That has got to be a joke. It's like they're mocking their customers. I can't stop laughing at the sight of the guy they somehow convinced to model this thing in their promotional photo.
If you were to guess how many sales (e.g. in units) they'd make every year, what would you guess?
I jest, but probably the $150 sales of the TouchID keyboard would tank as they are displaced by such a device.
P.S. Liquid Glass + TouchID approval needed for every Keychain entry == Windows Vista
There is no scalable market. They want to control the hardware for quality and margins. They already sell a keyboard with Touch ID included. Mac accessories are far from their focus area.
They don’t because it doesn’t make sense to.
Edit: If you’re downvoting, feel free to say why!
Apple could sell a standalone TouchID sensor and charge $50 or $60 for it.
Although to be honest not the worst keyboard I own, but not the best, I probably rate it like a 7/10.
It would be a 5/10 if the Bluetooth wasn’t so magically seamless.
The low profile means I can get by without a wrist pillow.
Sometimes it would take a few minutes in the morning before my Mac would even recognize 'hey, there's a watch' (typing in my full password was usually much quicker than waiting for the watch unlock).
Sometimes whatever notification happens that triggers the watch to vibrate and allow the double-squeeze-to-accept action would just... not.
Other times the above notification would pop up about 8-15 seconds after the prompt on the screen.
It was inconsistent enough I got _really_ good at typing my password, since it was normally quicker than waiting on the Apple Watch.
Contrast that with the Touch ID, that's always ready to go.
The main downside is it doesn't always recognize and it takes a few seconds to trigger. I'd love a separate touch id. But absent that the watch is quite useful.
But is it annoying enough I'd actually buy one of these hypothetical $50 boxes? IDK.... I've got my two machines on a KVM so I can use my Kinesis keyboard with both of them.
1. Buy an old A2449 keyboard, ideally one with broken keys or battery but working touch ID. I got mine for $45 shipped. Recent listing example: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=magic+keyboard+a2449&_s...
2. Pry it apart as described in the article (really, there is so much glue) and then use some spare Legos to make an enclosure like this person: https://grepjason.sh/2022/standalone-touch-id-part-2
I integrated mine into a Lego space diorama set for better vibes: https://imgur.com/a/Im7t9Xb
I don’t like the rest of the keyboard. I have a big Keychron on top of the desk, that I use for typing.
ggm•3h ago
Sensing is one thing. Trusting the sensor input and what it unlocks is another.
crazygringo•1h ago
ggm•40m ago
If you just package this button up, as a USB device, it's no different, if it can be bootstrapped as an input device "to" the secure zone.
drum55•12m ago