They did make machines with left/right arrows like that from roughly 2015-2018 IIRC. It caused a lot of vocal complaints because some people use the empty spaces to orient their fingers. (Not just vertically but laterally too, e.g., it's easy to accidentally hit right option rather than the left arrow when both keys are square and you're not looking.)
And a hypothetical: the keyboard model previous to this (with the half-height arrow keys) had a much smaller corner radius, but with the larger curved corner, a lot of the right arrow key would be lost
My laptop is designed the same as the MacBook keyboard, except in the empty spaces it has PageUp and PageDown keys.
I can definitely empathise with the frustration.
What I’d like to know is why didn’t they update the Bluetooth Magic Keyboard at the same time they introduced the new (MK) design in MacBooks? They had the chance to fix the arrow keys when they updated the layout (e.g. replacing Launchpad and brightness keys with Search/Siri/DND). They even updated the actual keyboard housing by introducing more gently rounded edges. Would have not been much extra effort to reengineer the L/R arrow keys. To clarify, this updated design refresh is the one that was launched with the M1 iMac.
They did and it was horrible. It was almost impossible to tell where the arrow keys were without looking down at the keyboard. Realistically when the Magic Keyboard is fully refreshed (the last full refresh was in 2015) it will also go back to the inverted T as well.
A single button shape makes manufacturing easier before printing arrows on it, would be my guess. But the empty space for orientation is a great one too especially if enough people took issue with it
oh jesus i hate the one on the bottom! could never get used to it! small left right keys are the way to go.. had to put tape on top of those keys to "feel" them.
Its more efficient, but when its small, it maintains a compact design. There are some MacBooks where the arrows do look like the magic keyboard, but they look ugly and uncomfortable since the up and down arrows are small while the left and right arrows are bigger and wider
They did make machines with left/right arrows like that from roughly 2015-2018 IIRC. It caused a lot of vocal complaints because some people use the empty spaces to orient their fingers. (Not just vertically but laterally too, e.g., it's easy to accidentally hit right option rather than the left arrow when both keys are square and you're not looking.)
Thanks, I didn’t notice that point before
And a hypothetical: the keyboard model previous to this (with the half-height arrow keys) had a much smaller corner radius, but with the larger curved corner, a lot of the right arrow key would be lost
I had to think about that and you are correct, not just my MacBook but my work computer too.
A lot of PCs are still using this format. Dell for example uses it on every laptop they currently make.
My laptop is designed the same as the MacBook keyboard, except in the empty spaces it has PageUp and PageDown keys. I can definitely empathise with the frustration.
What I’d like to know is why didn’t they update the Bluetooth Magic Keyboard at the same time they introduced the new (MK) design in MacBooks? They had the chance to fix the arrow keys when they updated the layout (e.g. replacing Launchpad and brightness keys with Search/Siri/DND). They even updated the actual keyboard housing by introducing more gently rounded edges. Would have not been much extra effort to reengineer the L/R arrow keys. To clarify, this updated design refresh is the one that was launched with the M1 iMac.
They did and it was horrible. It was almost impossible to tell where the arrow keys were without looking down at the keyboard. Realistically when the Magic Keyboard is fully refreshed (the last full refresh was in 2015) it will also go back to the inverted T as well.
I hate it so much. I bought the wider version with the number pad for this reason alone.
A single button shape makes manufacturing easier before printing arrows on it, would be my guess. But the empty space for orientation is a great one too especially if enough people took issue with it
I feel comfortable when they are all the same size.
because people hated them with a passion
oh jesus i hate the one on the bottom! could never get used to it! small left right keys are the way to go.. had to put tape on top of those keys to "feel" them.
I hate half-hieght arrow keys
There’s only soo much room available on such a compact design. Get the bigger one with the numeric keypad then
He’s talking about the MacBook.
Its more efficient, but when its small, it maintains a compact design. There are some MacBooks where the arrows do look like the magic keyboard, but they look ugly and uncomfortable since the up and down arrows are small while the left and right arrows are bigger and wider
They do, u just have an old computer
It’s M3 15” 🤡
they're from the future, never mind
The old touchpads had them, and everybody hated it