14. Apple Magic Keyboard – Greatest keyboard for Intel Macs
Apple’s keyboards are a bit complicated, with two generations of keyboards accessible, and every era providing two totally different keyboards, with or and not using a numeric keypad.
The older era of Magic Keyboards remains to be accessible, and is now meant primarily to be used with older Macs which have Intel processors. These older keyboards lack the Contact ID sensor that’s accessible with the 2 new keyboards that Apple launched in the summertime of 2021.
Contact ID and a few 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 most effective choices accessible from Apple—though, after all, there are many different keyboards accessible from different producers, which we overview right here as effectively.
The smaller Magic Keyboard could be costly at $99/£99, however its elegant slimline design began a pattern for ‘low-profile’ keyboards that many different producers now observe too.
The aluminium physique does really feel fairly sturdy, however the slimline design signifies that the keys don’t ‘journey’ very effectively, so speedy typists may favor a bigger keyboard that’s really designed to do some correct work moderately than simply wanting 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 honest, although, the compact little keyboard does squeeze in fairly a couple of helpful options, with the highest row of Operate keys offering controls for brightness, quantity and enjoying music.
The Magic Keyboard works as an ordinary Bluetooth keyboard, and Apple says that its rechargeable battery will final for a few 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from different on-line shops, which could nonetheless have a USB-A cable (until, after all, you’ve obtained an outdated Mac that solely has USB-A connectors).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 have to do a bit of significant quantity crunching from time to time. This keyboard additionally has a bigger set of navigation keys, which could be very helpful for scrolling by way of lengthy paperwork or internet pages, and an extra set of navigation keys that assist you to rapidly bounce to the highest or backside of a doc.
The bigger keyboard format additionally signifies that there’s room for some extra Operate 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 individual keyboard shortcuts are pretty restricted, so energy customers may favor to make use of a third-party utility equivalent to USB OverDrive or HotKey App, to make full use of those further Operate keys. This bigger keyboard has the identical month-long battery life because the smaller Magic Keyboard, though it’s exhibiting its age a little bit as (surprisingly) its charging cable nonetheless has a USB-A connector.
You’ll find the finest costs for Apple Keyboards and Mice in our offers round-up.
