keyboards - page 2

The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini is a keyboard optimized for Mac. It features low-profile mechanical switches and backlighting, and can be paired with up to three computers

I’ve been using the Bluetooth keyboard in my home office for weeks. Here’s why I’ve come to love it.

Logitech just launched its first mechanical keyboard optimized for Mac. The MX Mechanical Mini features low-profile switches and backlighting.

It’s joined by the MX Master 3S mouse and the Lift mouse in Logitech’s new “Designed for Mac” collection.

Das Keyboard’s MacTigr is specifically for Mac users looking to get serious work done. It uses top-quality mechanical switches in a 105-key layout, and adds on Mac-specific keys as well as other bonus features.

I tested the low-profile keyboard in my home office. Here’s why I’m so impressed.

Unlike so many keyboards, the MacTigr is specifically for Mac. The designers at Das Keyboard included Mac-specific keys in a low-profile mechanical keyboard made of high-quality materials.

In addition to Cherry MX Low Profile Red mechanical switches, the accessory is packed with extra features, like a volume knob, sleep button and even a two-port USB-C hub.

In what will surely be welcome news for folks who like to use the company’s peripherals with their Macs, Logitech said it’s rolling out full native M1 support in the latest beta version of its Logi Options+ software.

If you use Logitech products, you may think of it as Logi Options. Logi Options+ replaces that software and features some enhancements in addition to the native support for Silicon Macs.

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Serious gamers like to use specialized gaming gear in their computer setups. And that includes input devices like souped-up mice and sleek mechanical keyboards. The good news is, the latter keep getting better and cheaper. On Wednesday, Logitech’s gaming arm, Logitech G, rolled out the G413 SE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard in two sizes.

And better yet, the two new keebs’ prices won’t break the bank.

Suppose the keyboard of your MacBook rose up slightly and pivoted toward you when you opened the lid. That’s the idea described by a patent Apple was just awarded.

The concept has ergonomic benefits but also adds moving parts.

Logitech’s new Pop collection hopes to make dark, drab desks a thing of the past. Both its Pop Keys keyboard, which features real mechanical keys, and the Pop Mouse sport quirky designs with bright and colorful finishes.

Prices start at $39.99, and they work great with Apple devices, including Mac and iPad. You can order yours this month.

Save on stellar accessories in Logitech’s big Memorial Day sale. You can get up to 56% off mice, keyboards, webcams and more, with prices starting at a mere $7.99. Start shopping before the sale ends!

Logitech launched Mac versions of its popular MX Keys and MX Master 3 on Tuesday, giving the pro keyboard and mouse a space gray makeover and adding some Apple-specific tweaks.

Most of the changes seem totally awesome for the “Mac purists” Logitech is targeting with these high-end accessories. One change might not be so welcome, though, depending on your experience with Bluetooth peripherals.

The company also released a new Mac-oriented version of its smaller K380 keyboard in white and pink color options.

The filthiest part of you computer is probably its keyboard. It’s the part you touch the most, it’s the part you likely use to catch the debris from your lunch, and it’s the part that you probably never clean, because you don’t look at it enough to get grossed out. And these days, as doctors warn us to wash our hands constantly (and correctly) to avoid the coronavirus, you probably want to make sure that your keyboard is not just clean, but sanitized.

This is a fairly straightforward process, so let’s get started.

The Kolude KD-K1 Keyhub merges keyboard and multiport hub into one accessory — it’s right there in the name. The designers included scissor-switch keys in an aluminum casing, as well as nine ports, including USB-A and HDMI.

It extends the connectivity of Macs and iPad Pro, and all the ports are easily accessible.

Using a keyboard with your iPad is a beautiful thing. It seems like every iOS update brings more and more keyboard shortcuts. But until now, you’ve been stuck using Mac-compatible keyboards only. If you hooked up a PC keyboard to your iPad, then the ⌘ and ⌥ keys would be the wrong way around.

On the Mac, thats always been easy to fix, thanks to a preference screen for switching these keys via software. And now, in iOS 13.4 beta, you can finally remaps modifier keys, too. And, yes, you can even remap the stupid globe icon on Apple’s Smart Folio Keyboard.

You probably need a keyboard. If you have an iMac, then you already have the one Apple included the box. If you have an iPad or a MacBook, then you should have that thing up on a stand at eye level, with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad attached so you don’t kill your neck/back/wrists. And if you want a clicky keyboard that works great with all three, then pretty much your best (and only) option is the Keychron K2, a beautiful, solid little device that can work with just about any device you have.

Don’t let the name fool you — the Satechi Compact Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard includes a full keypad and numberpad. Plus, it can be paired with three devices, and switch easily between them.

Your shiny new 16-inch MacBook Pro arrives this week, and of course you want to deck it out with all the latest accessories. What you need will depend on what you use your computer for, but almost everyone will want a case, a keyboard and a mouse. And there are plenty of other MacBook Pro accessories you might need to get the job done.

Check out our guide for dongles, cables and even battery packs that will help you get the most out of your new MacBook Pro.

The Escape key is pretty essential to the Mac. You can use it to, well, escape from the current window/view/text field. You can use it to dismiss some dialog boxes. It can even be used to force-quit an unresponsive app. And that’s before we get to the Vim text editor, which is as dependent on the Escape key as Jony Ive is on new kinds of aluminum. So why did Apple remove the physical MacBook Pro Escape key when it introduced the Touch Bar?

Apple made that move, much to the despair of some users, back in 2016. Now, in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, the Escape key is back. But what if you have a perfectly good previous-gen MacBook Pro? Are you really going to spend close to $3,000 just to get your Escape key back? No, you are not. Instead, you are going to repurpose the Caps Lock key, and turn it into an Escape key.

Despite the endless disappointments with iPadOS 13, there’s still no way I’d switch to a MacBook right now. MacBooks (and MacBook Pros) were always the gold (or aluminum?) standard for laptops — reliable, well-designed and long-lasting. Reviewers would even recommend that PC users buy a Mac and install Windows on it via Boot Camp. But today, MacBooks problems abound.

Apple’s laptops are a sorry bunch. And it’s not just the troublesome butterfly keyboard. Every week, I read tweets and blog posts about freelancers and employees of big companies alike losing valuable time as their MacBooks go back for repair for the third or fourth time. So what is happening? What are the biggest problems with today’s MacBooks? And can these MacBook problems be fixed?

This is the new MicroLab from Arturia. It’s a USB MIDI keyboard you can hook up to your Mac, your iPad or your iPhone. It’s tiny — but how does it differ from the zillion other portable MIDI keyboards littering the pages of Amazon? Two ways.

One is that it has a bunch of clever design features that make it great for travel or small desktop setups. The other is that it has big, proper, velocity-sensitive keys, instead of the stupid junky keys on almost every similar MIDI keyboard.

Using your computer is only as fast and effective as what you use to interface with it. That means your mouse and keyboard, so these upgrades from Azio offer a way to work and play better with your Mac.

Patterning is probably the best drum machine app on the iPad, and one of the best iOS music apps, period. Which makes it criminal that we’ve never written a dedicated post about it. That can change today, because the developer, Olympia Noise Co., just added keyboard shortcuts.

Wait, come back! These aren’t just any keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts let you use your iPad’s Smart Folio Keyboard, or any Bluetooth keyboard, to fingerdrum on the iPad.

Roli is best known for its squishy, multitouch, pressure-sensitive music keyboards and controllers. Those are great. But the new Roli Lumi goes in a different direction. It’s a small portable keyboard with light-up keys. And not the kind of light-up keys you might see in a movie set during the 1970s disco scene: These light up keys help you learn to play the piano.

Piano lessons will never be the same.

Were you ever drawing a diagram in the Notes app, and then realized you needed to type a note? Did you then find yourself frustrated at having to drop the Apple Pencil and type on the huge, half-screen QWERTY keyboard?

With iPadOS 13, Apple has removed that frustration. You still can’t do Newton-style handwriting and have it turn into text. But you can shrink the keyboard to a tiny floating panel, and use the Apple Pencil to swipe-type on it.

The Sensel Morph is a different kind of “keyboard” for the iPad or Mac. It’s a pressure-sensitive panel onto which you can slap various silicone overlays, turning it from a QWERTY keyboard into a piano, a movie-editing controller or many other specialized interfaces.

It’s a customizable, wildly imaginative input device designed for musicians, video editors, illustrators, writers and other creative types.

You’ve got your new iPad Pro, and it’s all set up. Now, you might want to start tricking it out with accessories. The bad news is that most of your old accessories won’t work. The good news is that some of them will, and the rest can be replaced, or hooked up with dongles. Let’s check out the best accessories for the new 2018 iPad Pro.