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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1509247
A Keyboard for All of Us Though the MX Keys S is not made specifically for the Mac, iOS and iPadOS (there is a model that is), the keyboard has no problem playing a dual role, which is very nice for those of us who also have a Windows system or the OS tucked away in a virtual machine. In fact, it does a better job of handling the Option/Command vs. Start/Alt situation more elegantly than any other keyboard we’ve seen. It lacks the Mac’s eject key, but it does have a dedicated emoji key (F6) that the Mac version lacks. The one bit of Windows-ness that may be unfamiliar to Mac users is that the Start/Option key also serves as a function-switch key, switching the top row momentarily between the media keys and F1 to F12. If you want to lock it to the latter, that can be done in the Logi Options+ software. The Logi Options+ application is especially useful with the keyboard. Keys can not only be reprogrammed to other key-like functions, they can become keystroke combinations and trigger even multi-step macros. Any of these additions can be global or assigned to a specific application. The Dictation key (F5) has no function on the Mac, but it can easily be reassigned to something useful. Mute/Unmute seems to be a good fit for the key’s iconography. Above the numeric keypad are a couple of delightful additions. At the top left is a key that launches the Calculator app. To the right of that is a screen-capture key that is set by default to the capture selection mode. Though we didn’t have the opportunity to test on an Intel system, we confirmed that both the keyboard and mouse function normally in calling up the various startup modes. One feature rather unique on desktop keyboards is backlighting. There are options to set the backlighting duration to conserve the keyboard’s battery, automatic backlighting, and keys for backlighting level. The control software is smart enough to keep backlighting off on the pale gray version of the keyboard when under bright room light. If on, it can do a very good job of hiding the key labels. And if it still gets in the way, the backlighting feature can be disabled completely. Another cool feature is a brief, heads-up display at the bottom of the screen that appears when