14. Apple Magic Keyboard – Greatest keyboard for Intel Macs
Apple’s keyboards are a bit complicated, with two generations of keyboards out there, and every era providing two totally different keyboards, with or with out a numeric keypad.
The older era of Magic Keyboards remains to be out there, and is now supposed primarily to be used with older Macs which have Intel processors. These older keyboards lack the Contact ID sensor that’s out there with the 2 new keyboards that Apple launched in the summertime of 2021.
Contact ID and a number of the different options of the brand new keyboards don’t work with Intel-based Macs, so in case your Mac has an Intel processor then these older keyboards are the perfect choices out there from Apple—though, after all, there are many different keyboards out there from different producers, which we evaluate right here as properly.
The smaller Magic Keyboard might be costly at $99/£99, however its elegant slimline design began a development for ‘low-profile’ keyboards that many different producers now comply with too.
The aluminium physique does really feel fairly sturdy, however the slimline design signifies that the keys don’t ‘journey’ very properly, so speedy typists would possibly desire a bigger keyboard that’s really designed to do some correct work moderately than simply trying fairly.
The House Bar and the little set of navigation keys within the lower-right nook of the keyboard are additionally moderately small and fiddly. To be truthful, although, the compact little keyboard does squeeze in fairly just a few helpful options, with the highest row of Perform keys offering controls for brightness, quantity and taking part in music.
The Magic Keyboard works as a typical Bluetooth keyboard, and Apple says that its rechargeable battery will final for a couple of month at a time. Like all Apple keyboards it has a Lightning port for charging, however the newest model of the Magic Keyboard now features a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, so ensure you don’t purchase an older mannequin from different on-line shops, which could nonetheless have a USB-A cable (until, after all, you’ve obtained an outdated Mac that solely has USB-A connectors).
And, after all, there’s the bigger model, known as the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad ($129/£129). That is additionally fairly costly however provides a numeric keypad for individuals who must do a bit of great quantity crunching from time to time. This keyboard additionally has a bigger set of navigation keys, which may be very helpful for scrolling by means of lengthy paperwork or internet pages, and an extra set of navigation keys that will let you shortly bounce to the highest or backside of a doc.
The bigger keyboard structure additionally signifies that there’s room for some extra Perform keys too, going proper as much as F19 (moderately than F12 for the smaller Magic Keyboard). It’s a disgrace, although, that the choices within the macOS for programming your personal keyboard shortcuts are pretty restricted, so energy customers would possibly desire to make use of a third-party utility comparable to USB OverDrive or HotKey App, to make full use of those further Perform keys. This bigger keyboard has the identical month-long battery life because the smaller Magic Keyboard, though it’s displaying its age just a little as (surprisingly) its charging cable nonetheless has a USB-A connector.
You could find the greatest costs for Apple Keyboards and Mice in our offers round-up.
