Did you wish a Mac you owned supported your fingerprint as a login system? Apple is now making that possible, though there is a catch.
Owners of the recent 2021 iMac have something no other desktop Mac has: a keyboard with a fingerprint sensor built in.
There’s a lot more that the new iMac models come with, but one of those special accessories is a different take on Apple’s “Magic Keyboard” with a fingerprint sensor found what used to be the eject button, coloured to match the multiple colours of that new computer. That’s technically a special keyboard, and one that has been limited to the new Apple computer since it was launched in the middle of the year not too long ago.
However that changes this week, with two models of Magic Keyboard on the way out alongside a couple of updated mice, as well.
Apple’s Magic Keyboard now comes with a fingerprint sensor in both the version without a number pad and the larger model with one, though there is a catch: you need an M1 Mac to make the Touch ID fingerprint sensor work.
That seems to be the requirement to make Touch ID work, meaning it will only work on Mac keyboards when connected to the M1 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro, M1 Mac Mini, and M1 24 inch iMac, at least until other Apple Silicon models come out.
Two models of Magic Keyboard with fingerprint reader are now available, with one with the numeric keypad for $249 and one without for $209, while the standard Magic Keyboard without a Touch ID button can still be found, updated slightly to include softer curved edges for $139.
The same style of curved edges are making their way to a new version of the Magic Trackpad, available in Australia for $179, and while a new Magic Mouse is out for $109, though we’re not entirely sure of the differences beyond a cable. Simply put, all of these devices come with a new cable, with Apple adopted a braided USB Type C to Lightning charge connector cable, something the iMacs also get, though these models are limited to silver and white only.
