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Still perplexed why Apple keyboards are not backlit.
- Thread starter satchmo
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There has never been a space grey keyboard without a numpad, the iMac Pro was only ever delivered with the large keyboard.
Look at the MX Keys, thought. That keyboard turns on the backlight when your hands come close. It's cool, and it saves battery life. I use mine all day and probably only charge it every month or so.
I keep thinking about slapping some Strontium Aluminate on my keyboard.
Simple glow in the dark would likely be adequate for my purposes.
(I wouldn't actually do it as I don't think it would last physically on keytops. And might look a complete mess.)
Simple glow in the dark would likely be adequate for my purposes.
(I wouldn't actually do it as I don't think it would last physically on keytops. And might look a complete mess.)
Let me get this right.
People don’t like the touchbar on the MBP because it means they have to look down at it.
But people also want backlit keys so you can see them?
People don’t like the touchbar on the MBP because it means they have to look down at it.
But people also want backlit keys so you can see them?
It is not just about the numpad, I could live without that too. But on small-keyboard I miss having real sized ctrl-keys in both side and separate buttons for delete, home, end, page up and page down instead of using fn-key.
I bought a space grey magic keyboard before they vanish (hard time finding one, with the right layout). Must say I love coming back to a full-size keyboard again and amazed how home I feel right away, after having used smaller cramped macbook styled keyboards for years. It has giving my old 2009 iMac new life and hardly use my M1 MBA at the moment, I love typing on this keyboard :-D.
Same here! Man do I wish there was a full-size keyboard just like this, with the arrow, page and fn keys, but without the numpad. (And backlight, of course.)
Yeah, wish the keyboards were back lighted. But this is a big opportunity for 3rd-parties, and that’s what I’ve done. Turns out the 3rd-party boards are better typing experiences as well.
Honestly, I can't think of anything I would want less than a backlit keyboard. Wait no, that's not true. A Touch Bar. I want a Touch Bar much less than anything else in the world. I guess the backlit keyboard is a distant second then.
I wouldn't mind it if there was a way to permanently disable the backlight. Like an actual hardware switch. However, knowing Apple there would be no way to to so because it has to "magically just work" and be as foolproof as possible. Or it would re-enable after every reboot, or macOS update, or every third Wednesday. My current Magic Keyboard with Numpad requires a charge every 40 days or so. If I had to plug it in every other week for something as pointless as a keyboard backlight that alone would be a major turnoff for me.
Everyone is different I guess 🤷♂️
I wouldn't mind it if there was a way to permanently disable the backlight. Like an actual hardware switch. However, knowing Apple there would be no way to to so because it has to "magically just work" and be as foolproof as possible. Or it would re-enable after every reboot, or macOS update, or every third Wednesday. My current Magic Keyboard with Numpad requires a charge every 40 days or so. If I had to plug it in every other week for something as pointless as a keyboard backlight that alone would be a major turnoff for me.
Everyone is different I guess 🤷♂️
In this case, we do know Apple, and do not have to guess.
Just look at any MacBook. There are keys right at the top of the keyboard that allow you to choose the brightness, all the way down to “off”. Once set it doesn’t light up again unless you ask it to do so.
Unfortunately, that's not entirely true. For one, the MacBook Air M1 doesn't have those keys at the top anymore. They have been replaced with dedicated Dicate and DnD buttons, and there is no reason to believe they wouldn't do the same on their desktop keyboards. Instead, you now have to open Control Center, select Keyboard Brightness, and then adjust the brightness using a slider. Also, Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pros haven't had these buttons for many years. I've never had a Touch Bar-equipped laptop so I cannot comment on how you disable the backlight on one of those but my guess would be via Control Center as well. And to add insult to injury this setting reverts every time you reboot the computer. It has been like that for years, and must certainly at this point be considered a feature and no longer a bug.
TLDR: Yes, you can disable it. No, it's not permanent.
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Wow, I guess I zoned out a bit regarding Mac laptops after 2015, and need to take all that back.
This is an absolutely terrible development, I use the keyboard brightness controls constantly.