It’s taken a couple of months, however Apple is now promoting the brand new, Contact ID-equipped model of its Magic Keyboard for anybody to purchase, beginning at $149 for the standard version and $179 for a full-sized model with a numpad, as spotted by MacRumors.
The Contact ID keyboard was launched alongside the M1 iMac earlier this year, however on the time, the one strategy to get one was to purchase a brand new laptop. Now, although, anybody can purchase one of many new keyboards, albeit with one key caveat: the standalone fashions are solely out there in Apple’s common white / aluminum shade scheme, as a substitute of the extra colourful fashions that include the brightly hued iMacs.
And for individuals who should have their equipment match, Apple can also be promoting the updated Magic Trackpad for $129, with the extra rounded corners that higher match the same curved keyboard corners.
Sadly, Apple hasn’t used the standalone launch as a possibility to modify to a extra standardized cable: each the keyboards and the trackpad nonetheless use Lightning ports to cost, and embrace a woven Lightning to USB-C cable.
As was the case with the Magic Keyboard mannequin that shipped with the M1 iMac, the standalone Contact ID keyboards nonetheless will solely allow you to use the biometric sensor with an M1 Mac — a listing that features Apple’s latest MacBook Air, MacBook Professional, Mac Mini, and iMac fashions.
That makes the newly out there standalone keyboard notably helpful for homeowners of the M1 Mac Mini, provided that it’s the one M1-based laptop that doesn’t embrace some type of Contact ID biometric safety out of the field.