The New Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Now this was previously available with the iMac only, but now they’ve released it as a standalone, so you can buy it and use it with your Mac. So, I thought we should take a look at it. Just like all the Apple products, this isn’t something that is quite affordable to everyone out there.
Versions and Colors
Currently, there are two options available at the market: one with a Numeric Keypad and one without the Numeric Keypad. There is a considerable price difference between those two and yet they have only released both options in Silver and White colors (at the moment of writing this) and those looks very similar to the original Magic Keyboard that came with the iMac.
Unboxing
This comes in a very decent looking package which is wrapped with a thin plastic paper. All you have to do is cut the plastic wrapping carefully and pull out the keyboard using the small tab. Inside, you can see the keyboard itself, essential documents such as warranty and user guide and a braided USB Type-C to Lightening Cable.
Physical Appearance and Comparison
If you take a good look at the keyboard, you can see the power switch and the connecting port in the top of it. There are four rubber padding under the keyboard to make sure keyboard won’t deliberately move here and there. When looked from the side of the keyboard, we can notice an ascending thickness that causes to give a good elevation to it. When compared to a previous Magic Keyboard that comes with an Apple Mac Pro, the only major difference you can notice is the slightly curved edges and the buttons. If you want to use the Touch ID, you must have a M1 chip-based Apple device which runs on macOS 11.4 or newer.
This keyboard is fully compatible with the following devices (with Touch ID)
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)
- iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
- Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Setting Up
Actually, there is not much to do with setting up this keyboard. When you connect the cable correctly the Apple device will instantly recognize the device and will show a small notification confirming the connectivity. To enable the Touch ID option, you have to go to the System Preferences and then to the Touch ID option. If you have used a fingerprint before you can just leave it there. The device will automatically recognize your fingerprint even after connecting this new keyboard. if you haven’t used a fingerprint before all you have to do is add a new fingerprint using the Touch ID option. You can easily connect this to a non M1 based device or even to a Apple iPad Air but you won’t have the Touch ID option anymore, the rest will be fine.
Usage
As I told before, this physically looks quite similar to all the other Magic Keyboards. The usage is pretty much the same. It is very light-weighted, thin, and considerably comfortable to use. There is this sound that comes from the keyboard when you type which is also sounds same as the previous keyboards. Battery will last for couple of weeks at least (totally depends on the usage) and it charges pretty fast too.
Conclusion
This Apple Magic Keyboard is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea. If you are an Apple product fan then this is just for you. It is bit overpriced when compared to the alternatives that are currently available in the market. Nevertheless, this is a high quality, very comfortable and durable item just like all the other Apple products. And if you want to match items, there are also Apple Magic Mouse and Trackpad out there too.
I hope you all find this information interesting in some sort. If you have anything else to contribute to this topic or for us, kindly leave a comment; we will appreciate it.
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