New iMac Magic Keyboard with Touch ID available for individual sale

AppleInsider · August 3, 2021 12:43PM

Previously only available with the new 24-inch iMac, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID can now be bought on its own, as can the new Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse.

The 24-inch iMac's Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is now available separately

Touch ID has been on MacBook Pro models for years, but the biometric security feature came to desktop Macs with the 24-inch iMac. Originally exclusively available with that model, Apple introduced both a standard Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and an extended one with a numeric keypad.

Now both models are available to buy separately. The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID costs $149, while the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad is $179.

Apple has released the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keyboard separately

At the same time, the revised Magic Trackpad has been released on sale for $129, with the new Magic Mouse selling for $79.

Neither the Magic Trackpad nor Magic Mouse have any additions as dramatic as the Touch ID button on the Magic Keyboard. However, all three have been designed together to give a similar slim look and feel.

The new accessories are solely available in white

The new, separately available accessories, are solely sold in silver. When bought with the Mac, the trim on each of the accessories comes in colors to match the iMac.

The Touch ID feature on the keyboard only works on Apple Silicon Macs. It has no functionality on Intel-based machines.

Read on AppleInsider

pulseimages · August 3, 2021 1:19PM

I was excited until I read the Touch ID doesn’t work on Intel Macs.

22july2013 · August 3, 2021 1:53PM

I presume it otherwise still functions correctly on Intel Macs. I have an Intel Mini and a Mac mini sharing the same keyboard through a KVM switch, and I am hoping that I can use the new keyboard on both machines this way.

mpw_amherst · August 3, 2021 2:14PM

Had hoped to get a magic track pad after sale for my 24" iMac but seems a shame to ruin the aesthetic with silver when the rest if blue.

daveflash · August 3, 2021 2:33PM

mpw_amherst said:

Had hoped to get a magic track pad after sale for my 24" iMac but seems a shame to ruin the aesthetic with silver when the rest if blue.

if you already own an Apple Silicon 24 inch iMac, you might be able to order it in the matching color from the apple store location you originally bought it from, by asking for a manager and explaining the situation in person, but availability maybe sparse to non-existent, also of note is there is no official policy of allowing this, you have to have luck with the apple genius/specialist to get it.

charlesn · August 3, 2021 3:00PM

Touch ID on other Apple products has never worked well/consistently for me--though it's not an Apple issue as I've had difficulty with other fingerprint reading technology. So I had misgivings about the Touch ID keyboard with my iMac 24, but I'm happy (and surprised!) to say it has worked flawlessly. Not one miss. It's a real game changer to have a single key touch work for logins, passwords, Apple Pay, etc.

jdb8167 · August 3, 2021 3:01PM

Insta-buy. I use my M1 MacBook Air mostly in clamshell mode at my desk. Having the Touch ID available is going to be a huge time saver. But wow, nearly $200 (after taxes) for the extended version with the usable cursor keys layout. Comes Thursday.

blastdoor · August 3, 2021 3:32PM

pulseimages said:

I was excited until I read the Touch ID doesn’t work on Intel Macs.

I had a sliver of hope, but was not surprised to find it quickly dashed.

If an Apple Watch can unlock an Intel Mac then I don't see why the touchid keyboard can't. They could put a 'Secure Enclave' in the keyboard if they wanted. But I can understand why they prefer this feature be exclusive to ASi Macs.

Kind of funny that Mac Pro users have to miss out on this feature. Given the price they pay, I'd think they deserve this perk.

TheObannonFile · August 3, 2021 4:00PM

I totally understand M1 and Macs with no ASi of any kind. But I was hoping the T2 (and T1) would end up with support for it. I’ve got the 16” MBP, 27” LG UltraFine, and use mostly in clamshell mode at my desk with Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad.

I was really hoping they wouldn’t leave 16”
MBP users (and all T1 and T2 users) out, since we have the best they can offer at the moment, which isn’t ASi currently.

I do understand the clean line in the sand though. ASi support only. I was just hoping to be the only gray area that ended up benefitting.

mpw_amherst · August 3, 2021 4:28PM

daveflash said:

mpw_amherst said:

Had hoped to get a magic track pad after sale for my 24" iMac but seems a shame to ruin the aesthetic with silver when the rest if blue.

if you already own an Apple Silicon 24 inch iMac, you might be able to order it in the matching color from the apple store location you originally bought it from, by asking for a manager and explaining the situation in person, but availability maybe sparse to non-existent, also of note is there is no official policy of allowing this, you have to have luck with the apple genius/specialist to get it.

I got it from the Apple Online Store so presume, sadly, a no go?

jib · August 3, 2021 4:46PM

mpw_amherst said:

daveflash said:

mpw_amherst said:

Had hoped to get a magic track pad after sale for my 24" iMac but seems a shame to ruin the aesthetic with silver when the rest if blue.

if you already own an Apple Silicon 24 inch iMac, you might be able to order it in the matching color from the apple store location you originally bought it from, by asking for a manager and explaining the situation in person, but availability maybe sparse to non-existent, also of note is there is no official policy of allowing this, you have to have luck with the apple genius/specialist to get it.

I got it from the Apple Online Store so presume, sadly, a no go?

You might have luck (or not) through Apple Customer Relations. When I got my iMac Pro, I got it from an authorized Apple dealer (at a $1000 discount!), but there were no models with space grey Magic Trackpad, and Apple wasn't selling Space Grey accessories separately at the time. I sent an email to Phil Schiller, and one of his assistants contacted me and helped arrange buying it as a replacement service part. I really appreciated it. Three or four months later Apple started selling them separately.

Good luck!

KeepUserTestingApple · August 3, 2021 5:30PM

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

nicholfd · August 3, 2021 6:16PM

KeepUserTestingApple said:

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

So a $10 USD UCB-C -> USB-A 4-6 port hub from Amazon is expensive?

MplsP · August 3, 2021 6:27PM

nicholfd said:

KeepUserTestingApple said:

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

So a $10 USD UCB-C -> USB-A 4-6 port hub from Amazon is expensive?

not terribly expensive, but it shouldn't be necessary on a desktop machine, either

MplsP · August 3, 2021 6:28PM

What I want to know is if you can actually charge the mouse while using it or if they persisted with the same, moronic design putting the lightning jack on the bottom

nicholfd · August 3, 2021 6:29PM

MplsP said:

nicholfd said:

KeepUserTestingApple said:

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

So a $10 USD UCB-C -> USB-A 4-6 port hub from Amazon is expensive?

not terribly expensive, but it shouldn't be necessary on a desktop machine, either

The poster I replied to was talking about a MBP.

crowley · August 3, 2021 7:11PM

nicholfd said:

KeepUserTestingApple said:

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

So a $10 USD UCB-C -> USB-A 4-6 port hub from Amazon is expensive?

If you want to use a $10 accessory, then a $10 extra accessory to make the first one work is relatively expensive.

mpw_amherst · August 3, 2021 8:15PM

jib said:

mpw_amherst said:

daveflash said:

mpw_amherst said:

Had hoped to get a magic track pad after sale for my 24" iMac but seems a shame to ruin the aesthetic with silver when the rest if blue.

if you already own an Apple Silicon 24 inch iMac, you might be able to order it in the matching color from the apple store location you originally bought it from, by asking for a manager and explaining the situation in person, but availability maybe sparse to non-existent, also of note is there is no official policy of allowing this, you have to have luck with the apple genius/specialist to get it.

I got it from the Apple Online Store so presume, sadly, a no go?

You might have luck (or not) through Apple Customer Relations. When I got my iMac Pro, I got it from an authorized Apple dealer (at a $1000 discount!), but there were no models with space grey Magic Trackpad, and Apple wasn't selling Space Grey accessories separately at the time. I sent an email to Phil Schiller, and one of his assistants contacted me and helped arrange buying it as a replacement service part. I really appreciated it. Three or four months later Apple started selling them separately.

Good luck!

Thanks so much - I'll give it a go!

neo-tech · August 3, 2021 9:35PM

pulseimages said:

I was excited until I read the Touch ID doesn’t work on Intel Macs.

Same.

I use my 2019 15" i9 in clamshell mode, and was looking forward to at least being able to unlock with Touch ID.

MplsP · August 3, 2021 10:27PM

nicholfd said:

MplsP said:

nicholfd said:

KeepUserTestingApple said:

I just finished buying a used wired Mac keyboard (A4213), the classic one with the two usb ports on either side, after buying a Magic keyboard for an M1 Macbook pro and then returning the keyboard. With its limited ports (2 usbC) the MBP is hard pressed to accommodate third party trackballs or mice without an expensive dongle, adaptor or hub. I don't understand why Apple makes it this to have a new apple keyboard and a third party trackball or mouse?! I understand the business model imperative but if you accept that Apple sells all sorts of third party products and supports the extended ecosystem then why do they make it this hard to use them? I've found using the MBP in an office configuration where I need to plug in lots of standard equipment (printer, better camera, mic, card reader, etc) not a lot of fun. Urg.

So a $10 USD UCB-C -> USB-A 4-6 port hub from Amazon is expensive?

not terribly expensive, but it shouldn't be necessary on a desktop machine, either

The poster I replied to was talking about a MBP.

Oops - sorry. I misread and thought he was talking about an imac

tmonline · August 4, 2021 12:59AM

“The Touch ID feature on the keyboard only works on Apple Silicon Macs. It has no functionality on Intel-based machines.”

Gotta hand it to them, apple puts a lot of effort in making a closed system. You have to spend more $ to make accessory work or you are legacy user to them.

New iMac Magic Keyboard with Touch ID available for individual sale

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