It’s been three months since Apple unveiled the new keyboard, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for the 24-inch iMac. If you were in the mood to get your hands on one of them, the wait is over.
New Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Unveiled with little fanfare in the Apple online store Tuesday morning, Apple now sells the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for 159 € and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID with the numeric keypad for 185 €. The models are the same as those offered by Apple with the 24-inch iMac, which Apple offers as an upgrade for € 50 and € 76. However, they are only available in one color: silver.
The keyboard is the same as the standard version with a Touch ID sensor in place of the eject button at the right end of the function line. However, if you want one, you’ll need a Mac M1. While Apple offered Touch ID on Intel MacBooks, the M1 chip in the latest laptops has a secure enclave built into the system. Intel Macs, on the other hand, use a T2 processor to handle security, which is likely the reason for the lack of support.
When testing the new keyboard, Touch ID was found to work just as well as Apple’s MacBooks. Cupertino previously allowed the iMac keyboard to be paired with any MacBook M1.
In addition to Touch ID keyboards, Apple also sells “new” versions of the Magic Mouse (85 €) and Magic Trackpad (135 €), although it seems the only thing that differs is the cable. Apple previously sold the devices with a standard Lightning to USB-A cable, but they now ship with a woven Lightning to USB-C cable. It should be noted that Apple also removed the device numbers, both of which were identified by the number “2” in their name. The prices of the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad remain unchanged.
