Apple Apple USB Keyboard (1998) vs Apple Magic Keyboard (USB-C)

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Apple USB Keyboard (1998) compared with Magic Keyboard (USB-C)

	AppleApple USB Keyboard (1998)	AppleMagic Keyboard (USB-C)
Overview
Released
Released	August 1998	October 2024
Typing
Layout
Layout	Full size	Compact
Switches
Switches	Membrane	Scissor
Backlight
Backlight	None	None
Keys labelled for
Keys labelled for	Mac	Mac
Touch ID
Touch ID	No	No
Switches
Switches	Rubber dome over membrane, identified by Deskthority.	–
Layouts
Layouts	Apple documented ANSI, ISO and JIS variants. The photographed Bondi Blue example has an ISO layout.	Arabic, British English, Chinese (Pinyin), Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, International English, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swiss, Swedish, Turkish Q, Ukrainian, US English (UK store)
Special keys
Special keys	Apple documented 82 keys, including 12 function keys, a numeric keypad and four inverted-T arrow keys; a power key could turn on the iMac.	Lock key (a quick press locks the Mac); function keys for display brightness, Mission Control, Spotlight, Dictation/Siri, Do Not Disturb, media playback, mute and volume; fn/Globe key for switching keyboards or showing emoji
Connections and battery
Connects by
Connects by	Cable	Bluetooth
Devices it switches between
Devices it switches between	–	1
Power
Power	Cable	Rechargeable
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	–	About a month or more between charges in Apple's tests with an M4 iMac; sleeps when not in use
Charging
Charging	–	USB-C port; charges from a Mac or USB-C power adapter, and plugging it into a Mac also pairs it
Works with
Works with	Designed for the 1998 iMac's USB ports; Apple's developer note says other USB keyboards could be used with the computer.	Mac with macOS 15.1 or later; iPad with iPadOS 14.5 or later; iPhone with iOS 14.5 or later; Apple Vision Pro with the latest visionOS
Design
Weight
Weight	–	239 g
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	278.9 × 114.9 × 10.9 mm
Size
Size	–	Height 0.41–1.09 cm, width 27.89 cm, depth 11.49 cm
Materials
Materials	Translucent Bondi Blue plastic casing with black keys on the original iMac version, documented by Museums Victoria.	–
Colours
Colours	Bondi Blue on the original iMac version; later iMac versions had other matching colours.	–
In the box
In the box	Supplied with the original 1998 iMac, according to Apple's iMac specification sheet.	Magic Keyboard, woven USB-C charging cable
Warranty
Warranty	–	1 year (Apple One Year Limited Warranty)