Apple Macintosh Keyboard (M0110) vs Apple Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

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Macintosh Keyboard (M0110) compared with Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

	AppleMacintosh Keyboard (M0110)	AppleMacintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)
Overview
Released
Released	January 1984	January 1986
Typing
Layout
Layout	Compact	Full size
Switches
Switches	Mechanical	Mechanical
Key travel
Key travel	3.5 mm	–
Backlight
Backlight	None	None
Keys labelled for
Keys labelled for	Mac	Mac
Switches
Switches	Apple's original M0110 engineering specification describes individual momentary-contact switches and a self-locking mechanical Caps Lock switch. Its two-key lockout ignores additional simultaneous key depressions to prevent ghost keystrokes. The maker does not identify a switch supplier in this document.	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	Apple's engineering specification gives total travel 3.5 ±0.5 mm and pretravel to the contact point 1.8 ±0.25 mm; these are design requirements, not a measurement of a surviving sample. Ordinary keys and the space bar have 90 ±25 g force at the contact point; self-locking Caps Lock is separately specified at 200 ±100 g.	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	Printed character keys; Apple's engineering specification distinguishes printed keycaps from moulded parts and specifies keycap pull-force tests. Keycap plastic formulation is not established in the recovered maker sources.	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	The original US layout has 58 keys, with two Shift keys, two Option keys and separate Return and Enter keys. This record does not cover the later M0110A Macintosh Plus keyboard with a built-in number pad.	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	Command sits immediately left of the space bar; Option produces accented and special characters. The original keyboard has no arrow, function or Control keys. Key repeat rate is set using the Macintosh Control Panel.	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 four-conductor coiled cable, with four-contact modular plugs and a non-reversing end-to-end pinout. Apple's engineering document calls them RJ-11-type Modjack connectors; they carry the original Macintosh synchronous serial keyboard protocol, not ADB, USB or telephone signals.	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 through the keyboard cable; Apple's engineering specification lists +5 V ±10% at 50 mA maximum for the keyboard power connection. No keyboard battery is required.	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	Supplied with the original Macintosh system; its dedicated synchronous serial keyboard interface is described in Apple's original owner guide. Modern computers require an appropriate separate protocol converter; none is included or specified 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 original owner guide documents Key Caps for viewing normal and Option-modified characters, and the Control Panel's key repeat settings.	–
Design
Weight
Weight	–	1200 g
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	395.4 × 146 × 65 mm
Size
Size	–	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 plastic keyboard housing and keycaps, described in Apple's engineering specification. Published weight and overall enclosure dimensions were not recovered and remain omitted.	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	Beige housing with darker keys in original maker and January 1984 photographs; this record does not treat later cosmetic or language variants as separate hardware models.	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	Keyboard and detachable coiled connection cable as part of the original Macintosh system. January 1984 retail availability is supported by the contemporary 29 January Los Angeles Times review of the system with its separate keyboard; Apple's introduction on 24 January is not used as an exact first-sale day. The optional separate numeric keypad is not included.	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.