It seems a given that Apple will bring Face ID to Macs sooner rather than later, now that the tech has been extended from iPhones to iPads too. We’ve today seen the latest in a series of Apple patent applications to do just that.
But the patent also suggests the Touch Bar could be coming to Magic Keyboards …
This week for 9to5Rewards, we’re giving away a customized Space Gray Apple Magic Keyboard from ColorWare, the Minnesota-based company that specializes in custom painted products & skins.
Shipping times for the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad have slipped to 6-7 weeks, in contrast with the standard Magic Keyboard which is shown as in stock with immediate availability. We’re seeing the same availability for the product across Apple Stores in all countries, though it is still in stock with other suppliers.
Seven weeks would take us into December, which is when Apple has promised us the new iMac Pro it first teased back in June …
I wondered soon after the launch of the 2016 MacBook Pro whether Apple might have plans to bring the Touch Bar and Touch ID to a new Magic Keyboard. A new Apple patent application shows that the company is at least exploring the idea.
As ever, the language of the patent is dense, but the illustrations include a standalone keyboard as well as a laptop one.
In some embodiments, the device may also include a processing unit positioned within the housing, and a primary display positioned at least partially within the housing and configured to display a graphical-user interface executed by the processing unit. In some embodiments, the display is an organic light-emitting diode display. The electronic device may be a keyboard device.
As I noted previously, this would seem to address the greatest weakness of the Touch Bar …
One big question people have been asking since Apple’s announcement of the Touch Bar is if the technology could come to the standalone Magic Keyboard. My colleague Ben Lovejoy noted of the possibility earlier this week, explaining that battery life and price would be to inhibiting factors for the Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar to come to fruition.
Those factors haven’t stopped some eager designers from creating some pretty convincing mockups, though…
I’ve been waiting for Apple to update the 2007-vintage Apple Wireless Keyboard and 2010 Magic Trackpad since the first time OS X displayed a “low battery” notification — since then, I’ve had years of near-daily pop-up reminders that either my keyboard or my trackpad (both fueled by Apple’s official Battery Charger, no less) were supposedly running low on power. Although I preferred the minimalism of a wire-free desk, I reluctantly switched back to Apple’s old but still excellent Wired Keyboard to cut “low battery” notices in half, hoping that Apple would leverage 5+ years of Bluetooth and battery improvements to produce better wireless input accessories.
Last week, Apple finally released sequels to its three major input devices: the new Magic Keyboard ($99) replaces the $69 Wireless Keyboard, the Magic Mouse 2 ($79) updates the $59 Magic Mouse, and the Magic Trackpad 2 ($129) vaults over the $69 Magic Trackpad. The signature improvement to each is the replacement of AA batteries with integrated Lithium-Ion rechargeable cells, refueled once per month with an included Lightning cable — previously only used for iPad, iPhone, and iPod accessories. Apple also tweaked each of the accessory designs, one more significantly than the others.
Having given up mice five years ago (and radically improved a carpal tunnel-damaged wrist in the process), I opted not to test the Magic Mouse 2, but my colleague Dom Esposito discusses it and the other Magic accessories in the video below. My review is focused on the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2, neither of which I’d call “must-have” accessories, though each has a couple of worthwhile assets, and at least one surprising Apple device compatibility limitation. Should you buy Apple’s latest accessories, or go with excellent third-party alternatives such as Logitech’s K811 Keyboard and Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac instead?… (Updated November 2015 and December 2015 with new battery testing results.)
Apple debuted new versions of its Mac peripherals on Tuesday with the Magic Mouse 2, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad 2, replacing the aging AA battery-powered predecessors with versions that use Lightning cables to recharge built-in batteries. We’ve already seen hands-on unboxings for anyone interested but not curious enough to dish out the $330 total for all the new Magic gear, and now iFixit has followed up with the usual teardown and repairability analysis for each new Apple accessory.
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Update: YouTuber DetroitBORG has now shared a video of Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, as well. You can view his review, hands-on, and unboxing below.
Update 2: Grand finale — Magic Trackpad 2 gets the same DetroitBORG treatment below.
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As an aside to today’s release of new Retina iMacs, Apple granted an atypically personnel-driven set of interviews to Steven Levy of Backchannel. Levy spoke with Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller and several members of the company’s Input Design Lab, notably discussing several topics of interest to Mac and iPad users:
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Apple fulfilled three of my “minor-level” Mac dreams today, announcing (very) long-awaited updates to its 2007-vintage Wireless Keyboard and 2010 Magic Trackpad — accessories I’ve used and mostly loved for years — and a non-trivial update to the Retina 5K iMac it released last year. It also unveiled a sequel to its 2009 Magic Mouse, and a Retina 4K version of the 21.5″ iMac. Yes, it’s easy to call these releases “inevitable” in the sense that we’ve known all of them were coming for a while now, but some of the details were surprising.
Who would have thought that the Magic Trackpad 2, for instance, would be Apple’s first Bluetooth 4-only Mac accessory? That the iOS Lightning connector would make its way into Mac accessories? Or that the Retina 5K iMac would receive a significant screen quality upgrade after only one year?
Each of these products reaffirms Apple’s commitment to a premium experience, and demonstrates that Steve Jobs’ theories about the inevitable march of progress remain part of the company’s DNA. Read on for my product-specific thoughts….
Alongside today’s expected new iMac updates, Apple has announced a trio of new input devices for desktops: the Magic Trackpad 2, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Keyboard. The new keyboard and trackpad have an updated design to accommodate improved keys on the keyboard and Force Touch on the trackpad, while the mouse has been redesigned internally. All three devices work on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that juice up via a standard USB Lightning cable:
Apple looks to be preparing updated versions of its keyboard, trackpad, and mouse accessories for near-term release. Code freshly discovered in the latest OS X 10.11.1 beta references next-generation versions of the products, as first spotted by Consomac. We’ve confirmed the references to new Apple peripherals are not present on the current OS X release, version 10.11.0, and first appear in OS X 10.11.1, currently in beta.
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