Hands on: Apple's USB-C accessories leave us wanting more

AppleInsider

Apple finally updates its Mac peripheral lineup, but it may not wholly be the update everyone hoped for. We picked up the new Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard to see what all changed.

Apple's new USB-C peripherals

We've always been fans of Apple's peripherals. They have a lot of nice benefits being made by Apple and the quality is always top-notch from the aluminum bodies to the responsive keys on the keyboard.

But lately, they've been neglected as Apple hasn't released an updated version since 2015. As Apple made the move to USB-C, these Lightning-equipped products were basically the last to transition.

USB-C-equipped versions had been anticipated, but many had also hoped Apple would take the opportunity to refresh the line with new features or tweaked designs. Alas, not so much.

All of the devices with updated to use USB-C but little else has changed.

Each accessory comes with a black or white braided USB-C cable

Included with each of these is a nice braided USB-C cable. If you opt for the white peripherals, you get a white cable, while the black ones get a black cable.

Most of these peripherals are available in black, but since it carries a $20 premium, we opted for white. It's peculiar why a color different warrants such an uncharge.

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Magic Mouse

We first unboxed our Magic Mouse. The Magic Mouse is Apple's take on a multi-touch mouse with its touch-sensitive top surface.

Unboxing the new Magic Mouse

It's slightly arced, giving a shallow feel that some find uncomfortable. You can slide your finger on it to scroll, swipe between pages in Safari, or go through your photos.

That top portion is clear plastic with white or black underneath it. The bottom is anodized aluminum with the charging port located on the bottom.

Top surface of the Magic Mouse is touch sensitive

Most of us here at AppleInsider are fairly agnostic on the placement of the charging port on the Magic Mouse. It charges very fast and never has been an issue.

Using the updated Magic Mouse to scroll

Still, it's one of the most widely criticized Apple products and it's still somewhat surprising Apple hasn't address it. The new USB-C version still charges with the Magic Mouse on its back like an upended turtle.

The underside of Apple's Magic Mouse no longer has an Apple logo

The only other change we were able to detect is the removal of the etched Apple logo on its underside.

Magic Trackpad

Magic Trackpad is hands-down best in class. There is no other trackpad that is as good as Apple's Magic Trackpad that we've seen or tested.

The new (left) and old (right) Magic Trackpad

It's a massive piece of matte glass, similar in size as the one found on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. There's plenty of space to rotate, scroll, pinch, and more.

The new model is identical. There is no difference between the last-generation and the new USB-C version.

The USB-C port is on the back of the Magic Trackpad and is slightly larger

You can find the charging port on the back edge, same as before. It's easy to reach and you can use it while plugged in if you need to.

Magic Keyboard

The Magic Keyboard has the most changes, though they aren't particularly impactful to use. Apple just tweaked the images on some of the keys.

Holding the compact Magic Keyboard

The globe key on the lower-left corner no longer has the "fn" designator printed on it. And th option, control, and command keys had their icons justified to the outer edges versus center-justified.

Out of all the updates, we'd hoped to see a backlit version of this keyboard. There are plenty of third-party Bluetooth keyboards that are slim and have a backlight, but Apple omitted it again this round.

There are small differences with the icons on the old (top) and new (bottom) Magic Keyboard

The Magic Keyboard comes in several flavors, depending on your color, features, and Mac preferences.

You can get it with or without a number pad on the right side. It also can come with or without Touch ID.

Touch ID will only work on Apple Silicon Macs, so if you are still using Intel, you'll have to go for the one without.

Only the larger keyboard with the number pad and Touch ID is available in both black and white. The non-Touch ID version and the two compact versions only come in white.

Should you buy Apple's new USB-C peripherals

These new accessories are available to purchase on their own, but they're also being bundled with Apple's latest Macs. That includes the Mac Pro.

The colored version of Apple's accessories are exclusive to the new iMacs

If you pick up one of the new M4 iMacs, you will get a special color-matched version. That includes a matching colored USB-C to USB-C cable that aren't available to purchase on their own.

Aside from upgrading just to get a new port, the only real hesitation is some compatibility issues. It seems some users are reporting limited compatibility with prior versions of macOS.

We'd recommend, at least for now, only upgrading if you have a machine running macOS Sequoia until some of Apple's bugs are fixed for the older operating systems.

The new Magic Mouse starts at $79, the Magic Trackpad costs $99, and the Magic Keyboard starts at $99 as well.



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chasm

I am absolutely 100 percent neutral on the placement of the Magic Mouse charging port. Once every six months or so, I get a notice that the battery on the Magic Mouse needs charging (I don’t use the Mouse as often as I use my other machine’s Magic Trackpad).

I ignore the warning, but I make a mental note to plug in the mouse before I go to bed. Mouse continues to work as normal for the entire rest of the day.

Plug in the mouse when I am done with that machine. Next day, unplug the mouse. Good for other “X” number of months of use.

People who whine about the placement of the charging port just like whining about petty BS. Apple put that port there deliberately because they DO NOT want you to use it as a wired mouse. If you want a wired mouse, buy one.

PS. Memo to the people who leave their Magic Keyboard or Magic Trackpad plugged in 100 percent of the time: you’re (slowly) ruining the battery.

Ofer

Absolutely overpriced to begin with, and it’s so ridiculous that they charge extra for a simple color change on top of that

charlesn

Another case where Apple leaves easy money on the table and I wonder why. Backlit keyboard + USB-C? Sure, I'll upgrade! Just USB-C? No thanks, i'll keep my Touch ID Lightning Keyboard. Same for Magic Mouse and Trackpad. Same for AirPods Max USB-C. All long in the tooth products more than ready for some kind of refresh, but Apple just swaps out the charging port and that's it. It's funny that they took this opportunity to remove the etched Apple logo on the bottom of Magic Mouse--would have loved to have been in the meeting where they discussed a long list of tweaks they could have made, but only removing the Apple logo made it through! What was THAT decision about? Did they save some fraction of a penny on a bottom plate with no etching? Well, at least Apple is saving me money! 

MplsP

charlesn said:

Another case where Apple leaves easy money on the table and I wonder why. Backlit keyboard + USB-C? Sure, I'll upgrade! Just USB-C? No thanks, i'll keep my Touch ID Lightning Keyboard. Same for Magic Mouse and Trackpad. Same for AirPods Max USB-C. All long in the tooth products more than ready for some kind of refresh, but Apple just swaps out the charging port and that's it. It's funny that they took this opportunity to remove the etched Apple logo on the bottom of Magic Mouse--would have loved to have been in the meeting where they discussed a long list of tweaks they could have made, but only removing the Apple logo made it through! What was THAT decision about? Did they save some fraction of a penny on a bottom plate with no etching? Well, at least Apple is saving me money! 

It's pretty clear that Apple is investing as little as possible into these. Just like the AirPods Max in which they did nothing to update the product, they just changed the port. Same thing here - they could have made a backlit keyboard or added other features. They could have fixed the position of the port on the mouse, but nope. They took the lazy route. 

hmlongco

Ofer said:

Absolutely overpriced to begin and, and it’s so ridiculous that they charge extra for a simple color change on top of that

You're right. I should probably buy something cheaper. Now, where can I get a wireless keyboard with secure Touch ID integration and a wireless trackpad that supports all of Apple's multitouch gestures?

I'd really like to place my order....

jonyo

To be fair, they left all the prices the same as the previous otherwise-identical lightning devices, as they did with the AirPods Max when they switched it to USB-C, so... what's the problem? It's just a tiiiiiiny update as far as consumer interest and relevance, not really worth having an actual "review" about. Apple didn't put out any marketing material that exaggerates any changes here, so while maybe some were disappointed with the lack of other changes, you can't say Apple promised something and then didn't deliver. No one who already has the lightning version of any of these is going to upgrade specifically get USB-C (if they have any sense), and lightning cables are going to be around from Apple or third party vendors until the end of the time itself, so nobody's getting screwed here.

programmer

So... radical question here:  if these keyboards are plugged in, do they use USB to communicate or are they still bluetooth?  They're going to be useless to me if they still use BT when plugged in.

eknight

Strange. I just purchased a USB-C Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and it has the “fn” on the Globe key.  Which is different than what Apple has on their store picture. 

It makes sense to have the “fn” on the key. It’s on the new M4 MacBook Pro keyboards. 

eknight

When they are plugged, in they use USB. Bluetooth is disabled. 

eknight

Does anyone know what this new key does?

wrbluepearl

Really wish that Apple's keyboard and trackpad would support more than one host like Logitech's devices do - while I have Logitech keyboards and mice, there's no trackpad (I know about the old T650 but it had the same problem) to go with them, and I currently have two of the older 2AA magic trackpads on my desk to use with my work and personal MacBooks.  This would have been a good time to add the feature, but...

sflocal

hmlongco said:

Ofer said:

Absolutely overpriced to begin and, and it’s so ridiculous that they charge extra for a simple color change on top of that

You're right. I should probably buy something cheaper. Now, where can I get a wireless keyboard with secure Touch ID integration and a wireless trackpad that supports all of Apple's multitouch gestures?

I'd really like to place my order....

Whiners and Apple-haters are always masters at complaining at how Apple is doing with their products, but when confronted with having to produce a 3rd-party equivalent, one just hears crickets.

kdupuis77

programmer said:

So... radical question here:  if these keyboards are plugged in, do they use USB to communicate or are they still bluetooth?  They're going to be useless to me if they still use BT when plugged in.

I’m pretty sure they default to USB communication vice Bluetooth when plugged in. I’ve been leaving my Magic Trackpad plugged into my Studio Display as it has terrible cursor lag with M-series Macs and I haven’t been able to fix it other than leaving it wired up, which is so much more responsive. 

Ofer

hmlongco said:

Ofer said:

Absolutely overpriced to begin and, and it’s so ridiculous that they charge extra for a simple color change on top of that

You're right. I should probably buy something cheaper. Now, where can I get a wireless keyboard with secure Touch ID integration and a wireless trackpad that supports all of Apple's multitouch gestures?

I'd really like to place my order....

This is a really disingenuous argument considering Apple doesn’t allow any other companies to use Touch ID integration with their Bluetooth accessories. If they did, you’d better believe that I would be getting a more ergonomic keyboard with mechanical keys that offers Touch ID functionality 

danox

Ofer said:

hmlongco said:

Ofer said:

Absolutely overpriced to begin and, and it’s so ridiculous that they charge extra for a simple color change on top of that

You're right. I should probably buy something cheaper. Now, where can I get a wireless keyboard with secure Touch ID integration and a wireless trackpad that supports all of Apple's multitouch gestures?

I'd really like to place my order....

This is a really disingenuous argument considering Apple doesn’t allow any other companies to use Touch ID integration with their Bluetooth accessories. If they did, you’d better believe that I would be getting a more ergonomic keyboard with mechanical keys that offers Touch ID functionality 

Who will keep track/police and trust that other company offering this mythical Touch ID keyboard Apple?

d_2

Why no backlighting on Apple’s desktop keyboards is truly leaving money on the table, as noted above. My eyes suck and I rather be in a darker environment when I’m working on my Mac. I bought the Logitech keyboard for Mac… it’s good but it’s not Apple quality, IMO.

lotones

No backlight, no upgrade... and still no Touch ID for me.     

CheeseFreeze

I think they keyboard is just fine as it is (but too expensive).

However, that mouse!… 

- users need to feel a left and right button
- users need to feel a left click and a right click
- same for a scroll wheel
- the shape needs to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome
- the charge port needs to be on the back to charge while used (for gamers especially)
- the click latency needs to be reduced
- the polling rate needs to be increase 

ravnorodom

programmer said:

So... radical question here:  if these keyboards are plugged in, do they use USB to communicate or are they still bluetooth?  They're going to be useless to me if they still use BT when plugged in.

USB will be communicated instead of BT. I found this out when I am using third party BT dongle. 

ravnorodom

CheeseFreeze said:

I think they keyboard is just fine as it is (but too expensive).

However, that mouse!… 

- users need to feel a left and right button
- users need to feel a left click and a right click
- same for a scroll wheel
- the shape needs to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome
- the charge port needs to be on the back to charge while used (for gamers especially)
- the click latency needs to be reduced
- the polling rate needs to be increase 

One reason I stick to Apple mouse is the ergonomic one button mouse since day one. I can’t stand two buttons mouse because it makes my finger feeling very uncomfortable, awkward, un-ergonomic, deformed and sore. Bottom charging is suck but I work around it by getting two mouses (when one is dead, I swap the other). Mac can handle several BT mouses at the same time.