's lighter and easier to use. It's a win, win, win. That's what good product design is all about and this iPad Pro 11 Folio case has this in spades. 

JDK: As always, thank you for your time.

MS: Alwasy a pleasure, Jody.

The Best 11 iPad Pro Case Comes with the Best Customer Service

Whenever we have a new form factor to design for, we always reach out to our customers and potential customers asking what they want in a new design. (If you have an idea, let us know). This interaction with customers on a first hand, one-to-one basis is one of the things that sets MacCase apart. 

Luckily, our management team has a policy of staying close to the customers. If you call us during business hours chances are the President of the company will answer the phone himself. This is somewhat unprecedented in a world of voice mail, answering machines and gatekeepers. The reason this is done at MacCase is to stay close to the customer. 

If someone has an idea, MacCase President and Chief Creative Officer, Michael Santoro can talk to you and hear your feedback and suggestions first hand. If a customer calls with a product question, Michael can answer it as well.

What other company provides the benefit of having your specific product questions not only answered by the person who designed it, but who is also the President of the company?

Quality That Endures

Moreover, what if you have problem you are trying to resolve? There is no better person to make sure you are taken care of than the boss. Again, this kind of unheard of personal attention is one of the key things that set MacCase apart. Staying close to customers helped him create the best iPad Pro 11 cases. 

But no matter how radical the designs get, there is one thing that will remain: Our world class quality. It was mentioned previously that MacCase has been around for 20 years. We invented the Apple-specific case market in 1998 with a case for the original iBook. In 2007 we reinvented the market with our Premium Leather Collection. 

As our target customer has grown up and matured, MacCase has been right there with them protecting their Apple portables whether they were going to the local coffee shop down the street or a coffee plantation on the other side of the world.

Our reputation for building the world's best cases, bags, sleeves and backpacks for Apple portables has been well earned. It is our mission to deliver the best iPad Pro 11 case as well. 

What Size is My iPad? 

If you're looking for the best case for your iPad Pro and are unsure which model or size you actually own, there is a quick and easy way to find out. Lay your Apple tablet flat on a table, take a ruler and measure the screen diagonally. You want to measure the part of the screen that lights up, not the black bezel that surrounds the screen. 

Measure the size of your screen with the ruler from corner to corner. For the 11 -inch iPad Pro, the lit part of the screen will measure 11 inches. This is how you will know what size iPad you own and which size case you need. 

FAQ - 

What is the best iPad Pro 11 case?

The best iPad Pro 11 case is the one that meets and exceeds your individual needs as an Apple tablet user. These needs should include level of protection, overall quality and durability, overall aesthetic appearance, man-made or natural materials and overall functionality.

What is the best case for iPad Pro?

The best case for iPad Pro will be the case that best addresses your individual needs as an iPad user. Things to consider when choosing the best iPad case is the size you will need, the overall quality and how the case will perform in the situations in which you will be using it.

How long has MacCase been making a leather iPad Pro 11 inch case?

MacCase has been making leather folio cases for the 11 inch iPad Pro since they were first introduced in October 2018. MacCase has been making iPad cases since they were first released in 2010.