Apple Apple Keyboard (M0116) vs Apple Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

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Apple Keyboard (M0116) compared with Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

	AppleApple Keyboard (M0116)	AppleMacintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)
Overview
Released
Released	1987	January 1986
Typing
Layout
Layout	Full size	Full size
Switches
Switches	Mechanical	Mechanical
Backlight
Backlight	None	None
Keys labelled for
Keys labelled for	Mac	Mac
Switches
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.	Apple's Technical Procedures identifies Alps and Mitsumi mechanical switch versions of the Macintosh Plus keyboard, with their own boards and non-interchangeable replacement switches. Deskthority's exact M0110A inspection also documents a Taiwan-made SMK switch variant; this is a production variant, not a separate keyboard generation. Caps Lock uses a mechanically locking switch.
Key travel
Key travel	Exact-model key travel and actuation force are not published in the recovered maker documents and remain omitted.	Exact-model key travel and actuation force were not recovered from the maker's published sources and remain omitted; figures from the earlier M0110 keyboard engineering specification are not transferred.
Keycaps
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.	Individual keycaps and country-specific legends; Apple's service parts list distinguishes beige and smoke-coloured keycap sets. Legend production differs between switch variants, as documented by Deskthority; a single construction is not asserted for every M0110A.
Layouts
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 original Macintosh Plus specification sheet lists 78 keys for the US layout, software-mapped keys and two-key rollover. International and Japanese layouts are production configurations; the illustrated primary photograph shows the US layout, with its large Return key and separate numeric keypad.
Special 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.	Built-in numeric keypad with Clear, arithmetic keys and Enter; four arrow keys, Command, Option and mechanically locking Caps Lock. No function row, Escape or Control keys. The keyboard's layout is distinct from later ADB models.
Connections and battery
Connects by
Connects by	Cable	Cable
Power
Power	Cable	Cable
Receiver
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 four-wire cable with modular RJ-11-type connectors carrying ground, clock, data and +5 V. Apple's shared hardware reference describes a synchronous serial interface with the computer initiating communication. This is not ADB or USB, and an ordinary telephone cord is not a substitute for the correctly wired keyboard cable.
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Powered over the ADB connection; no battery is required. A keyboard-only current requirement was not recovered and remains unpublished.	Powered through the +5 V keyboard cable; no battery is required. A keyboard-only maximum current is not established by the recovered sources.
Works with
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.	Apple's hardware reference explicitly states compatibility with the Macintosh Plus and the earlier Macintosh 128K, 512K and 512K enhanced keyboard ports. Modern computers need a separate suitable protocol converter. Application support for the added keys is distinct from electrical compatibility.
Software
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
Weight	1000 g (better)	1200 g
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	418 × 142 × 44.5 mm	395.4 × 146 × 65 mm
Size
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.	Apple's original press specification sheet gives width 395.4 mm, depth 146 mm, height 65 mm and weight 1.2 kg for the keyboard. Its later shared hardware reference rounds the width to 395 mm; the more precise original maker value is retained here.
Materials
Materials	Separate moulded enclosure, mechanical switch board and individual keycaps, visible in the original product photograph and specialist exact-model inspection.	Separate plastic top and bottom housing with individual mechanical switches and keycaps. Apple's service guide documents different switch boards and replacement housing parts rather than one uniform internal construction.
Colours
Colours	The recovered original maker product photograph is monochrome; an exact factory colour description was not recovered.	Beige and later platinum housing options are documented in Apple's service parts list. They are cosmetic configurations; the original press photograph is monochrome and does not establish a colour for the pictured unit.
In the box
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.	Detachable keyboard and connection cable supplied with the Macintosh Plus. January 1986 availability follows Macworld's historical timeline stating Apple released the Macintosh Plus that month; 16 January's introduction is not asserted as an exact first-sale day. An exact separate keyboard retail date was not recovered.