The other big reason to buy Satechi’s keyboard over Apple’s is that it allows you to connect up to three different Bluetooth devices.
It comes with the full range of shortcuts you’d expect from an Apple keyboard. I’d never call this one of the best Bluetooth keyboards I’ve ever typed on, but it’s a significant enough improvement over Apple’s keyboard that I increasingly found myself reaching for it when diving into long writing sessions. There’s also a playfulness to the keys’ rounded corners that I miss in Apple’s own work. The keys aren’t backlit, but I find I like the way Satechi carved a barely perceptible cup for each fingertip into the crown of each key. There’s just enough resistance to capture that feeling of creating, something that gets lost on Apple’s nearly flat boards. This keyboard is aimed at Apple fans who crave better typing experiences than what Apple offers as of late, and as such this board features longer key travel than you’ll find on the Magic Keyboard. You’d be wrong to dismiss the Satechi as a cheap imitation of Apple’s keyboard. On the back, you’ll find a power slider that resembles Apple’s own and a USB-C charging port. Battery life isn’t all that impressive-Satechi claims it’ll go through 80 hours of active use and 100 of inactive before it needs to be charged through its USB-C port-but after I left it in the office for almost two weeks over the holiday, I was pleased to find it greeted me with almost a full charge. Unlike Apple’s model, it’s also available in both gold and rose gold along with the expected white and space gray variations. At a little less than half an inch high, it sits about as far off my writing surfaces as the Magic Keyboard (although it comes with two rubber knobs if you need more height). The Satechi’s 17-inch aluminum panel feels weighty and luxurious. Leif Johnson/IDGīoth the Apple Magic Keyboard 2.(top) the Satechi Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard have a caps lock light, but Satechi put its light in the upper-right corner where it’s less likely to be hidden by your fingers. If that sounds expensive, remember that Apple sells its own space gray version for a stunning $149. You could almost buy two Satechi keyboards for that price. Even so, that logo’s absence lets you pick up what essentially amounts to a passable cousin of the Apple Magic Keyboard 2 with a keypad for a mere $79.99. Alas, an occasionally wonky pairing process reminds us that Apple’s logo usually speaks of a level of quality you can’t get from other companies.