4 ms·

Surely they charge the keyboard and mouse. Wouldn't at least one of them be charged via a USB cable? Plugging that to the computer would turn the peripheral int

Surely they charge the keyboard and mouse. Wouldn't at least one of them be charged via a USB cable? Plugging that to the computer would turn the peripheral into a wired USB one.

r0ckarong 3y ago
Plenty of cheap peripherals still run on disposable batteries.
- woodrowbarlow 3y ago
  "cheap" peripherals like the $180 xbox elite controller... grumble grumble...
  - Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago
    User replaceable batteries could be sold as a feature these days. Would people be pissed to see them just being double or triple-A?
- toast0 3y ago
  Externally rechargable AAs are great. I don't have to have specific charging stations for everything, and when a battery does wear out, it's easy to replace. I haven't been super happy with the rechargable AAAs I've used, so I might prefer specific batteries for smaller items. But most video game controllers or presentation remotes or wireless keyboard and mouse have plenty of room for one or two AAs
ericswpark 3y ago
If they had Apple input devices (Magic Keyboard, touchpad, etc) they don't work over the wire.
- cassianoleal 3y ago
  Is that so? I have a Magic Trackpad with a Lightning connection and I was under the impression that it did work over the cable. Thinking about it though, I'm not sure I ever validated that.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  It absolutely does work over the wire. I've done it, and a quick Googling shows plenty of others getting it to work. (Example: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/246337/apple-magic-keyboard-connected-in-wired-mode-turn-bluetooth-off https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/246337/apple-magic...)
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - brycewray 3y ago
    Correct. When I first converted an old, out-of-support Mac to Linux, I used its equally old Magic Keyboard, connected by Lightning-to-Lightning cable, since I often needed to make entries when `bluez` and other associated Bluetooth s/w weren’t yet running. (Have since replaced it with a regular wired keyboard.)
- acdha 3y ago
  It definitely does - that’s even how you can most easily first pair them since plugging it in will automatically pair the Bluetooth device.
addandsubtract 3y ago
Ever tried using an Apple mouse while charging? ;) Jokes aside, not all bluetooth devices turn wired once plugged in. I know my MX Keys USB-C port is only for charging, for example.
- cassianoleal 3y ago
  > Ever tried using an Apple mouse while charging? ;) Lol yeah that design is really baffling! That said, it's still possible. The charging port is near the back edge of the mouse (the side closer to the user) whereas the sensor is on the other end. It won't be comfortable but letting the cable hang off the edge of the desk should allow you to use it to turn bluetooth back on. :)
  - tzs 3y ago
    It's not that baffling. It let them keep the exact same form factor as the previous non-rechargeable Magic Mouse, and the mouse can go long enough between charges and charges so fast that they knew in practice 99.99% of Mac users would not have a problem with it. It charges to full in a couple hours and lasts at least a month on a full charge so almost everyone has plenty of opportunities to charge it at times when they aren't using the computer. If you do let it get low enough that it might die it only takes a couple minutes of charging to get enough charge to last 8 hours. Start charging and go get a drink of water or visit the bathroom and when you get back it is ready for the rest of the work day. That said, from what I've read there either is no warning when power gets low or it doesn't always work. With it only needing charging every month or so I can someone forgetting. It is possible to make a script to check it and give an alert if it is low, and make a cron job run that script [1]. That really should be built in. [1] https://dev.to/samselfridge/magic-mouse-low-battery-alert-4mdo https://dev.to/samselfridge/magic-mouse-low-battery-alert-4m...
    - morsch 3y ago
      > and lasts at least a month on a full charge Which is very short compared to other mice: Logitech's (and mostly everybody else's, I assume) Bluetooth mice last for several months, some last for years on a single charge. I suppose it's not a fair comparison in that the Apple mouse does more? But they still suck in terms of runtime.
sdflhasjd 3y ago
I was under the impression that the Apple keyboards could work via the lightning cable. Could be an old battery one though
- latexr 3y ago
  They do. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39027263 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39027263
- slowwriter 3y ago
  They do, but instructing them to enable Bluetooth using only the keyboard didn’t seem feasible to me.

Surely they charge the keyboard and mouse. Wouldn't at least one of them be charged via a USB cable? Plugging that to the computer would turn the peripheral into a wired USB one.

r0ckarong 3y ago

Plenty of cheap peripherals still run on disposable batteries.

woodrowbarlow 3y ago
"cheap" peripherals like the $180 xbox elite controller... grumble grumble...
- Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago
  User replaceable batteries could be sold as a feature these days. Would people be pissed to see them just being double or triple-A?
toast0 3y ago
Externally rechargable AAs are great. I don't have to have specific charging stations for everything, and when a battery does wear out, it's easy to replace. I haven't been super happy with the rechargable AAAs I've used, so I might prefer specific batteries for smaller items. But most video game controllers or presentation remotes or wireless keyboard and mouse have plenty of room for one or two AAs

ericswpark 3y ago

If they had Apple input devices (Magic Keyboard, touchpad, etc) they don't work over the wire.

cassianoleal 3y ago
Is that so? I have a Magic Trackpad with a Lightning connection and I was under the impression that it did work over the cable. Thinking about it though, I'm not sure I ever validated that.
ceejayoz 3y ago
It absolutely does work over the wire. I've done it, and a quick Googling shows plenty of others getting it to work. (Example: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/246337/apple-magic-keyboard-connected-in-wired-mode-turn-bluetooth-off https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/246337/apple-magic...)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- brycewray 3y ago
  Correct. When I first converted an old, out-of-support Mac to Linux, I used its equally old Magic Keyboard, connected by Lightning-to-Lightning cable, since I often needed to make entries when `bluez` and other associated Bluetooth s/w weren’t yet running. (Have since replaced it with a regular wired keyboard.)
acdha 3y ago
It definitely does - that’s even how you can most easily first pair them since plugging it in will automatically pair the Bluetooth device.

addandsubtract 3y ago

Ever tried using an Apple mouse while charging? ;) Jokes aside, not all bluetooth devices turn wired once plugged in. I know my MX Keys USB-C port is only for charging, for example.

cassianoleal 3y ago
> Ever tried using an Apple mouse while charging? ;) Lol yeah that design is really baffling! That said, it's still possible. The charging port is near the back edge of the mouse (the side closer to the user) whereas the sensor is on the other end. It won't be comfortable but letting the cable hang off the edge of the desk should allow you to use it to turn bluetooth back on. :)
- tzs 3y ago
  It's not that baffling. It let them keep the exact same form factor as the previous non-rechargeable Magic Mouse, and the mouse can go long enough between charges and charges so fast that they knew in practice 99.99% of Mac users would not have a problem with it. It charges to full in a couple hours and lasts at least a month on a full charge so almost everyone has plenty of opportunities to charge it at times when they aren't using the computer. If you do let it get low enough that it might die it only takes a couple minutes of charging to get enough charge to last 8 hours. Start charging and go get a drink of water or visit the bathroom and when you get back it is ready for the rest of the work day. That said, from what I've read there either is no warning when power gets low or it doesn't always work. With it only needing charging every month or so I can someone forgetting. It is possible to make a script to check it and give an alert if it is low, and make a cron job run that script [1]. That really should be built in. [1] https://dev.to/samselfridge/magic-mouse-low-battery-alert-4mdo https://dev.to/samselfridge/magic-mouse-low-battery-alert-4m...
  - morsch 3y ago
    > and lasts at least a month on a full charge Which is very short compared to other mice: Logitech's (and mostly everybody else's, I assume) Bluetooth mice last for several months, some last for years on a single charge. I suppose it's not a fair comparison in that the Apple mouse does more? But they still suck in terms of runtime.

sdflhasjd 3y ago

I was under the impression that the Apple keyboards could work via the lightning cable. Could be an old battery one though

latexr 3y ago
They do. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39027263 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39027263
slowwriter 3y ago
They do, but instructing them to enable Bluetooth using only the keyboard didn’t seem feasible to me.