Thread

Show HN: I spent 2 years designing a mechanical Magic Keyboard

232 points · 198 comments · aemerson_

charrondev · 1786030762 · focus · HN ↗
I’m assuming it’s not possible for it to include a fingerprint sensor?
As much as I’d like a mechanical keyboard for my Mac that’s always the part that gets me. I end up using the one my Magic Keyboard 20+ times per workday.
Otherwise it looks beautiful.
1. ls-a · 1786031017 · focus · HN ↗
  Well there is this <a href="https://github.com/zimengxiong/tinytouch" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/zimengxiong/tinytouch
  1. tpstevens · 1786031612 · focus · HN ↗
    And this as well, if you have a Magic Keyboard around: <a href="https://www.printables.com/model/320000-standalone-touch-id-module-for-mac" rel="nofollow">https://www.printables.com/model/320000-standalone-touch-id-...
2. cafebeen · 1786031270 · focus · HN ↗
  Yes, agreed. Beautiful keyboard, but when I heard "magic" I hoped to find a touch ID. That sensor so useful that even though I use a mechanical keyboard, I keep an apple magic keyboard off to the side of my desk just for the touch ID sensor.
  What I'd love to have is a standalone touch ID sensor that I could attach anywhere -- mechanical keyboard, side of the monitor, under my desk, etc. I guess this is bottlenecked by Apple's IP on the device, so I've considered just hacking one together by deconstructing and extracting an Apple keyboard...
  1. xp84 · 1786037910 · focus · HN ↗
    Some people I know just velcro a Magic Keyboard to the bottom of their desktop for this reason.
    So frustrating that Apple won't sell just a button even at any price. Gotta buy their terrible keyboard for $150 to get that. eyeroll
  2. dbalatero · 1786040671 · focus · HN ↗
    I've built a few boxes:
    <a href="https://www.printables.com/model/355924-clickable-touch-id-box-tkl-board-wired" rel="nofollow">https://www.printables.com/model/355924-clickable-touch-id-b...
    <a href="https://gist.github.com/KhaosT/1406a6b6bea38f59e059c2afcb39d545" rel="nofollow">https://gist.github.com/KhaosT/1406a6b6bea38f59e059c2afcb39d...
    You have to carefully tear down and extract the touch id sensor, and then remount it in a box. I went the battery route so it could stay wireless. The tradeoff is the box is bigger.
    cafebeen · 1786046429 · focus · HN ↗
    Thank you, just what I was imagining! I would prefer a bigger wireless box as well.
3. aemerson_ · 1786031419 · focus · HN ↗
  Unfortunately not possible, at least not securely, and not in a way that users would expect. I really tried.
  We could include _a_ fingerprint sensor, and even include a special secure/tamper-proof chip, but it would never be able to work with things like Apple Pay. It would probably be able to do some things like log you in to your Mac by spoofing itself as a card reader or secure key. But because we can’t communicate with Apple’s Secure Enclave it would never be a seamless experience.
  Maybe someday Apple could open up Touch ID like they do with Find My. But for now it’s pretty much a non-starter.
4. wuliwong · 1786034302 · focus · HN ↗
  In my setup my laptop is close enough that I can reach out and use the fingerprint reader on it. It is stupid but I got used to it pretty quickly.
  1. locknitpicker · 1786035448 · focus · HN ↗
    > In my setup my laptop is close enough that I can reach out and use the fingerprint reader on it.
    Some mechanical keyboards ship with an embedded USB hub that supports a couple of USB ports that allow users to pick and choose what devices to plug in.
    I wonder why this feature isn't widespread.
    xp84 · 1786038046 · focus · HN ↗
    Not arguing with the general usefulness of the USB hub, but Apple chooses to make their Touch ID sensor 100% proprietary, so the inclusion of a hub is a separate topic to the comment you're quoting. There's no USB Touch ID reader, other than a whole dang Apple-branded keyboard (which is wireless but will work as a USB device).
5. rxyz · 1786036463 · focus · HN ↗
  20 times a day? You know you can disable touch id for simple password autofill
  1. platevoltage · 1786042033 · focus · HN ↗
    I use my MacBook in clamshell mode 80% of the time, and password autofill just takes over by itself. Fingerprint ID is nice, but my mechanical keyboard is nicer.

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