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Kind of a bummer.

More importantly, do we know what else, if anything, that button does? Is it the power/wake button?

During the presentation they showed the non-touchID keyboard having a lock button in that spot, my guess is it doubles as that. Right now if you hit cmd+opt+eject it locks, less steps and the eject is useless now.
 
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To me, the base model of iMac appears to be best suited to hot-desking businesses and/or education given where the economies have been made. TouchID really doesn't make a lot of sense in some settings.
While that makes sense, the old Apple probably would have given the option at no expense, like they do with the numeric keyboard. That way the default is the same keyboard as every other model so that Apple is championing its security, unless for use case reasons you did not want Touch ID.

I would add though, if those same education/ business customers want Ethernet, Apple hits them up for an extra USD$30 plus tax.
 
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I just read the base iMac doesn’t come with the Touch ID keyboard. Cheap

Please, let us never forget that Tim Cook is a bean counter still desperately trying to be one of the cool kids like Steve Jobs.

So NO SOUP FOR YOU! No TOUCH ID keyboard for you!

Has Tim Cook ever once pulled off a wowing "But one more thing" event?
 
Of course it doesn’t. They need you to buy the Magic Keyboard. 😜 In all seriousness I would like to hear Apple’s reasoning behind this. Probably the same logical response behind not putting the U1 chip in the new Apple remote.
Almost certainly it's very different underpinnings in the OS. Truthfully though, the frustration here about this problem seems very... manufactured and strained. Nobody bitches that the Magic Keyboard doesn't have a TouchID button, because the iPad Pro does a pretty nice job of facial recognition — except when it decides you need to type your ID. And it wasn't going to let you do TouchID instead when it was telling you it's time for the typed password.
 
How strange, I wonder if it’s a software issue.
Using your aWatch to unlock a mac requires that the mac know you are "close enough" to the mac.
This is done by using a feature of the wifi spec called 802.11v
This is a rather specialized feature that's available on some 802.11ac chipsets, and one which Apple is using in a somewhat unorthodox way.

It may be (I don't know) that
- the WiFi mobile chipsets used in iPad and iPhone don't support 802.11v in precisely the way Apple needs for this ranging/time of flight feature to work?
- the TouchID setup built into the keyboards uses essentially the same technology and same setup as Apple Watch to exchange authentication info with the Mac, meaning is uses the same scheme for checking that the keyboard is close enough (because, after all, why not reuse as much of a known-functional solution as possible?)
 
Just remembering the good old days when Jobs insisted that everything interoperate, except for very limited product transitions. Now it is such a hodgepodge that you have to be in Mensa to understand what works with what.
Jobs has been dead for a long time now, but his shadow still looms large. This little thing, and it is a little thing, reminds me of something Jobs said not long after his return in the nineties. i can’t remember it exactly, so I will paraphrase:
Apple used to make money so it could make great computers. Somewhere along the way it started making great computers so it could make money. The difference is subtle, but it turns out it is everything.
 
Just remembering the good old days when Jobs insisted that everything interoperate, except for very limited product transitions. Now it is such a hodgepodge that you have to be in Mensa to understand what works with what.
Of course it doesn’t. They need you to buy the Magic Keyboard. 😜 In all seriousness I would like to hear Apple’s reasoning behind this. Probably the same logical response behind not putting the U1 chip in the new Apple remote.
Maybe because the IPad Pro has its own enclave and it is programmed to work with faceid
 
USB-C vs Lightning,
U1 vs Apple TV remote,
now TouchId vs iPad Pro ...

Hello environment fragmentation, so long environment integrity.
 
During the presentation they showed the non-touchID keyboard having a lock button in that spot, my guess is it doubles as that. Right now if you hit cmd+opt+eject it locks, less steps and the eject is useless now.
Yeah that was my first guess too. I’m just wondering if people will end up accidentally locking the computer when they try to authorise something!
 
This is a perfect example of how Apple still hasn’t quite figured out how they want to combine technologies across their various platforms.
 
I still don’t get why they don’t put FaceID into Mac? I’m sitting in front of the computer anyways. Would be a lot easier.
 
To me, the base model of iMac appears to be best suited to hot-desking businesses and/or education given where the economies have been made. TouchID really doesn't make a lot of sense in some settings.
For hot desking it makes even more sense. As if we can believe the presentation the user profile switches automatically with the touch of touch id. And $50 upgrade pays out fast if you don’t lose time entering passwords
 
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How strange, I wonder if it’s a software issue.
Most likely. iOS has a secure enclave rule that pairing new biometrics hardware (such as for repair) requires a factory reset/wipe.

They have obviously been working on revising some of the security rules since iPhones can now be unlocked via the Watch - I suspect broader changes in the upcoming major release.
 
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well the iPad has Face-ID so it is not such a big deal. Would be worthwhile if you used it on an external screen (like a desktop) - but that is a marginal scenario anyhow
 


While the Touch ID sensor on the new Magic Keyboard is compatible with all M1 Macs, including the new iMac and last fall's 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini, MacRumors has confirmed with Apple that the Touch ID sensor will not function with the new iPad Pro, even though it also has an M1 chip.

Touch-ID-Keyboard-Feature.jpg

The new Magic Keyboard can still be used with the iPad Pro and other devices, like Intel-based Macs, with the exception of Touch ID.

Apple will be offering three versions of the Magic Keyboard, including a standard version with Touch ID, a standard version without Touch ID, and an extended version with Touch ID and a numeric keypad. However, the new Magic Keyboard will only be available with the new iMac and not sold separately, at least initially, according to Apple.

Higher-end 24-inch iMacs will ship with the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID in the box at no additional charge, but it will be a $50 upgrade option for the base model.

Article Link: Touch ID on New Magic Keyboard Isn't Compatible With M1 iPad Pro


While the Touch ID sensor on the new Magic Keyboard is compatible with all M1 Macs, including the new iMac and last fall's 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini, MacRumors has confirmed with Apple that the Touch ID sensor will not function with the new iPad Pro, even though it also has an M1 chip.

Touch-ID-Keyboard-Feature.jpg

The new Magic Keyboard can still be used with the iPad Pro and other devices, like Intel-based Macs, with the exception of Touch ID.

Apple will be offering three versions of the Magic Keyboard, including a standard version with Touch ID, a standard version without Touch ID, and an extended version with Touch ID and a numeric keypad. However, the new Magic Keyboard will only be available with the new iMac and not sold separately, at least initially, according to Apple.

Higher-end 24-inch iMacs will ship with the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID in the box at no additional charge, but it will be a $50 upgrade option for the base model.

Article Link: Touch ID on New Magic Keyboard Isn't Compatible With M1 iPad Pro
Why should it work with iPad or iPad Pro? It was made for the iMac! A Rolls Royce's tires don't fit a mini either....WOW?
This is a bit of a non story.

For further sensational un news: a 36in. waist pair of jeans won't fit a 38in. waist recipient.

Its obvious that the keyboard won't work for Touch ID on other items if the iMac it was designed for is brand new with the technology and software to accommodate Touch ID that the others don't have.
 
don't worry. I'm not getting a new iPad Pro. I looked at the current pricing and almost fainted.
I'll keep my 2018 1TB iPad Pro and my first gen 1TB iPad Pro . I only use my iPads to hold large music collections a sort of oversized iPod.
There’s also still neither MacOS nor any Mac pro app ports for any of these new M1 iPads, so why even bother with all the new power and best display on any device?

The 1st gen edge-to-edge iPads Pro were already ready to be full computers (and still are), yet Apple “throttles” them with the countless limitations of MacOS and the lack of ports.

I’m not counting on Apple letting these new M1 iPads “run free” with a future update, so I won’t be upgrading either and don’t think anyone should get one unless they don’t own an iPad altogether.
 
Get the full expanded keyboard with number pad. That one has the traditional arrow keys.
I also don't really like expanded keyboards but maybe that is the answer--lots of wasted space for a number keypad I will never use. But I guess that might be the solution. No idea on price yet.
 
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