The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Rules
I really should have more to say about this after many years of waiting it out to get one, but the simple truth is that the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is just a great keyboard. I probably should have caved years ago to purchase one.
Don’t get me wrong; there were things that I quite liked about the Keychron K3 Ultra-Slim keyboard that I used to use — namely, its fun, light-up colors, slick design, and trendy mechanical keys. But no one else can make a keyboard with Touch ID, and that’s the killer feature.
The Good
- The feel. I like the key travel and that it’s now more similar in feel to my iPad’s Magic Keyboard.
- The Lightning connector. That’s right, I said it. I got a Lightning version specifically. Now, my trackpad, mouse, and keyboard all use the same connector. I keep a 3-in-1 cable connected to my Mac mini, so it’s easy to hook just about anything up to it, but I won’t need to swap the tip between USB-C and Lightning so much anymore.
- The color. I love orange. I don’t love this orange, but it’s alright. I somewhat regret not just getting classic silver since the keys are white anyway.
The Bad
- The arrow key layout. I didn’t think I would mind it, but everyone is right. The arrow keys should be in an inverted T layout rather than half-height up/down arrows and full-height left/right ones. Everything should be half-height so it’s easier to distinguish them by feel.
- No backlight. For this price, it should be backlit, right?
- The lack of multi-device pairing. With Universal Control, this isn’t as big of a deal, but it’s going to become more of a problem for me in the future. When I get a MacBook Air and use it at this desk but keep my current Mac mini hooked up as the “family computer”, it will be tricky to get all my peripherals to swap to the laptop. Multi-device pairing would have made it easier to use the keyboard with my Vision Pro, too. My fingers are crossed for some sort of AirPods-like magic device swapping in the next version.
The Great
I’ve saved the best for last.
- Touch ID! Not typing passwords to login, access my 1Password vault, and grant numerous other system permission is fantastic. Weirdly, the App Store doesn’t seem to have gotten the message and asks me to type out my Apple Account password for every purchase.
- It’s quiet. I know people love the clickity-clackity of their mechanical keyboards, but that wasn’t a huge draw for me. I do better with the quiet when I’m trying to concentrate.
- Speedy connection. It connects super quickly to my Mac. My Keychron would struggle to wake the Mac, and even when it did, it took multiple seconds of my mashing keys for it to figure out its shit to start typing in my password. The Magic Keyboard has no such issues. When I press the Touch ID button, it dutifully and promptly wakes and unlocks my Mac right to my Desktop.
Alright, I guess I had enough to say about this keyboard after all.
P.S. I have a Keychron K3 Ultra-Slim, RGB backlit, 75% (84-key) layout keyboard with optical brown switches for sale. 😆 It’s in great shape. Although I’ve moved on from it, I’d love for it to have a nice home where its mechanical switches and sick blacklight will be appreciated.
I’ll match Amazon’s used price at $70 and free shipping. (Seems like it’s out-of-stock at Keychron, but it retails at $95 new on Amazon.) Let me know.