Apple Apple Keyboard (M0116) vs Apple Apple Keyboard II
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleApple Keyboard (M0116) | AppleApple Keyboard II | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 1987 | 1990 |
| Typing | ||
| Layout | Full size | Full size |
| Switches | Mechanical | Membrane |
| Backlight | None | None |
| Keys labelled for | Mac | Mac |
| Touch ID | – | No |
| Switches | Mechanical Alps switches; Deskthority's exact-model inspection documents tactile SKCM Orange and Salmon production variants and a mechanically locking SKCL Caps Lock switch. Switch variants and language layouts are not separate hardware generations. | Deskthority documents Mitsumi rubber-over-membrane and SMK spring-over-membrane variants of model M0487. |
| Key travel | Exact-model key travel and actuation force are not published in the recovered maker documents and remain omitted. | – |
| Keycaps | Deskthority documents dye-sublimated PBT keycaps with an ABS space bar; these material identifications come from specialist inspection, not Apple's product sheet. The legends use Apple's bottom-left italic layout. | – |
| Layouts | Apple's March 1987 product sheet lists 81 keys, including the numeric pad and four cursor-control keys. The pictured US M0116 has a large Return key, Control to the left of A and Caps Lock at the lower-left corner. The related international M0118 layout moves these keys; it is a language-layout option, not a different generation. | Apple's M0487 specification lists 81 keys, including an 18-key numeric keypad and four cursor keys. |
| Special keys | Escape, Control, Command, Option, locking Caps Lock and a separate power key. The four arrow keys sit in one row below the right Shift key; there is no F-key row. Apple's hardware reference explicitly distinguishes this keyboard from the larger Apple Extended Keyboard. | Apple explains that Caps Lock and Control moved relative to the preceding M0116, while the space bar became longer. |
| Connections and battery | ||
| Connects by | Cable | Cable |
| Power | Cable | Cable |
| Receiver | Detachable Apple Desktop Bus cable and two bidirectional ADB ports; either port connects upstream, with the other able to connect a mouse or another compatible input device. ADB is different from both USB and the earlier Macintosh Plus keyboard's synchronous serial port. | Detachable 1 m Apple Desktop Bus cable; Deskthority identifies two bidirectional ADB ports. |
| Battery life detail | Powered over the ADB connection; no battery is required. A keyboard-only current requirement was not recovered and remains unpublished. | – |
| Works with | Apple's product sheet specifies any Apple personal computer with an ADB interface and names the Macintosh SE and Macintosh II. Modern computers require a suitable separate ADB converter; none is included here. | Any Apple computer with an ADB interface, according to Apple's specification; Apple says it shipped with the Macintosh Classic and LC. |
| Software | Apple's product sheet advertises a separately packaged remapping desk accessory for assigning menu commands or text strings to a key or combination; it is not listed among the keyboard's supplied items. | – |
| Design | ||
| Weight | 1000 g | 890 g (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 418 × 142 × 44.5 mm | 405 × 151 × 32.5 mm |
| Size | Apple's exact M0116 product sheet gives width 418 mm, depth 142 mm, height 44.5 mm and weight 1 kg. Third-party measurements of surviving examples are not substituted for the maker's figures. | – |
| Materials | Separate moulded enclosure, mechanical switch board and individual keycaps, visible in the original product photograph and specialist exact-model inspection. | Beige plastic housing with two rear tilt legs. |
| Colours | The recovered original maker product photograph is monochrome; an exact factory colour description was not recovered. | Beige. |
| In the box | Apple Keyboard and cable, referral card and limited warranty statement in Apple's M0116 order list; the computer and mouse are separate. Apple's March 1987 price list introduces the keyboard without a future availability note, while April 1987 University of Minnesota ordering information names the M0116 in available Macintosh SE configurations. An exact first-sale month or day is not established, so year precision is retained. | Apple's M0487LL/A packing list includes the keyboard, 1 m ADB cable, instruction sheet and warranty card. |
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