Apple Wireless Keyboard vs current Magic Keyboard

[esbardu]

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a new old stock Magic Keyboard from a 2009 iMac. I had been using these keyboards for years but these last years I only had newer apple keyboards.

I still like a lot the keys from the old keyboards, I think that they are definitely better for our hands' health, only thing that I find annoying is that this "old" keyboard makes a lot of noise hitting agains the table, I have tested it on two different desks and the result is the same. I type way faster in this keyboard and also need to hit harder the keys so this could be a reason but it seems as if it was "missaligned".

I guess that many of you are sill using the old two batteries keyboard, even some refusing to updgrade keyboard even when buying a new Mac, so I would love to read your opinions on this topic.

 

[xraydoc]

Only way to go IMHO is full custom mechanical.

Being half factious as I know most people don’t need/want such an endeavor. But for those of you who type constantly, custom is the holy grail.

 

[theluggage]

I guess that many of you are sill using the old two batteries keyboard, even some refusing to updgrade keyboard even when buying a new Mac, so I would love to read your opinions on this topic.

I'm still using an Apple wired aluminium extended keyboard A1243... Never seen the problem with a wired keyboard on a desktop system unless you want it for a media centre or something, and it's got a USB hub where my mouse dongle sits out of site (again, more reliable than bluetooth).

Best. (low profile) Keyboard. Ever. (OK, I'm not comparing it with full-travel mechanicals).

(wireless is for when there's a good reason not to use a wire)

I'm now on my spare one - but even that's now had years of use & the previous one only died because an unintended game of desktop Jenga dumped a cup of tea on it. It's a bit grubby (have to have a session with a q-tip and IPA sometime) and some of the legends are starting to wear off, but it's still working perfectly after years of daily pounding.

When I got an iMac in 2017 I paid extra for the extended Tragic Keyboard and... well, at least it's not butterfly but it is a real downgrade. Shorter travel, bigger, more plastic-y keys, too flat, ...even though I used it for a few months I was still making mistakes on it and finding it uncomfortable. Also, although it's only had maybe 6 months of use, the key labels are in a worse state than the original A1243 after a decade or so of daily use. It has also developed the characteristic "bend" in the middle so it's now swiveling around because the feet barely touch the desk... again after only a few months of actual use.

It was the A1243 that sold me on "chiclet/island" keyboards, and the Tragic Keyboard that unsold me - when the current A1243 wears out I'll probably splurge on a decent mechanical one.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

Feel free to skip this post if you're only interested in Apple keyboards.

I used a Logitech K750 solar wireless keyboard from 2015 until late 2025, and it was great. I liked the idea of ambient light charging, and there was enough light in my home office that it was always charged. I replaced the internal coin cell battery once, in 2020.

Last year I felt it was time for a new keyboard. Charging was still fine, but some of the keys were starting to either double-key or not key the first time they were pressed.

I considered the new Logitech "Signature Slim Solar+ for Mac wireless keyboard K980" as the obvious next generation, as well as the Apple "Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad". Advantage Apple: TouchID, which none of the third parties have. Advantage Logitech: Solar charging, and never having to plug it in.

Around this time, my company began buying wired mechanical keyboards for new lab PCs. I liked the mechanical feel, so instead of either of the two I mentioned above, I got a Logitech MX Mechanical with the "tactile quiet" switch option (I think they're called "brown" switches by some vendors).

So far I really like it! It has to be plugged in to charge (USB-C), but it's still usable when charging. I charged it fully when I got it about two months ago, and right now macOS is showing it about 75% charged, so that's not too bad.

My only gripe with Logitech is that, in order to use the Logi Options+ software, you have to create an account with Logitech. I don't see any technical reason why I need to log into a remote account to configure a local keyboard, but they're not the only ones who do that these days. So I didn't install Options+, and that's fine for me since I just need a keyboard and it works great for that out of the box.

 

[esbardu]

I use a couple of K380 for my PCs, not the same quality as the ones mentioned here but I have 2 A2450, didn't want to spend a lot in more keyboards. Thanks for the recommendations.
There's something about the A1314 that feels superior to current Apple keyboards, I even prefered the typing feeling in the Logitech K380, with the magic keyboards sometimes it feels like typing against the desk.