Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad finally ditched the Lightning connector to become USB input devices Monday when they rolled out alongside color-matched versions for the new iMac, the first in this week’s M4 Mac announcements. The input devices, expected to ship October 31, are among the last of the iPhone giant’s accessories to make the change to USB-C.
New Apple USB input devices hasten death of Lightning connector
Along with the new M4 iMac, Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad showed up for sale Monday. As expected, they switch from Lightning connector to USB-C. At this point, Lighting connectors in new Apple gear appear only in Apple Pencil (1st generation, to support older iPads), iPhone 14/14 Plus/SE, EarPods and perhaps some older adapters.
After Apple released the first macOS 15.1 Release Candidate for developers and beta testers on the run up to adding Apple Intelligence support to macOS Sequoia alongside iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, an eagle-eyed code sleuth spotted references to the new Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard in the RC. That led to speculation that their biggest updates would center on the connector switch, which failed to materialize sooner, in compliance with EU law mandates that all keyboards and mice use USB-C by the end of 2024.
Apple updated AirPods Max with USB-C during its iPhone September 16 event. As with that refresh, which switched the Lightning connector and added some fresh colors but featured no other underlying changes, rumors anticipated few if any other changes with the input devices. Other than the connector, they remain largely the same.
Apple rolls out new Magic accessories
Photo: Apple
Here’s the lineup of USB-C Magic Keyboards Apple sells now, which come with the new M4 iMac or you can buy separately:
- Magic Keyboard at $99 (compact model without Touch ID)
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID at $149 (compact model with Touch ID)
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad at $179 for white, $199 for black
In addition, you can get Magic Trackpad for $149 or Magic Mouse for $99.
All of the items ship for free October 31, or you can pay an $8 for faster shipping.
Buy from: Apple
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
