Best case for document reading? (Portrait Orientation)
Hi all, I'm a grad student who just picked up their first iPad maybe 2 weeks ago? It's an 11" Air. I am primarily using it for school and I bought the ESR keyboard case for it initially so I could take it with me to class instead of my whole laptop. But my main use case is using it to do readings for class/research papers, annotating documents on Zotero.
When I'm at home doing reading, I find that even with the keyboard part detached the ESR case I have is a) very heavy and b) difficult for me to hold at a good angle in portrait mode. I have a connective tissue disorder so my hands and wrists are kind of "floppy" and I'm finding it to be a real struggle. But I'm not having a lot of luck finding cases that allow a portrait-orientation stand. Ideally I'd love to find something along the lines of the origami case for the Kindle Voyage, that thing was amazing and even if the built-in reading angle didn't work for me the folded part at the back gave me a bit of a "handle" which helped set the right angle with less strain on my hands/wrists. Obviously this is a larger/thicker device though so I don't anticipate finding anything exactly like that. I have a big tablet arm over my bed I use for my e-reader but need something a bit more portable/less bulky day to day.
Does anyone have any recs for good cases compatible with the Air that allow freestanding support in portrait mode? I'm in Canada if it makes a difference.
Bonus points if it's extremely lightweight!
Thanks!
Posted Mar 2, 2026, 4:04 PM UTC