HOU MF-SX12 Mofa Keyboard Case for Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+/S10+

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The 12.4" Galaxy Tab is a relatively new thing for me, at least in recent years. I have generally preferred the smallest 11" Tab because my primary use case was taking notes and using a few apps sporadically. The Tabs weren't really my work or entertainment devices. I had a laptop for that. But over the years, I wandered farther and farther away from using Windows as my primary computing environment. As Android tablets became more popular and more capable, I found myself using them more for a variety of tasks. And as my Windows PCs aged, I continued to spend more time with my mobile devices. With Samsung, even a smartphone can become a PC of sorts with a simple connection to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Over the past few years, I've found that I use Windows for very specific tasks and my mobile devices for most other things. In general, I start off with a mobile device and fire up my Windows machine only when I can't adequately complete a task via mobile. As a result of that shift, having a good work setup for my tablet has become of much more importance to me and I just love an Apple Magic Keyboard style case.

When I learned that the Galaxy Tab S10 series would be going back to the 11" in place of the 12.4", I decided it was time to jump on the S10+ to see if it could replace my smaller S9. I knew there were keyboards available for it that looked promising, so I ordered an open-box S10+ from Best Buy and the $100 HOU MF-SX12 Mofa keyboard case from Amazon. I did not really expect it to be good. Most Android tablet keyboard cases are terrible at worst and acceptable at best. And at first, I was almost ready to throw it out the window as it seemed to keep adding duplicate words every time I wanted to type contractions. But after a bit of internet sleuthing, I learned I could fix this by turning off autocorrect for the keyboard in the settings, and then everything changed. I could type fast and as accurately as I do on even my clickiest mechanical keyboards. The box and product page on Amazon do not indicate how much travel the keys have, but I'd guess it's a bit more than the Apple Magic Keyboard, which has 1mm of travel.

In comparison to the Apple Magic Keyboard, the Mofa is not as polished. There are keys that aren't seated perfectly straight, and clicking or pushing/pulling on them doesn't resolve that issue.

There is no dedicated AI button if you're into that kind of thing. As with most keyboards on Android, holding down the backspace key tends to result in a lot more deletion than you ever intended. It feels nicer on my palms than my Doqo cantilever keyboard case for the 11" Tab S9. There is a softer feel to the plastic. It's not grippy, but it's not slippery and therefore doesn't feel cheap. At first, I didn't like the raised section at the top of the keyboard base until I realized it was shaped that way to allow a space to store the pen. It even has a magnet there to ensure the pen doesn't roll away. I like this a lot. I appreciated how the Doqo case had a rubber strap to keep the pen in place on the back of the tablet, and that is a superior solution if you are concerned about keeping the pen charged, but the interior storage slot on the Mofa is better if you like cleaner lines and don't want to risk bumping your pen off the case. The layout of the keyboard is essentially the same as all the other Android keyboard cases I own. My Samsung slim keyboard case has a language button next to the right Alt button, whereas this keyboard and my others have the Alt button and another button for controlling the backlight or the Alt button is shared with the backlight control.

The keys on all of these keyboard cases tend to get greasy easily and quickly, this keyboard included. Interestingly, a cleaning cloth is included in the box, and it's pretty great at removing grease. It has earned a place on my desk expressly for this purpose. It seems to do better at this than any of my other microfiber cloths, both those purchased and included with other items. Just know that your keys and trackpad will get nasty. You'll be able to see very easily which keys you use most just after a few minutes. But the cloth does help clean them up when it gets to a point where you can't take it anymore.

Logistically speaking, the case charges via USB C, and the port is on the back right of the case, next to the power button. The backlight will turn off fairly quickly but comes back on reliably when you hit a key to wake it back up. There are LEDs on top right for the BT connection, caps lock, and power indicator. I don't turn off the keyboard when I'm done using it, I simply close it up and wake it up with a keypress when I open it to use it later. This is how I use most of my keyboard cases, with the exception of the Doqo case for my Tab S9 - but that's only because I rarely use that case as the Tab S9 is semi-permanently connected to one of my 4K monitors and it's sitting in a stand that has it suspended above my desk to keep it out of the way. I use my other battery-powered keyboard cases much more often. Using the keyboard case this way, it lasts multiple days. The manual indicates it takes 2 hours to charge fully and that one can expect 60 days of standby time on a full charge. By the way, the manual is nicer than I would have expected. It's in English and Chinese throughout and is fairly well written and laid out. It is nicer than the manual I got with the cases I bought for the Tab S9 and S9 Ultra. It's a book style manual, printed on semi-gloss paper, and has a table of contents at the front. The font is a bit small and I can't imagine how anyone could read the Chinese characters, which are printed in a hard-to-see green, but everything I needed to know I was able to find without too much trouble. It's not a long manual, so looking through the whole thing is probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with the details of its operation.

Some reviewers on Amazon suggested that the magnets on the case are weak and their tablets would fall off, especially when trying to close or open the case. I have not had this issue. I find the magnets to be strong enough to keep the tablet in case when in use and when I'm stowing the package away for later use. With all magnets, there are certain angles where it is easier to dislodge the magnetized pieces than others, so I wonder if people just experienced issues with hitting the tablet at just that angle. It is also possible that there are quality control issues, which might explain the crooked F12 key on my keyboard. If so, this may not be an item to buy used or open-box.

Cons? There is really only one issue I've had with the keyboard and it's specific to the trackpad. At times, my hands will cause the trackpad to move the cursor, and I'll find I'm typing, or worse, replacing text in a place I did not expect. It will also sometimes scroll well beyond where I was intending to scroll. These oddities are not unique to the Mofa, though. I've had these issues with my other Android keyboard cases with trackpads. I don't recall ever having this issue with the Apple Magic Keyboard, so I tend to think it's either the inferior mouse drivers built into Android, or it is a matter of the Android keyboards being significantly cheaper than the Magic Keyboard and therefore having inferior components. As far as trackpads go on Android, I do find that this is one of the better ones I've used. Despite the occasional issue, I've yet to turn it off.

I really like this keyboard case and I'm returning the Samsung slim book cover keyboard I ordered at the same time. This is the one I want. I just wish I could get this same keyboard for my Tab Ultra.

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Amazon purchase link: https://amzn.to/3JePEM4