RGB Backlite Wired Alumnium Keyboard

This is the keyboard to replace Apples wired keyboard. There is more key travel, without being to much. There is feedback that, to me, is better than the  keyboard. The spacing is the same for the number and letter keys so no getting used to a different spacing. The top row of F keys has slightly more spacing than the  keyboard.The backlit keys are a blessing and much needed. I bought the space gray keyboard and like it better than the  silver keyboard.One problem I have recently discovered. Matias changed the programming of the first series of this keyboard. The keyboard is not able to do the keystrokes on startup for internet recovery (Command-R) or numerous other keyboard startup key strokes. They did this having to do with something allowing the LED lights to start at startup.

This is the only full-size, RGB variable-intensity backlit, Space Gray, USB wired, aluminum frame, Mac keyboard available on the market today. It looks like the brother of the now discontinued Apple keyboard although its over-all quality is not quite as refined as the Apple product (few things are - truth be known).The key feel is great. Some people report that they seem "looser" than the old Apple product but I don't notice it as a distractor. The RGB works good and is variable with a potentiometer type control. Intensity level is 10 levels from dim to bright. There is some leakage around the bottom of the keys but not distractingly so to me. I love the USB wired connection. No drop-outs or lags with this connection. A built-in USB connector on the keyboard gives me a handy place to plug in my trackball - saving a valuable USB plug slot on my outboard MBP dongle adapter. The keyboard remains lit when the MPB is turned off. That is probably because the Satechi external adapter I use with the MBP provides continuous charging through the USB ports. Point is, if this is set up in your bedroom, you can expect a "nightlight." Color match is good between the MBP, Satechi external adapter and the keyboard. Not perfect, but better than a silver adapter, white keyboard and space gray laptop.Almost perfect...what's the bitch? A minor lapse in quality control resulted in the "caps lock" key having a partially delaminated key top on the lower left corner of the key. Every now and then my finger brushes across that corner of the key and it "snags" a little bit - enough to be distracting. For $100.00, the QC should have picked this up during inspection! Too bad a minor flaw mars what is an almost perfect product.

This keyboard looks great, but the feel is far inferior to the Apple keyboard. They keys are loose, and since they are glossy, it is very noticeable that the tops are never all flat (they end up somewhat wavy, across the keyboard). This keyboard is also about 1/2" longer, and the change in key spacing can be annoying, if you're used to the Apple keyboard. Most importantly, this keyboard cannot be used to reset PRAM, and I don;t know why - but you must use the Apple Keyboard if you need to do this. The keyboard also "disappears" occasionally, requiring the USB cable to be re-plugged. After having to do this multiple times I finally reverted back to the Apple Keyboard. I would actually return this as defective if it were still in the time frame, but it isn't. Now that the Space Gray Magic Keyboard is available I would recommend spending the extra $50!

I used a Matias mechanical keyboard for my Mac for many years. When my original Apple keyboard bit the dust, I wanted a keyboard with a solid metal top and great key feel like my Apple keyboard but I also wanted backlighting for the keys that makes it easier to work with in the dark.When I saw that Matias made a full-size keyboard with a number pad that also had backlighting, I was excited. The Matias mechanical keyboard I used for years was wonderful. I saw some reviews mentioning that this was a poor keyboard, but I assumed some people just didn't like the action on the keys. My mistake.The metal top is solid and feels similar to the Apple keyboard it replaced. The key spacing and layout is pretty good but these are the best. things I can say about this keyboard.The backlighting isn't as bright as on most backlit keyboards or Apple's laptops. The keys themselves feel mushy and imprecise. I very frequently get two of the same character when I only type one. To make things worse, sometimes pressing a key returns no output at all. It's a keyboard. It's one job above all else is to reliably output the things you type and it fails at that miserably.This is not an inexpensive keyboard, so there is no excuse for it to be so bad. I'm returning it. With my next keyboard I won't have to worry about whether it will work properly or not.If you are looking to buy this keyboard because it's one of the few backlit metal keyboards for the Mac, you should reconsider until Matias goes back to the drawing board and produces a reliable version of this keyboard.

I love the idea of a Mac keyboard that has a backlight. The backlight on this keyboard works great, too. The issue I'm having is with the actual keys: The key action is very soft--there's not a point in which you really realize you have pressed the key for it to register I have had issues with pressing the "." key (period) and it not registering that I pressed it because I tend to hit the button in the lower right corner of the key with my ring finger, and the keyboard wants me to press right in the middle of the key.I've also had issues where I held the buttons of various keys down for a normal key press, but the keyboard registers it as multiple key presses and prints several of that letter onto the screen.I'll try to stick it out for another couple weeks to see if I get used to these quirks... The period button is by far the most irritating part of this keyboard and makes me think that other keys will start showing the same issues. Why won't Apple just make a backlit keyboard already?!