Magic Keyboard

The Magic Keyboard is a brand of computer keyboards produced by Apple Inc. It was first released alongside the Magic Mouse 2 and the Magic Trackpad 2 in October 2015 for the desktop Macintosh line. It has since expanded to cover keyboards for iPads and MacBooks.

Features
The first Magic Keyboard was similar to the preceding Apple Wireless Keyboard, but with a lower profile. Apple re-engineered the scissor mechanism to increase key stability by 33 percent and reduce key travel.

It has a sealed non-replaceable rechargeable Lithium-ion battery which is charged via a Lightning port on the rear of the keyboard. The rechargeable battery lasts one month between charges. It uses an ST Microelectronics STM32F103VB 72 MHz 32-bit RISC ARM Cortex-M3 processor and includes the Broadcom BCM20733 Enhanced Data Rate Bluetooth 3.0 Single-Chip Solution.

It is compatible with Macs running OS X El Capitan and later, iPhones and iPads running iOS 9 or later, and TVs running Apple TV Software 7.0 or tvOS 10 or later.

2017 updates
On June 5, 2017, the Magic Keyboard received a minor visual update with new Control and Option key symbols. Apple also released an extended layout version version called the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad to replace the wired Apple Keyboard which was discontinued that day. It is longer, and has an extended key layout with a numeric keypad and a different arrow key arrangement. A space gray Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad with black keys was bundled with the iMac Pro and later made available for standalone purchase. A version in a silver finish with black keys was bundled with the 2019 Mac Pro.

Apple also refers to the internal keyboards in MacBooks released after November 2019 as the Magic Keyboard, which uses an improved scissor-mechanism with slightly shallower keys, starting with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. A Touch ID sensor is included at the upper right, next to the Touch Bar.

2020 updates
The troubled "butterfly" keyboard of the 13-inch MacBook Pro was also replaced with the Magic Keyboard on May 4, 2020.



2021 updates
On April 20, 2021, Apple introduced new Apple M1-based iMacs in assorted color finishes, each with a matching Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. The Touch ID sensor was placed in the location of the eject key, and several function keys were modified. Users can optionally upgrade to a version with a matching numeric keypad, but these are not yet available separately. On standard Magic Keyboards without Touch ID, the eject button was replaced by a Lock Screen button.

iPad version
In March 2020 Apple announced a Magic Keyboard with integrated trackpad for 2018 and newer iPad Pros with trackpad support which connects through Smart Connector. It also supports the iPad Air released later that year.