What brought me to buying an Apple Magic Keyboard? Recently, my Logitech wireless keyboard for my MacBook Pro started having issues. It’s an odd experience when there is up to a 10 second lag between when you hit a key and the character actually showing up on your computer screen. And by ‘odd’ I mean very frustrating. LOL!
So, after doing a bit of troubleshooting, it became apparent that the issue was largely with the keyboard, rather than the Mac. That was good news, since replacing an external keyboard is a lot easier (and less expensive) than buying a new laptop. However, it did kick off a bit of a search for a new keyboard.
Why Not use the Mac’s Built-in Keyboard?
For a lot of people, the built-in keyboard for the MacBook Pro is great. I sometimes envy those people. For me, there are two common issues when I type with the internal keyboard.
1 - The keyboard is smaller than a full-size keyboard and my hands are a bit larger than average. So, the keyboard feels very cramped to me. I also like having a full number pad on my keyboard, and obviously, that isn’t an option on the internal keyboard.
2 - I tend to rest my wrists on the desk or wristpad on an external keyboard. So, when I type on a laptop’s internal keyboard, I invariably rest one wrist or the other on the touchpad. On my first laptop, this was a huge frustration as the touchpad was very sensitive and my cursor would bounce all over the screen when I mistakenly grazed the touchpad. The MacBook Pro doesn’t have quite this issue, but I still find myself moving the cursor inadvertently now and again.
With these two issues, an external keyboard is the best solution.
Full-size Keyboard Options
The solar-powered Logitech keyboard I had been using for a couple of years was pretty solid. Until recently, it had only very rare issues. But, I was a little concerned that even with a brand new one, I might still run into issues with keystroke lag, if the issue is somehow related to the laptop itself and how it interacts with the wireless USB for the keyboard.
So, I decided to give an Apple product a try, since it should mesh with the MacBook Pro better than any non-Apple keyboard. After a bit of looking, that led me to the Magic Keyboard.
Apple’s Magic Keyboard
Apple rolled out the larger version of its Magic Keyboard in 2017, with that aforementioned numeric keypad. They’ve made a few modifications since, but the version available in 2021 is largely the same.
Magic Keyboard Pros
- It pairs very easily with your MacBook Pro. Initially, you plug it into a USB port (which ironically may require you to have an external USB hub since most MacBooks stopped including internal USB ports back in 2017. However, once you gt past this little hurdle it pairs easily and will now be connected to your MacBook by Bluetooth.
- The keyboard feel is pretty similar to the MacBook Pro itself. Definitely not a mechanical keyboard with that traditional feel (which I happen to use on my PC), but still responsive and comfortable for typing long documents.
- Apple suggests the Magic Keyboard can last a month on a charge. Since I’m only a few days in, I will have to come back to that one after using it for a month. If that’s accurate, it’s solid battery life.
Magic Keyboard Cons
- I was a bit surprised to learn that the Magic Keyboard doesn’t have any extendable legs to tilt the keyboard. It is designed to lay flat on a desk, but I’m used to having a bit of a tilt. So far, I haven’t noticed any real drawbacks with the flat setup, but I’m prepared to add some little rubber bumpers to the top edge of the keyboard if I notice it becomes uncomfortable to type after a while. It would be a nice feature to have it included.
- The month battery life is perfectly acceptable, but compared to my previously solar-powered Logitech, it’s still a step down.
- While it is a full-sized keyboard, it still is just a bit smaller than many other external keyboards. I do prefer a bit of extra room, so we’ll see if this becomes an annoyance going forward.
The Verdict - so Far…
So far, I think I would prefer my old keyboard was still working. However, if I needed to make a switch, Apple's Magic Keyboard seems to be a solid option. It pairs easily with the MacBook Pro and so far has zero keystroke lag.
