Apple’s Next Magic Trackpad Should Have a Touch ID Sensor (But Probably Won’t)
Jason Snell, in a post from August 2022:
I wanted to do a quick follow-up on my recent post about attaching
an Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch to the underside of my
desk, because I’ve now done what I threatened to do at the
end of that piece: I’ve broken into the keyboard, removed the
important bits, and then reassembled it into a little 3-D printed
case that contains just the Touch ID button. […]
Anyway: It works. But I would really love it if Apple would just
make a Magic Trackpad with integrated Touch ID.
My desk setup: MacBook Pro with the lid closed, connected to a Studio Display, with my beloved Apple Extended Keyboard II, a mouse on the left (I’m right-handed for most things but taught myself to mouse left-handed all the way back in college, when I started getting RSI), and a Magic Trackpad on the right.
I’m happier with this setup than I’ve ever been with any Mac I’ve ever used. The downside though is that I don’t have Touch ID, because my MacBook’s lid is closed, and I don’t use Apple’s Magic Keyboard. So on workdays, I tend always to wear my Apple Watch, which gives me a lot of the same advantages as Touch ID: I can log into my sleeping Mac without typing my account password, and I can confirm many actions (like Apple Pay purchases, and moving protected files to the Trash) with a double-click of the side button on my watch.
But whenever I’m wearing one of my other watches, I really miss Touch ID. I don’t miss it enough to go through the DIY project of ripping apart a Magic Keyboard to move the Touch ID sensor into a standalone case, though. So I wish that either (a) Apple would add a Touch ID sensor to the Magic Keyboard; or (b) someone would start selling pre-assembled Touch ID sensors in a nice case, repurposed from Magic Keyboards. It’s a bit of a waste to destroy a Magic Keyboard just to repurpose the Touch ID button, but I’d happily pay for it. And while I wish Apple would add a Touch ID sensor to the Magic Trackpad, I doubt they will — that would sully the minimalist “no buttons” look of the Magic Trackpad, and, for people who use a Magic Trackpad alongside a Magic Keyboard, would give them two Touch ID buttons.
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Jason Snell, in a post from August 2022:
I wanted to do a quick follow-up on my recent post about attaching
an Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch to the underside of my
desk, because I’ve now done what I threatened to do at the
end of that piece: I’ve broken into the keyboard, removed the
important bits, and then reassembled it into a little 3-D printed
case that contains just the Touch ID button. […]
Anyway: It works. But I would really love it if Apple would just
make a Magic Trackpad with integrated Touch ID.
My desk setup: MacBook Pro with the lid closed, connected to a Studio Display, with my beloved Apple Extended Keyboard II, a mouse on the left (I’m right-handed for most things but taught myself to mouse left-handed all the way back in college, when I started getting RSI), and a Magic Trackpad on the right.
I’m happier with this setup than I’ve ever been with any Mac I’ve ever used. The downside though is that I don’t have Touch ID, because my MacBook’s lid is closed, and I don’t use Apple’s Magic Keyboard. So on workdays, I tend always to wear my Apple Watch, which gives me a lot of the same advantages as Touch ID: I can log into my sleeping Mac without typing my account password, and I can confirm many actions (like Apple Pay purchases, and moving protected files to the Trash) with a double-click of the side button on my watch.
But whenever I’m wearing one of my other watches, I really miss Touch ID. I don’t miss it enough to go through the DIY project of ripping apart a Magic Keyboard to move the Touch ID sensor into a standalone case, though. So I wish that either (a) Apple would add a Touch ID sensor to the Magic Keyboard; or (b) someone would start selling pre-assembled Touch ID sensors in a nice case, repurposed from Magic Keyboards. It’s a bit of a waste to destroy a Magic Keyboard just to repurpose the Touch ID button, but I’d happily pay for it. And while I wish Apple would add a Touch ID sensor to the Magic Trackpad, I doubt they will — that would sully the minimalist “no buttons” look of the Magic Trackpad, and, for people who use a Magic Trackpad alongside a Magic Keyboard, would give them two Touch ID buttons.