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I love having long nails. I also love having my job. And until recently, I could only comfortably have one or the other. As an editor and writer, I’m behind a computer screen for eight (nine… 10…) hours a day working on stories for you, Beloved Reader. Typing with long nails slows down the process significantly. It also invites typos—something we editors can’t really make, you know? But perhaps worst of all: Feeling the “tap” of a key under the tip of an almond-shaped acrylic or the gummy movement of a sticky tab under a press-on nail prompts a visceral reaction for me. (I’m gagging right now.)
Recently, though, a product that seems like it could be game-changing has made its way onto my FYP: the Tippy Type, a silicone keyboard cover that makes it easy to type with long nails.
With the Tippy Type, the keys become just-cushy-enough pillars that elevate your fingertips and give your nails room to hover over the board. One TikTok creator said she “absolutely loves this thing,” and an Instagram reel posted by the brand garnered more than 15 million views. The comments sections were full of desktop users and long nail-havers who shared the impression that this creation was genius.
Now, some may ask, “Why not just forgo the long tips?” The answer is simple: They bring joy—which is also why founder Sara Young Wang created the Tippy Type. “Living without long nails felt like I was losing out on a fun form of self-expression and play,” she says. “It started as a solution for myself. I love long nails, but typing with them is a pain.”
I get my hands on the Tippy Type, courtesy of Wang. I open the package to find that it comes with a hard-shell carrying case to protect it. (Cool!) I unzip the case, pull out the lightweight keyboard cover, and slip it over the keys of my MacBook Air. It fits like a glove, gripping each individual key.
Currently, my nails are short, so to test the keyboard cover, I apply a set of my fave press-ons—the Angel Energy set by Lost Angels—using the extra-sticky glue tabs included in the set.
Wang warns me that there is a learning curve to using Tippy Type. “Your brain is learning a whole new way to type,” she explains. And she's right. Getting used to it takes a few minutes, and, if I try to type too fast, my fingers miss the pillars, causing typos.
But as I get more comfortable with the cover, I type faster, eventually forgetting I have just applied press-ons. In an effort to avoid typos, I do type a little slower when I use the Tippy Type, but I don’t move as slow as I would with a full set and a raw keyboard.
My one gripe: Using keyboard shortcuts (like making an em dash, which requires pressing three buttons at once) takes some finesse. I move even slower and stretch a little farther so that I don’t miss the keys. But overall, this is the most comfortable I’ve ever been typing with longer nails—and without cringe-inducing sounds or sensations.
My colleague, Angela Trakoshis, is having a harder time adjusting to the Tippy Type. “As someone who presses hard on my keyboard, tapping a silicone nub creates a strange sensory experience for me,” she says. “Even as I sit here and use it, I’m hitting the delete button a lot.”
But Trakoshis also calls out a major benefit for those who never skip a manicure appointment: “I find that my nail shape dulls quickly when I type aggressively, and this silicone mat prevents that,” she says. “I love the idea of prolonging my manicure, so I’m going to invest more time into getting used to it.”
Ready to get tapping? The Tippy Type, available on the brand’s site for $45, is compatible with Apple MacBooks. (Wang says the Lenovo Thinkpad, HP Elitebook, and Dell Latitude versions are coming soon.) Pick your favorite color: matte black, milky white, or cotton candy pink.
Yes, there are monumentally bigger problems in the world—one doom scroll on any social media platform proves it—but manicures are a little slice of day-to-day happiness for some of us. Tippy Type makes it possible to go all out with our nails and keep our day job!
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