I'm actually curious what the main use case for these is. I never look at my keyboard. My MacBook Pro has a backlit keyboard, but I never turn on the backlight since it doesn't always turn off automatically, regardless of the settings (for instance, with Netflix or Amazon Prime video it seems to stay on forever)
I'm assuming most people here are home row touch typists - you have the orienting nubs on the F and the J like every other keyboard so you shouldn't need the backlight to get in the right position. Even if you never learned "proper" typing, I'm assuming anyone who spends a lot of time on a computer will at least have developed muscle memory for where all the keys are.
It is actually hard to explain as I only had a backlit keyboard for awhile. When I had Windows. It was a Logitech. I hated the keyboard itself (well not the keyboard itself but the key travel/feel, etc.), but fell in love with the backlit aspect. I work at night in a semi lit room and having the gentle light from the key really helped me.
I am as far from a touch typist as one can be. To me it seems like electric windows in a car. Any car one buys should have them. I think Apple could do a really great job on a keyboard of they really tried.
I just bought their now old, wireless keyboard. It really could use a split feature, and sculpted keys, like the Lenovo has.
As soon as one puts their hands on this keyboard, they are in an ergonomically incorrect position. As I get older, I am more sensitive to this.
Another observation, I guess Apple thinks no one will use their Numbers app. Because they took away the num pad. Good thing I am not an Excel jockey. Not with this keyboard, that is for sure. It seems a company of Apple's size should be able to have a well designed, backlit ergonomically correct keyboard that is full sized.
It is simply my intention to voice my opinion. Maybe someday someone at Apple will get smart and read this forum to see what people really want and then they will make it and sell it to us.
I am not trying to make this into the multi paged thread that was... well, almost any given thread in this forum, but I shall use the Mac mini minus the 4 cores as the example here. Even I was shocked at the hatred of Apple over that one. Ouch!
If I worked at Apple and read that thread I would have made them fix that mistake. And of course charged a few hundred more for the 4 cores so all parties would be happy
🙂
By far the best keyboard Apple has out now is the one on the rMB. And it is backlit! That thing is awesome! I would pay $200 for a full sized wireless version of that. $250 if it was split!