The original title mentions with Apple silicon. Wish that was here, since many only read the titles and easy to miss that this only works with new M1 Macs.
Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
111–120 of 146 posts
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#112I would love just a TouchID button. I have an mechanical split keyboard (Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, I love it) and I reach over to my MacBook Pro to use TouchID, but having a button I could put on my desk would be great and would solve that problem. I don't see Apple making it to be honest, but I would love it.
Most of the time I’m able to use my watch instead of reaching over to the fingerprint sensor.
There you go. I haven't missed the fingerprint sensor after the Apple Watch, since the laptop sits most of the time in clamshell configuration.
Pricey button, but it has other uses.
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s in the top right corner on every other device that has one though. If I’m reaching for it that’s just where I expect it to be. The downvotes clearly indicate an unpopular opinion, but this to me just looks like they bolted on a 10 key to the existing product.
> The downvotes clearly indicate an unpopular opinion That's one conclusion. Could also be your attitude / way you expressed your opinion too. ;)
> That's one conclusion. Could also be your attitude / way you expressed your opinion too. ;)
Maybe, but I'm generally not a jerk around here, I just really don't like this design and expressed it. It really does hit me as shockingly bad. Like "why did they do that?" bad. That others like it as much as I hate it is a real surprise to me, but that's life.
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m honestly almost a little bit appalled by myself when I realize that I probably would be willing to pay an extra $50 to have a TouchID interface on my ErgoDox EZ Shine, just to save myself from having to reach over and extend my arm an extra half of a meter several times a day when I am stationed with my keyboard and external monitor, and my MacBook Pro that is connected to them sits out of reach over there where…
I'm also spoiled by (what I consider) a great keyboard, the Kinesis FreeStyle 2. I don't think I'm going back to this Apple keyboard, but boy would Touch ID be useful.
I have a Freestyle 2 and the Freestyle Edge (the blue version). I completely understand what you are talking about.
Freestyle 2 (blue) is good. Feels good, bluetooth just works, battery life is great. Non mechanical, but if you like Apple Keyboards that shouldn't matter. Also no backlight if it matters.
The Edge has survived multiple coffee spills (although the backlight on the "2" key doesn't work anymore, after the last one).
Left it to dry and sunlight warped one of the spacebar caps. Those keys are custom and so impossible to find. Tried 3d Printing one but it wasn't really usable. Contacted Kinesis support fully expecting them to say that it's no longer supported... not only it is supported, but they mailed me a new spacebar keycap, for free.
So yeah. The Edge is pricey, non-removable switches unfortunately. Doesn't come with palm rests but it really, really should. Great onboard software(again, only the Edge). And great support, to the point that I'm here advertising for them for free.
Also split keyboards in general are great since you can have all sorts of stuff in between them :)
The Touch ID issue was solved with the Apple Watch. I'm not going back to Apple Keyboards. Really trying to avoid the custom keyboard rabbit hole too :)
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I continue to hope they bring FaceID to the Mac in a manner similar to Windows Hello, where you can buy a webcam certified for it
That would mean updating the "isight" webcam for the first time in a decade or so.
As if. If Apple ever brings FaceID to macs, it will be with the webcam of their own monitor and nothing else.
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#116By the numbers, the secure enclave implementation is $50. I wonder if Logitech will get a shot at TouchID like the Crayon did for the Apple Pencil? I'd pay $50 to add it to my K380. $99.00 Magic Keyboard - US English $149.00 Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for Mac models with Apple silicon - US English $129.00 Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English $179.00 Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad for Mac…
Someone will probably reverse engineer the protocol. And you'll be able to build your own keyboard with touch ID as long as it doesn't rely on each keyboard having a unique key that you can't read out of it. Which, knowing Apple, it probably does.
With the level of complexity involved, I’d bet a homegrown solution would cost more than the keyboard Apple makes.
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course, it's not like older Macs had access to some kind of security coprocessor to secure this... oh wait
Yeah, indeed. My 2019 MacBook Pro has a touchbar, but 90% of the time, I use it in clamshell mode with two external monitors. I can use my Apple Watch to authenticate things like passwords in Safari, but I would MUCH prefer to not have to lift my hands off the keyboard. A lot of the time I just type my password. A million times a day. This would be a quality of life improvement.
Jury’s still out but I’m not convinced this is a software limitation. It is possible that Apple’s previous implementation of a Secure Enclave couldn’t electrically work with any external handshake.
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#118Can anyone think of a reason why this peripheral still has a lightning port and a USB-C to lightning cable rather than a USB-C port and USB-C to USB-C cable?
Yes, because there’s no benefit to their business to invest time switching it to USB-C, and significant upsides to existing customers if they continue using Lightning.
What use case do you envision should be higher priority to Apple’s customers than being able to recharge their keyboard, trackpad, and phone from a single Lightning cable left plugged into their desktop computer’s USB port?
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
Logitech can't even connect to the laptop via BT before you are logged in, I doubt it will get this integration.
This goes for all non-Apple BT keyboards, and is a security feature (or so Apple says).
I mean if they can't get Apple to include them in this (like you said you can use BT magic keyboard so clearly there's a way built-in) they have no chance at getting touchid
Re: Apple Makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Available for Purchase
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm also spoiled by (what I consider) a great keyboard, the Kinesis FreeStyle 2. I don't think I'm going back to this Apple keyboard, but boy would Touch ID be useful.
I continue to hope they bring FaceID to the Mac in a manner similar to Windows Hello, where you can buy a webcam certified for it
Face ID works with something more like an XBOX Kinect with an infrared light projecting a pattern to understand depth.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/13/how-iphone-x-face-id-wo...