I Finally Ditched Apple’s Keyboard and Mouse — Here’s What Happened

The Logitech MX Series Does What Apple Won’t

Photo by Romina BM on Unsplash

Many users assume that if it has an Apple logo and is hardware, it is the best of breed. I generally agree with this when it comes to Apple silicon and the current MacBook Pro laptops, Mac Mini, Studio, and iMac desktops, iPad, and iPhone hardware.

Even the low-end MacBook Neo with its binned iPhone 16 Pro chip is a marvel of engineering at its price point. And as I wrote here on Medium recently, the high-priced Apple Studio Displays are beautifully engineered with high-end features and are a delight to use.

Link to Story About the Apple Studio Display

However, there are a couple of small but important areas where I believe Apple should have done better and that have left me less than satisfied. Let’s just say that, in my opinion, they are not worthy of the Apple logo.

And these are not recent omissions; we’re talking about leaving these flawed products as they are for years, other than finally upgrading them from Lightning to USB cables, which I applaud Apple for doing even if under duress from the European Union.

Apple’s External Devices

The external accessories that many assume are needed for a Mac really aren’t the best in my opinion. Yes, they look the part with the expected Apple design and aesthetic, but functionally there are some glaring issues, especially at their current price points.

• Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad — $179.00
• Magic Mouse — $79
• Magic Trackpad — $129 US

Longstanding Issues

So what are the issues I’ve had over a couple of years working with these Apple accessories?

Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad

Let’s start on a positive note and state what I like about the keyboard. I use Numbers and my Soulver 3 calculator frequently, so the separate numeric keypad is something I really appreciate. I also love the biometric fingerprint reader for Touch ID and proper Global/fn key. And finally, the look; its aluminum finish with black keys and white labels looks great and stands out providing you’re in an environment with sufficient light.

• No backlighting — are you kidding me, a $179 keyboard without a backlight? This should have been a showstopper for me, but I wanted everything Apple, and though I looked around at the time, I couldn’t find anything with Mac keys that suited me.
• Not sufficiently weighted to stay in place — though again it looks the part, this keyboard does not exude a quality build due to its size and weight. It frequently moves around on my desk with the lightest bump or unintentional push, even with four properly spaced bumpers on the bottom. I can actually grasp its replacement with two hands and give it a good tug and it doesn’t budge, not so with Apple’s offering.
• Key travel — typing on the keyboard is not fun due to the short key travel. I don’t like keys that abruptly slam down and stop. Perhaps this one is on me due to decades on a typewriter, IBM keyboards, mechanicals, and others with some travel. I will say that I can type reasonably fast on the device, but it just doesn’t have the feel I prefer.
• Not easily programmable for use with other devices — although Universal Control provides that functionality with an iPad, and iPhone Mirroring can provide your phone with access to your Mac screen and accessories. When I introduce you to my replacement keyboard, you will see how quick and easy I can switch input from Mac to iPad and iPhone with the tap of a single key.

Magic Mouse

Again, let’s start with the positives. Looks great, functionally fine, and the multi-touch top provides a great scrolling experience more like using a trackpad, though greatly limited in surface size compared to a trackpad.

• Upside-down charging: The most absurd Apple engineering decision ever made and has not been changed for a decade or more. The connection for the charging cable is on the bottom of the mouse, making it unusable during charging. I’ve read this design was chosen for aesthetics and to prevent users from keeping a cable plugged in while in use. Here are more details on this decision from “The Verge”.

Link to the Verge Post on Magic Mouse

• Not easily programmable for use with other devices, although Universal Control provides that functionality with an iPad. And AssistiveTouch (an accessibility option) can be used to set up a Bluetooth mouse for use with iPad or iPhone; again, it’s just not as easy as a single key press.

Magic Trackpad

Other than perhaps the price, this is the exception and is a great product worthy of the Apple brand. But personally, after extended use, I’ve found that I prefer a mouse most of the time.

A bit later in this post, I’ll show you how I get the best of both worlds with a mouse and trackpad within easy reach without using an external trackpad.

Logitech to the Rescue

The Keyboard Replacement

So what did I find as a replacement? A little over a year ago, I had some Best Buy rewards to use, and while shopping, noted a new keyboard I hadn’t seen before, the Logitech MS Keys S for Mac. You don’t see a lot of Mac keyboards, and though any Windows keyboard will work with a Mac, I prefer one with the Mac keys. This one retails for $129, which seems like a steal compared to Apple’s less functional device at $179.

When I got this beast home, I was very surprised to say the least. It was hefty, doesn’t move at all while typing, has nice springy keys, and is backlit, though it does leak a small amount of light around each key.

This is a full-size keyboard, with a numeric keypad and inverted T cursor control. It also has some special keys to quickly bring up the Calculator app, take screenshots, invoke Spotlight searches, and enable Do Not Disturb mode. (More on this later when I discuss customizing the keys.)

Image and Layout of Logitech MS Keys S for Mac (credit Logitech)

Backlighting

The lighting on this keyboard works so smoothly, coming on as I approach the keyboard with my hands before I even touch it, and adjusting to just the right brightness for the current ambient light in the room. A short time after I take my hands from the keyboard, the lighting shuts off to conserve battery, though the timing can be customized if desired.

Switch Between Three Devices

This keyboard’s really special trick, for which I was initially skeptical, is that it works with three devices via Bluetooth, using three keys at the top of the keyboard. While in position 1, it types on my Mac, position 2 on my iPad, and position 3 on my iPhone. While Apple has Universal Control and Accessibility modes built into the OS to do the same thing, it is just so much easier to tap a key to connect the keyboard to any of these devices when they are on their stands at my desk. I use this feature ALL the time.

Easy Switch Keys to Pair and Switch Between Three Devices

By the way, though you can add a Logi Bolt USB Receiver, I have everything connecting using Bluetooth on all my devices, so no receiver is really needed.

Customizing the Keys

The function keys, including the special keys above the numeric keypad, are all programmable. You can assign various features like opening an app, creating a trigger to simulate a keyboard shortcut along with 50 other smart actions.

Some of my favorites are the dictation key — F5 that types text as you speak, a dedicated emoji key — F6, and a mute button — F7 when you want to silence your microphone during video conferences.

The keys over the numeric keypad from left to right are assigned out of the box to the macOS Calculator, Apple’s native screenshot tool, Spotlight, and Do Not Disturb. But I’ve enhanced these keys to the following.

F16 — Calculator has been reassigned to open Soulver 3, my very special calculator and so much more. You can read more about Soulver in a post I wrote some time ago here on Medium.

Link to Medium Story on Soulver 3 Calculator

F17 — Screenshot has been reassigned from the macOS screenshot tool to SnagIt, an advanced tool I’ve used for close to two decades to take and annotate screenshots. When I press the key, it allows me to adjust the capture to all the typical and advanced screenshots, copies the image to the clipboard, and opens the SnagIt editor with the image ready for annotations and export, a real-time saver.

F18 — Spotlight has been left as is, and while Cmd+Space is pretty easy to summon Spotlight, having one key available amongst my most used keys is helpful.

F19 — Do Not Disturb has been reassigned to Sleep my MacBook. So at the end of the day, I just tap that sleep key, and my Mac sleeps, Apple Studio Display goes dark, and keyboard backlighting turns off, so convenient.

Numeric Keypad With Customized Function Keys

The Mouse

As I mentioned earlier, I prefer a mouse as a pointing device most of the time, so I picked up the keyboard’s companion pointing device, the MX Master 3S for Mac mouse. This device retails for $119, and I’ll admit that is a bit pricy for a mouse. Its claim to fame is that it works in the same fashion as the keyboard in switching to each of my three devices, which to me makes it worth the price.

And while it lacks the trackpad functionality available on the top of the Magic Mouse, it does have both vertical and horizontal scroll wheels and is more customizable and ergonomic for my largish hands than Apple’s smaller device.

Logitech Master 3S for Mac Mouse Layout (credit Logitech)

Desk Setup

Here’s my desk with the replacement accessories ready for action. Note only a single wire connecting my MacBook to the Apple Studio Display. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hate wires.

Desk Setup Showing Logitech Keyboard and Mouse

So What’s Missing

The only things missing on the new setup are a fingerprint reader for Touch ID, Global/fn key, and trackpad. But in my case, I use my MacBook open when docked at my desk on the right as you can see.

This makes it an easy reach to use the large trackpad comfortably with my right hand when I choose it over the mouse. I primarily use the trackpad for quick swipe access to Mission Control, to clear windows to see the desktop, for three-finger dragging, or just to give my hand a rest from holding the mouse.

When I need to use Touch ID (often) and the Global/fn key (seldom), I just reach over to the laptop. It’s close enough to be within easy reach so there are no gymnastics required for access to either key.

Using MacBook Trackpad and Touch ID

Desktop Widget

I have a widget on my desktop that shows the current battery levels of my MacBook, keyboard, and mouse. Very helpful to get a quick glance to keep everything charged up. But to be honest, the Logitech keyboard and mouse last a long time between charges. The keyboard can easily go well over a week with heavy use, and the mouse lasts much longer between charges.

Desktop Widget for Monitoring Battery Condition of MacBook, Keyboard and Mouse

The Apple Disadvantage

I don’t mind paying the Apple Tax, even when it is mainly for superior engineering and aesthetics. But when both the feature set and build quality are so far behind the competition, I have to put my foot down. In this case, Logitech has it all with few shortcomings. If they were to add a fingerprint reader to their current offering, I think anyone making the comparisons I have would come to a similar conclusion.

My Experiences

These comparisons were made after I purchased at my own expense and used the Apple accessories mentioned in this post for two years. I purchased at my own expense and used the Logitech replacement accessories for the past 14 months.

If you have a question about these devices, please leave a comment. I welcome, read, and respond to every comment, and really appreciate your engagement.

Thanks again for reading and have a great day. J