Logitech Craft review: A slick keyboard combo that takes on the Surface Dial

Enlarge / Kinda striking, don’t you think? (credit: Mark Walton)

The Surface Dial, a hockey-puck-sized controller designed for use with Microsoft’s Surface Studio desktop computer, is the palette to the Surface’s pen. It clicks, double clicks and rotates, adding contextual menus and smooth navigation to apps such as Maps and Adobe Photoshop without the need to reach for a mouse. Unfortunately—despite some third-party alternatives—there’s nothing as slick as a Surface Dial available to creative types at home on a Mac.

That’s where the Logitech Craft comes in. Priced at a substantial £179, the Logitech Craft is a premium keyboard armed with a “crown,” that allows for the same clicks, double clicks and twists that make the Surface Dial so compelling, without the need to splash out on a Surface Desktop to go with it. While there are some odd limitations to the crown’s functionality, at least at launch, it’s a compelling companion to the keyboard and mouse.

It helps that the Craft is beautifully made. The main body is constructed from a sturdy matte grey plastic, while a heavy aluminium bar at the top adds weight, a comfortable tilt (although it’s sadly not adjustable), and the crown itself, which sits just above the escape key to the left of the keyboard. The Craft is a heavy thing with solid rubber feet that, once placed down on a desk, reassuringly stays put.