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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Mac News > New Magic Keyboard, Trackpad, and Mouse revealed in OS X 10.11.1 code

New Magic Keyboard, Trackpad, and Mouse revealed in OS X 10.11.1 code
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Oct 8, 2015, 12:33 PM
 
A discovery deep in the codebase of the latest OS X 10.11.1 beta has revealed that Apple is planning to refresh it's "Magic" line of peripherals, including a new Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, and trackpad that will now include integrated rechargeable batteries instead of using replaceable ones, and take advantage of Bluetooth Low Energy (4.0) to dramatically improve battery life. In addition, Apple may have added its "Force Touch" technology, which allows for simulated "deeper" clicks, to the trackpad and mouse.

Apple's Bluetooth wireless keyboard has not previously carried the "Magic" branding, but appears to have adopted it with the forthcoming update. The keyboard and mouse had previously been confirmed by a pair of FCC filings from August, but did not at the time include a new Magic Trackpad.

It's unclear if there will be any other changes to the keyboard beyond the integrated battery and Bluetooth LE compatibility, which will limit all three of the new devices to Macs made after 2012. It is possible, however, that Apple will adapt its recent "butterfly" key mechanism (as seen in the Retina MacBook), which offers more accurate keystrokes in a thinner design, as well as enhanced LED backlighting, to the new keyboard.



The new Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad, however, are expected to gain those benefits as well as Force Touch which changes the way traditional mouses and trackpads have worked. The technology replaces the actual physical "clicking" with a simulated feeling, produced by a small Taptic Engine embedded in the device, allowing it to be thinner. The inclusion of an integrated battery will likely also change the design somewhat as well. Force Touch also offers additional options beyond the normal "right click" contextual menus. It is possible the company will continue to rebrand Force Touch as 3D Touch with the latest peripherals, or retain the "Force Touch" name as it has with the Apple Watch and the 12-inch Retina MacBook.



As for when the new peripherals could be announced, they are expected in the very near future, possibly as early as next week. A rumored 4K Retina iMac is said to be debuting soon, and could include the new peripherals, or Apple may choose to launch the new line separately -- or in conjunction with some other refreshed product. There is no word on whether the changes to the devices will prompt any kind of pricing change, but it is not expected to do so.
     
a1a23696
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Oct 8, 2015, 01:29 PM
 
It would be "magic" for me if Apple decided to make a wireless keyboard with a number pad.

PLEASE Apple, PLEASE!!!
     
Charles Martin
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Oct 8, 2015, 05:33 PM
 
Never going to happen, sorry. The number of users who need such a thing (mostly data-entry clerks and accountants old enough to remember adding machines) is too small. The good news, though, is that there are a wealth of companies offering either matching add-on number pads, or full keyboards of their own with number pads ... no shortage of options. As for Apple, you might as well ask for a mouse that can click out text using Morse Code.*

*I'm SO patenting that idea.
Charles Martin
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cmdahler
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Oct 8, 2015, 11:15 PM
 
Er, no. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean it doesn't have any use. Otherwise Apple would have long since stopped making their wired keyboards with a numeric keypad and been done with the idea. I use a wired keyboard with my iMac at home for the very reason that it does have those extra keys and the extra room for the arrow keys, etc. It's ridiculous to imagine that having a numeric keypad on a wireless keyboard would be a prohibitive drain on batteries - it's just a dozen or so extra keys. The decision to keep different keyboard designs seems only useful to drive ancillary revenue from people who might purchase an iMac with one sort of keyboard and then might decide later to shell out a few dozen dollars for the other type later on.

I use my keypad on my wired keyboard all the time, anytime I need to type more than a couple of numbers in a row. I'm no accountant and couldn't tell you how to construct a spreadsheet to save my life. Numeric keypads are very useful even for non-accountants, and the only reason they're not still ubiquitous is simply because of space constraints on laptops, certainly not because such keypads aren't still relevant.
     
cmdahler
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Oct 8, 2015, 11:19 PM
 
...
     
Mike Wuerthele
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Oct 8, 2015, 11:36 PM
 
cmdahler, we didn't say we had no use for it. What we said is that the percentage of users that Apple is courting is so low, that they won't do it.

Plus, this snaps right on.

https://www.macnn.com/articles/14/12...numeric.entry/
     
Inkling
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Oct 9, 2015, 08:27 AM
 
All but the integrated battery sound good. When I'm on the go, I don't want my keyboard battery do die, leaving me unable to work. I want to be able to swap out the batteries.
Author of Untangling Tolkien and Chesterton on War and Peace
     
bobolicious
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Oct 9, 2015, 04:42 PM
 
...this would open my wallet...

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/23/apple-wireless-keyboard-backlit/
     
Charles Martin
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Oct 9, 2015, 07:16 PM
 
Inkling: have you considered that the integrated battery is likely to have more capacity than two AAs? And, independent of the battery (and as mentioned in the article) -- the use of Bluetooth 4.0 is likely to extend that battery life quite considerably.

To put this another way: the battery life on iPad keyboard cases (which have both integrated batteries and BT LE) lasts for MANY WEEKS of routine use. I have a couple of keyboard cases I use infrequently that I've owned for a year and I'm still on their first charge!
Charles Martin
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