Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What year do you think Apple will release a new keyboard and mouse?

  • 2013

    Votes: 6 7.8%
  • 2014

    Votes: 15 19.5%
  • 2015

    Votes: 16 20.8%
  • 2016

    Votes: 11 14.3%
  • 2017

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • 2018

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2019

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • 2020

    Votes: 27 35.1%

  • Total voters
    77

iCaleb

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 26, 2010
343
0
USA
My guess is around 2016.

Solar powered?

Backlit keys?

Post your wish-list below regarding Apple's future mouse, keyboard, and trackpad. :)
 

iCaleb

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 26, 2010
343
0
USA
I agree that Apple is a bit slow at pushing out the latest and greatest.......Just look at a usb 3.0, but what happens when that rechargeable battery craps out on those logitech's?

Can you replace them?..........If not there both going to be junk in 3 years.
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
I'm optimistic enough to say maybe this year or the next.

I can touch type quite well, so backlit keys are of little use to me. What I would like to see is better battery life and lower latency, which could be provided through an implementation of BT Smart (aka 4.0 low energy) technology. Oh, and though I do seriously doubt Apple would ever do it, it'd be sweet if the trackpad had an optional pen so that it could be used as a small drawing tablet.
 

jamesjingyi

macrumors 6502a
Dec 20, 2011
841
144
UK
I want a new magic mouse... Aluminium pls to match with all the MacBooks and iMacs... They don't even make the white MacBook any more so why keep the white one... The magic trackpad is the right colour so why cant the mouse be that colour.....
 

Giuly

macrumors 68040
I'd suggest that Apple updates the Wireless Keyboard ASAP with Bluetooth 4.0. Not the design, but the technology inside. Any random Logitech keyboard runs six month or more on one pair of AAA batteries or even charges the battery via solar cells while typing, while Apple had to design their own charger to keep up with the power consumption.

Yes, waking up a Mac takes two seconds longer with those keyboards because they have to reconnect, but that's a small price to pay if your batteries last months longer. And Apple wouldn't be Apple if they couldn't find a way around that.

I want a new magic mouse... Aluminium pls to match with all the MacBooks and iMacs... They don't even make the white MacBook any more so why keep the white one... The magic trackpad is the right colour so why cant the mouse be that colour.....
I wouldn't look good, and the white color fits the keys on the keyboard.
 

glenthompson

macrumors demi-god
Apr 27, 2011
2,983
842
Virginia
I want wired with backlit keys. I get tired of replacing batteries in desktop devices. Bought my wife the Moshi Luna so she could have backlit keys on her iMac.
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
I'd suggest that Apple updates the Wireless Keyboard ASAP with Bluetooth 4.0. Not the design, but the technology inside. Any random Logitech keyboard runs six month or more on one pair of AAA batteries or even charges the battery via solar cells while typing, while Apple had to design their own charger to keep up with the power consumption.

Yes, waking up a Mac takes two seconds longer with those keyboards because they have to reconnect, but that's a small price to pay if your batteries last months longer. And Apple wouldn't be Apple if they couldn't find a way around that.
Actually BT 4.0 low energy reconnects much faster than conventional Bluetooth. In fact that's where most of the energy savings come from; it can immediately connect, send its information, and then disconnect again.
 

KylePowers

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2011
1,688
197
Would love, love, love a wireless keyboard with backlit keys for my iMac with bluetooth 4.0 :)
 

PatriotInvasion

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,643
1,048
Boston, MA
Backlit would be nice, but can't they sell one with a built in lithium battery that can be charged over USB and used as a wired keyboard like a PS3 controller?

Swapping our batteries seems so low-tech to me.
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
Backlit would be nice, but can't they sell one with a built in lithium battery that can be charged over USB and used as a wired keyboard like a PS3 controller?

Swapping our batteries seems so low-tech to me.

I much perferred swapping batteries myself. Since then you DON'T have to wire it up. Plus it gives the devices a much longer life span. (eg rechargeable batteries can only be charged so many times, and lithiums have the additional quirk of their total capacity declining over time)
 
Last edited:

PatriotInvasion

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,643
1,048
Boston, MA
I much perferred swapping batteries myself. Since then you DON'T have to wire it up. Plus it gives the devices a much longer life span. (eg rechargeable batteries can only be charged so many times, and lithiums have the additional quirk of their total capacity declining over time)

Fair enough. I'm sure that's why Apple chose the battery route. A wireless keyboard should be truly wireless in their mind.

I do think the keyboard is due for a facelift since we haven't seen white keys since the death of the white MacBook and even the MagSafe connectors are aluminum now.
 

iCaleb

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 26, 2010
343
0
USA
I do think the keyboard is due for a facelift since we haven't seen white keys since the death of the white MacBook and even the MagSafe connectors are aluminum now.

I ordered a black keyboard cover from amazon.

61k%2BbCjuh9L.jpg
 

theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
I am not too bothered because there are other manufacturers making much better peripherals than Apple has managed in recent times.

I use the following:

2 x Logitech Anywhere MX (one for home and one for office)
1 x Matias Quiet Pro
1 x Matias Tactile Pro

The typing experience on the Matias keyboard is wonderful. I am not sure why Apple can design a pretty good (relatively speaking) laptop keyboard, yet the desktop keyboard is horrible to use, especially when you consider that the Matias is actually based on an old Apple design.
 
Last edited:

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,346
12,461
It doesn't matter how long.

Apple hasn't released a decent keyboard or mouse since the "ADB days".

For peripherals, going third-party offers a much better choice (particularly regarding functionality) than does Apple.

I've been a Mac user since 1987, but I have little use for Apple peripherals since the advent of the "USB era". They are "all about form", and next-to-nothing about "function"...
 

RMo

macrumors 65816
Aug 7, 2007
1,254
281
Iowa, USA
I agree that Apple is a bit slow at pushing out the latest and greatest.......Just look at a usb 3.0, but what happens when that rechargeable battery craps out on those logitech's?

Can you replace them?..........If not there both going to be junk in 3 years.

1) Yes, you can replace the battery in the solar-powered keyboard with an ML2032, which is basically a rechargeable version of a CR2032.

2) No, you cannot replace the battery in the backlit keyboard.

Note that all I had to do to find this information out was go to the manufacturer's page and look. I didn't even have to find it, as the poster above provided links to their descriptions on Logitech's page. :)
 

Weerez935

macrumors regular
Dec 13, 2012
187
0
I'd kind of like a keyboard that was a display.
I know touch typing isn't as good as a regular keyboard but apples done a good job with it.

Or perhaps they could have real keys with a display surrounding them. Imagine having your dock, widgets, notifications right there on the keyboard where apps could be manipulated by touch, visible(making them more useful), without cluttering your desktop.
 

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2007
3,270
502
Helsinki, Finland
1) Yes, you can replace the battery in the solar-powered keyboard with an ML2032, which is basically a rechargeable version of a CR2032.

2) No, you cannot replace the battery in the backlit keyboard.
Pretty strange that you can change the battery of K750, but you can't change it with K760. I was interested of buying the latter one.

I wish that someone would start to manufacture rechargeable battery to apple's wireless keyboard that would have USB port for charging in the same place that apple's keyboard has a cap for batteries.
 
Last edited:

Oui

macrumors 6502
Nov 9, 2012
315
0
Why mess with it. The options now are great.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.