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El Reg keeps pushing Apple's buttons – its new Magic Keyboard

Some design improvements but WTF is going on with the function keys

Connecting the thing up

According to the accompanying manual, to connect the keyboard, use the Lightning connector and plug the USB end into your computer (presumably you need to buy a new USB-C connection if you have the new MacBook). It will then automatically sync with your computer and then you can unplug and it will be connected through Bluetooth.

The first part of that has worked; the second, not so much. Plugged in, the keyboard works. Unplug; nothing. Oddly, even when plugged in the system doesn't seem to recognize the keyboard, so it's not possible to change any of the settings.

When the keyboard was charged up a little, it started putting out a Bluetooth signal, but the auto-sync hadn't worked and required manual connection and syncing (by pressing specific identified buttons).

The connector on the back

The function keys have gone haywire. The screen brightness buttons actually delete paragraphs of text (thank god for "Repeat Typing"). Open Mission Control does nothing it seems (that happens by pressing fast-forward). Open Launchpad pastes the clipboard. The volume controls jump between applications. What the hell is going on?

Of course it's hard to troubleshoot because the keyboard doesn't appear in System Preferences. Time for a reboot. [Update: reboot didn't help and the keys had to be changed manually to match up to the function keys.]

Also worth noting: you need to be running the latest version of Mac OS X – El Capitan.

Summary

So, overall, an improvement. An updated keyboard for Mac enthusiasts. Rechargeable batteries make it more useful; the physical button makes it more functional. The look and feel is basically the same.

It is a compromise keyboard though; it is small (which is nice), but it doesn't contain a wrist rest or a numerical keyboard. It's compact and functional. Four out of five stars. ®

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