Apple’s new keyboard with Touch ID isn’t for everyone
When the company of the bitten apple renewed the iMac and introduced the new model with Apple Silicon M1 processor, the redesign and use of said processor was not the only striking thing. The different colors available (green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and gray) were together with the new accessories with the same color combination, which attracted more than one. Well, that and finally Apple’s external keyboards gave the possibility of using Touch ID.
A version of these new keyboards could be purchased at the time of buying the iMac with an integrated Touch ID sensor that would allow to enjoy all the advantages of a system that facilitates the safe and fast login of the system, also the identification in web pages , online payments, etc.
All advantages that you will already know as the owner of a Mac with Touch ID and even as a user of a mobile phone and its respective fingerprint reader. Although in that case the integration of iOS with both Touch ID or Face ID is more attractive for the issue of purchases and passwords than on Android.
Well, now Apple has independently released those new keyboards. There are two models, one that only offers the redesign and another with Touch ID. Of course, it is only available in gray and white, nothing to be able to choose one of the tones available in the iMac range. Still, the worst is not that, the worst is that the use of the Touch ID function will only be available if you have a Mac with M1 processor.
Yes, you might think that the use of Touch ID on other Mac computers would be limited by not having the secure enclave to help encrypt and protect the communication of such sensitive information, but no. Because there are Macs with Intel processors that are equipped with Touch ID thanks to a separate chip that will not be able to enjoy this keyboard. So again: Apple stuff.
And it can be logical knowing that the company will make a complete transition at the end of next year and its entire catalog of equipment will already use processors designed by them, but there will still be millions of users who could benefit from the advantages of such a keyboard and will not be able to.
Price and availability of the new Apple keyboards
Apple’s new redesigned keyboards for your Macs are available in three versions, all in the same white and gray color scheme. Nothing to choose color, that option will still remain exclusive to the new iMac. In this way, the new keyboards that you can buy are:
- The first of them is him new Magic Keyboard without Touch that costs 109 euros (without fingerprint reader). This has the same compact design, without a numeric keypad and with the up and down arrows occupying the space of a single conventional key, that we already saw in the previous model.
- Second is the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID which is identical to the previous one, only here it does introduce the fingerprint reader and hence the price increase up to 159 euros.
- And finally there is the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad what does it cost 185 eurosy as you can see, it integrates that set of additional keys that if you move regularly with applications where you have to constantly enter numbers is much more interesting and useful.
The three keyboards integrate their own battery, they are charged by a USB C to Lightning cable and this same one serves to quickly pair the keyboard to the Mac where it is going to be used. Interesting? Well, partly yes, but it is also true that there are other very good third-party keyboards with mechanical keys, the option to connect several devices and quickly switch between them, etc.
So if you are clear that you want the Apple keyboard and, in addition, you can take advantage of Touch ID, go ahead. If not, you will find other alternatives for what they cost.
