How would you change Apple's 'Magic' accessories for Mac?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Apple makes a series of accessories for the Mac that includes the Magic Keyboard and second editions of both the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse. They were last updated last year, the big new feature being built-in lithium-ion batteries and, for the keyboard and trackpad, new wedge-shaped designs. That meant they could be charged and re-charged over USB to Lightning cables all while sitting flush on your desk. Well, except for the Magic Mouse, whose old design prevented use while charging...

So, if Apple came to you and asked what you wanted to see from their Magic accessories in 2017, what would you tell them?

  1. Redesign the Magic Mouse so it can be used while charging.
  2. Add Force Touch and Force Click to Magic Mouse.
  3. Add Touch Bar and Touch ID to Magic Keyboard.
  4. Split/ergonomic version for Magic Keyboard.
  5. Retro deep travel clickety-clackity version of Magic Keyboard.
  6. Magic Number Pad (or extended option) for Magic Keyboard.
  7. Space Gray option on all Magic accessories.
  8. Ahem. Black, jet black, gold, and rose gold options on all Magic accessories.
  9. Switch from Lightning to USB-C connectors on all Magic accessories.
  10. Extra USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 connector for daisy chaining additional accessories.

Those are just a few ideas — what are yours? What would you like to see in the next generation of Apple Magic accessories for Mac? (And, of course, the next generation of iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro that go with them!)

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Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

21 Comments
  • Touch Bar would be nice for desktop iMac users or for those who tend to dock their MacBooks, but looking at Apple's obscene prices lately, we'd probably need to pay $400 (plus extra for the required dongle) for it.
  • Sorry, I meant Touch Bar with a Magic Keyboard.
  • Wireless charging would be nice. I use the Mobee battery pack for my Magic Mouse
  • Ability to use the Apple Pencil with the trackpad.
  • Full size keyboard + touchbar. Don't mind if it's wired.
  • I would like to see a backlit keyboard with black keys.. Touchbar, touchID and number pad.
  • Yes, backlit keys!
  • There are certainly enough ergonomic and retro variants out there. Apple should concentrate on making peripherals that allow for a unified experience when swapping between laptops and desktops (or laptops used in clamshell mode). Bringing Touch Bar and hopefully backlighting to the keyboard are obvious desires, not sure if there is a safe way to bring Touch ID to an external keyboard without giving it an own SoC and pricing it through the roof. Otherwise, just use the same switches and layout and I am fine. Not interested in a number pad myself, puts to much distance between the keyboard and trackpad. Black keys would be a good idea, the white ones look shabby within a few weeks. The external Trackpad is fine as it is, and I can't comment on the mouse (haven't used one since the first external Trackpad came out), I just remember that all Apple mice were terrible, and doing gestures on a small moving surface sounds like torture to me (haven't tried it though).
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID on the keyboard – but please don't put in the laptop keyswitches: the keyboard is more than low travel enough already. Offer a trackpad that is totally touch bar: put a screen on it, settable like the touch bar.
  • I keep hearing people say they want Touch bar on Bluetooth wireless Mac keyboard, ad i keep telling them it would undermine the "reason to go to Apple" Since its a blue-tooth keyboard, which can also be used with any Bluetooth even in Windows, while the touch bar could in 'theory' be useless until someone gets it to work, u'r still using an Apple product on a Windows machine... It's like saying whatever u make for Apple, Windows should also have it...... Why ? Apple's an closed system..... There are devices that work, but that's Apple's decision,,, They didn't have to. but they want to because 'customer demand' and all
  • How has w1 chip from the AirPods not come up. That would be a huge selling point to me. Easy to connect and swap different devices with ease. Sent from the iMore App
  • I'd like to see everything simplified into 2 mouse/trackpad inputs. Then just have on-screen pallets for the new mouse input. This is better than the Touch bar because the pallet doesn't have to be a strip. Imagine having a pallet shaped like an actual painter's pallet where moving your pallet selection between any 2, 3, or 4 colours on your pallet will blend them. When you find a blend you really like, you can secondary click to make a swatch that you can move around on your pallet or just leave where it is as a larger target for your sweet spot colour. 2 mice inputs is the way to go. Having the pallets on the screen also helps with keeping your attention on what your doing with your painting hand while adjusting the colours with your secondary hand. You could also use the two mice / trackpads to do iPadish things like turn pictures with your 2 fingers.
  • TouchBar in the Magic Keyboard 3 for sure. But really the most welcome addition would be greater flexibility in assigning commands to the hardware inputs they've made available. ForceTouch and the Magic Trackpad are nice input tools, but they offer very little in the way of advanced UI options without an add-on such as BetterTouchTool.
  • I'll take an extended magic keyboard in space gray that charges over USB-C and connects with the W-1 chip. Sent from the iMore App
  • Return to user changable batteries.
  • Price. Lower. Period. End of story.
  • Like what Apple is doing with its router business, they should just get out of the peripherals business. Apple's keyboard and mice stink. They are terrible devices. Just quit making them. Bundle a third-party keyboard and mouse with each new Mac.
  • I really like their routers and have installed multiple linked units for clients who love them.
  • General
    -W1-chip-like connectivity
    -USB-C connectivity Magic Mouse
    -New design that's more ergonomic and allows for charging while using
    -ForceTouch Magic Keyboard
    -TouchBar
    -TouchID
    -Backlit keys
    -Keypad extension As for colors, Apple really needs to settle on standard colors for all their products so I don't buy a Space Grey keyboard this year only to have it superseded by a Black keyboard next year.
  • I would like to be able to clip the keyboard and trackpad together to make a unit to use on my lap: my Mac Mini is connected to my TV and I frequently use it from my armchair. I have the TwelveSouth clip on the older keyboard and trackpad.
  • 1. Ergonomic normal rounded mouse.
    2. Keyboard keys with lots of travel. (virtually mechanical). Not holding my breath with Apple doing either or anything for me.