# Apple Extended Keyboard

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple Extended Keyboard and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its long service life and its switches, and some people rate it above anything Apple has sold in the past. The one critic quoted calls its design a confession rather than a design.

## Why people recommend it

- Used for a decade or more (1 comments): "Used AEK2s for a decade or more" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47544525))
- Preferred over anything Apple sold (1 comments): "I would take an Apple Extended Keyboard (or II ;-) ) over anything they've sold in the past" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47322939))
- Liked the white ALPS switches (1 comments): "I also liked the lost-to-history white ALPS switches on the Apple Extended Keyboard II" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47733029))
- Power key safe, Mac boots after failure (1 comments): "There are no ill effects from having the power key down all the time, and the Mac will boot up after a power failure." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48509193))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Apple Magic Keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-magic-keyboard.md): 35 recommend
- [Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lenovo-thinkpad-trackpoint-keyboard-ii.md): 18 recommend
- [Logitech K400](https://hackerapproved.com/p/logitech-k400.md): 8 recommend
- [Logitech K380](https://hackerapproved.com/p/logitech-k380.md): 6 recommend
- [Happy Hacking Keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/happy-hacking-keyboard.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+Extended+Keyboard+II&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple Extended Keyboard", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-extended-keyboard/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).