- Apple Magic Keyboard Switch Between Devices Windows 10
- Apple Magic Keyboard Switch Between Devices Connected
- Apple Magic Keyboard Switch Between Devices Compatible
Also, since you can’t plug them into an iOS device, if you turn off the magic keyboard/trackpad/mouse, it will be open pairing for a few seconds when you turn it back on before it re-connects to the previous device. FWIW it's not like AirPods switch correctly every time, either. I still frequently have to manually disconnect on one device for.
Magic Keyboard describes three different Apple products, all with scissor-switch keys. It can refer to a Bluetooth keyboard accessory, the updated keyboard on the latest MacBooks, or a keyboard for the iPad Pro that makes Apple's tablet significantly more laptop-like.
● Uses scissor-switch mechanism
● Redesigned to replace the butterfly mechanism
● 1mm travel distance
● Apple-designed rubber dome with glass-filled nylon joints
● Redesigned to replace the butterfly mechanism
● 1mm travel distance
● Apple-designed rubber dome with glass-filled nylon joints
Apple uses the term Magic Keyboard to describe multiple products. These include a Bluetooth keyboard Apple makes for desktop Mac users, the company's latest MacBook keyboards, and a premium keyboard/trackpad accessory for the iPad Pro.
The defining feature they all share is an updated scissor-switch design that combines thinness, a short (1mm) travel distance, and stability.
The Apple Magic Keyboard (wireless iMac accessory) costs $99
This is a sleek, extended keyboard with a full numeric keypad. The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and can be connected to up to three devices simultaneously. The Satechi keyboard has a selector switch to quickly switch between your smartphone, tablet and computer, all without having to connect and disconnect. The Magic Keyboard is the current computer keyboard produced by Apple Inc. It was released alongside the Magic Mouse 2 and the Magic Trackpad 2 in October 2015. An extended layout version called the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad was released in June 2017. While the scissor switch has two crossing supports, the butterfly key has a hinge in the middle. In a weird way, Apple made a brilliant new laptop keyboard — it was thinner, sleeker,. This issue came up for me when I purchased an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. The reason I splurged on the $70 device was because I needed a keyboard for my aging Macbook (the spacebar had become unstable), and I wanted a keyboard for my iPad. When I got the keyboard home, that’s when things went a little weird.
Apple released the Magic Keyboard in October 2015. It's a sleek standalone keyboard accessory that connects to both Apple and non-Apple devices over Bluetooth. On its back is a Lightning port, used for charging and initial pairing.
Apple sells the keyboard primarily as a Mac desktop add-on: If you're using it with a Mac, all you have to do is plug the other end of the Lightning cable into a Mac's USB port, and the keyboard will pair automatically for wireless use. The keyboard will also pair with iPads, iPhones, and even Windows PCs or Android devices – virtually any device that can pair with a Bluetooth keyboard.
In addition to standard letters and numbers, the keyboard also has a row of function keys and arrow keys. The arrows have full-sized left and right buttons, differing from the inverted-T shape you'll find on the other two uses of the Magic Keyboard brand name.
While its predecessor (called the Apple Wireless Keyboard) used AA batteries, this latest model switched to an internal battery. By removing the battery compartment, Apple made the product thinner all-around. The thickest point on its wedge design is 0.43 inches.
This accessory marked the debut of Apple's modern take on the scissor-style key mechanism. Their travel distance (about 1mm) is shorter than that of Apple's pre-2015 (also scissored) keyboards.
Apple's desktop Mac keyboard was the first to use a scissor mechanism with a 1mm travel distance
The keyboard's small size makes it portable enough for sliding into a case or backpack. Since it charges via Lightning, iPhone owners on the go — perhaps using it to type on an iPhone or iPad — could charge it without packing an extra cable.
Unlike the other two versions of the Magic Keyboard, this standalone keyboard for Macs does not have backlit keys.
For those who work on lots of spreadsheets or other financial applications, Apple also offers an elongated and slightly more expensive Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. As its name suggests, it adds a number pad to the right of the standard configuration. Everything else is identical to its sibling.
Apple sells both the numeric and non-numeric Magic Keyboard accessories on their own, and the company also bundles the standard version with the iMac and iMac Pro. Apple sells the standard keyboard individually in the silver configuration pictured here. The company also offers a space gray model of the numeric-keypad keyboard for individual sale, along with a black-and-silver variant of the standard keyboard that's only bundled with the Mac Pro.
The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro turns the tablet into a laptop-like computer
After years of speculation, Apple added full cursor support to iPadOS in early 2020. The Apple hardware that brings these new laptop-like capabilities to life is the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and its built-in trackpad.
Like the two other uses of the Magic Keyboard branding, the iPad Pro's keyboard uses scissor-switch keys with a 1mm travel distance.
Though some users may nitpick about the lack of an escape key and function keys, the keyboard provides a typing experience that's much closer to typing on a current-gen MacBook than on the fabric-covered Apple Smart Keyboard.
This latest keyboard adds a glass trackpad that works with iPadOS' new multitouch trackpad gestures. Unlike recent (2015-present) MacBook trackpads, it doesn't incorporate haptics. Instead, it clicks physically. But rather than the diving-board-style trackpad hinges found on older MacBooks and non-Apple laptops (where you need to press harder to click on some areas), this iPad trackpad clicks evenly no matter where you press it.
Inside the glass trackpad is a single button with a lever system that clicks evenly anywhere you press
The keyboard accessory automatically connects to the iPad Pro through the tablet's Smart Connector. A magnetic mount holds the iPad in place, allowing users to quickly remove and reattach the tablet as they switch back-and-forth from tablet mode to laptop mode. The design of the hinge and mount create the visual effect of the iPad floating above the keyboard.
Like MacBooks, this iPad Pro accessory has backlit keys. You can adjust the brightness level within iPadOS' keyboard settings (General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard).
The accessory also adds an extra USB-C port. While this one won't connect to external accessories, you can charge the iPad and keyboard through it, leaving the iPad Pro's USB-C port open for something like a portable drive, camera, external display, or ethernet adapter.
Apple sells two separate models of its latest keyboard. The smaller version is compatible with the 11-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generations), while the larger model pairs with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd and 4th generations).
Magic Keyboard also refers to Apple's current keyboard in its MacBooks. It debuted in the 16-inch MacBook Pro in late 2019, followed by the updated MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro in early 2020.
To understand the significance of the current MacBook keyboard, you have to rewind to 2015, when Apple made a significant change to its notebooks. Starting in the first 12-inch MacBook, the company rolled out a keyboard with a new butterfly mechanism. At the time, Apple said it provided a 'much more precise' typing experience that was 'an amazing 40 percent thinner than a traditional keyboard scissor mechanism yet four times more stable, providing greater precision no matter where your finger strikes the key.'
But it didn't take long for the butterfly keyboard's hyped rollout to transform into consumer backlash.
An Apple slide showing an old scissor-switch mechanism (left) next to the now-infamous butterfly mechanism
Apple Magic Keyboard Switch Between Devices Windows 10
In striving for a short travel distance and quieter typing, Apple's butterfly design had flaws that sacrificed durability. User complaints flooded online forums — as well as Apple Genius Bars — about the butterfly keyboard's stuck or sticky keys, repeating characters, or keys that didn't work. In the 2018 MacBooks, the company added a membrane between the keys and the butterfly mechanism that helped to keep out dust and debris, which would gather under the keycaps and contribute to the problems. While this (along with an improved membrane in the 2019 models) improved the sticky-key problem to a degree, user complaints persisted.
In 2018, Apple attempted to put MacBook customers at ease by offering a repair program that covered MacBooks with butterfly keys for up to four years after retail purchase. Perhaps foreshadowing the end of the butterfly keyboard, Apple included in this program the MacBook models (dust membrane and all) the company had just announced.
That brings us back to 2019 when Apple debuted the Magic Keyboard built into the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Ditching the problematic butterfly mechanism, it switched to Apple's take on the classic scissor-switch design (virtually identical to the key mechanism in the standalone keyboard).
The scissor-switch keys on the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020)
Apple keys on pc keyboard. While the travel distance is a little thicker than that of the butterfly keyboard (from 0.7mm up to 1mm), the new MacBook keyboards are still thin enough to honor the sleek design that had inspired the initial shift to butterfly switches. It uses an 'Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press,' along with glass-filled nylon joints for stability.
Apple completed its phaseout of the butterfly keys when it released an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro in the spring of 2020, replacing the last of the remaining butterfly products in Apple's lineup. Today, you will find the Magic Keyboard with a scissor-switch mechanism in every MacBook Apple sells.
- Magic Keyboard (wireless iMac accessory) - $99
- Version with Numeric Keypad - $129
- Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (11-inch) - $299
- Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (12.9-inch) - $349
- MacBook Air - starting at $999
- 13-inch MacBook Pro - starting at $1,299
- 16-inch MacBook Pro - starting at $2,399
(Sponsored Post) By Conner Careyon Wed, 10/11/2017
You need a keyboard that can keep up with you. Apple may consider its keyboard magic, but it clearly hasn’t seen Matias’ Wireless Backlit Keyboard. This aluminum keyboard includes a full-sized numeric pad, two separate batteries for powering the keyboard and backlight, the ability to pair with four different devices and easily switch between them, and much more. This is wireless done right at a fantastic price. I use this very keyboard in my office every day; it’s a seamlessly smooth typing experience with more functional keys than I’ve ever had. Check out all of the features that make this keyboard the best below.
This video is an excerpt from the iPhone Life Podcast.
The biggest selling point of the Matias Wireless Backlit Keyboard for me was the brilliance of including two separate batteries. The Matias keyboard is designed to last a full year on a single charge, which is why it has a huge battery at 1600mAh. Apple’s ‘magic’ keyboard only lasts a month! But backlighting can eat up the best of batteries; so Matias decided to include a second battery dedicated to powering the keys' backlighting. The second battery is 1400mAh on its own and will last up to two weeks with consistent night-time use.
That’s amazing! Especially since the keyboard will continue to work just fine even if the backlight battery needs to be charged. You can also adjust the brightness level to your preferences or to make the backlight battery last a little longer.
My personal favorite feature of the Matias Wireless Backlit Keyboard is the ability to pair the keyboard with four different devices. But instead of having to open the Bluetooth menu and go through the whole pairing process each time I want to switch devices, there’s a button right on the keyboard that I can press to quickly switch without interrupting my workflow whatsoever.
This keyboard is designed for use with your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, which means it has all of the Mac-friendly function keys you need. Another great feature is the keyboard’s ability to be always on and connected, just like a wired keyboard. It’s really nice to wake up by my computer and immediately get to work without needing to think about powering up the keyboard and connecting it to my computer. It just works.
Apple Magic Keyboard Switch Between Devices Connected
The Matias Wireless Backlit Keyboard is available in Silver and Space Gray. It’s also available in various different keyboard layouts for languages around the world, including German, French, Japanese, and more. Having used this very keyboard for the past couple months, I highly recommend it. From the stellar battery life to the fantastic features that make it stand out from the crowd, the Matias Wireless Backlit Keyboard raises the bar for all other keyboard manufacturers. Get one today.