Apple is now selling the Magic Keyboard, Trackpad, and Mouse that debuted with the new iMac in April as individual accessories, YouTuber Rene Ritchie notes.
These accessories are practically unchanged from their predecessors, with the exception of the Magic Keyboard’s new fingerprint scanner, which enabled the use of Touch ID on a desktop Mac for the first time. (The biometric authentication tool was previously limited to certain models of iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.) Otherwise, they’re functionally identical to older models.
The main selling point is the design. Apple matched the accessories’ colors with those found on the latest iMac, which meant the days of being restricted to a silver or space gray accessory were over. The Magic Keyboard, Trackpad, and Mouse would finally be available in blue, green, pink, yellow, orange, purple, in addition to silver.
Now for the bad news: Buying a new iMac is still the only way to purchase these accessories in most of those colors. Apple only listed the silver model in the online Apple Store for this initial launch. That means there are fewer color options for all of these peripherals than before, actually, because the space gray versions of each product are nowhere to be found.
The Magic Mouse is $79, the Trackpad is $129, and the Keyboard is $149.
It’s not clear exactly to whom these new accessories are supposed to appeal, then, since they’re mostly identical to the models they’re replacing. Even the Magic Keyboard’s new fingerprint scanner is all but wasted here—Touch ID requires Apple’s custom silicon to function. Right now the only M1-equipped product that doesn’t support Touch ID out of the box is the Mac mini.
Apple could still release these devices in other colors, and it’s expected to introduce more Macs with custom silicon in the future, but until then these Magic Accessories seem pretty mundane.
