Can you play game with Apple Magic Trackpad 2? Four force sensors underneath the trackpad surface allow you to click anywhere, and detect subtle differences in the amount of pressure you apply, bringing increased functionality to your fingertips and enabling a deeper connection to your content. The battery will power your Magic Trackpad 2 for about a month or more before needing a recharge. Get more in Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (wireless rechargable) – silver review.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Attractive, minimalist design
- Includes Lightning charging cable.
- Very precise and response surface
- Approximately one month per charge
- Internal rechargeable battery.
- Larger active surface area than the previous model.
- Quick setup.
- Supports Force Click and multitouch gestures.
- Complements iOS and macOS apps
Cons
- Not Cheeto-friendly
- Limited app support for Force Touch
- Size could be problem for smaller desks
- Requires El Capitan and Bluetooth 4.0 to work.
Price
I quickly set aside the Magic Trackpad 2 ($119, originally $129; amazon.com or $129; expercom.com) that came in the box. “This is a neat extra I probably won’t use,” I told myself as I set up the classic Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard combo that I’ve grown used to on previous Macs.
Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (wireless rechargable) – silver review
Build
The top glass surface is finished in white, as is the bottom plastic cover, with a silver, metal bezel wrapping around its body.
Design
The Magic Trackpad 2 is a wireless 6-inch-by-5-inch surface that essentially works like a blown-up version of the trackpad you’ll find on a MacBook Pro or Air. it’s a rectangle. It is constructed with a slight angle, 0.43 inches at the thickest point and 0.19 inches at the thinnest. It gives you plenty of real estate for scrolling through websites and clicking around your Mac with precision.
Charging
Unlike the Magic Mouse, you can actually use the Magic Trackpad while you charge it. While the Magic Mouse 2’s Lightning port is bafflingly located on its underside, the Magic Trackpad 2’s charging port is conveniently placed at the top edge so you can juice up while you work and play.
Control
With advanced Force Touch haptics inside, the Trackpad provides a satisfying “click” sensation despite the fact that it doesn’t actually move when you press on it.
I frequently find myself performing a quick three-finger swipe upward to see all my open apps in Mission Control, and am able to easily zoom into website text by simply spreading my fingers on the surface.
Force Touch
You can perform additional actions by performing a slightly firmer-than-normal click. For example, you can Force click on any word on a website to instantly look it up in the dictionary or hard press on an address to find that location on Maps.
Haptic feedback
The gesture provides haptic feedback—it feels just like a two-stage click, but that second click that you feel is internal mechanism of the trackpad moving to let you know it has been triggered. There’s audio feedback too—a satisfying click-click. But you can lessen the audio effect if desired via a Silent Click option in the Trackpad preference pane. (It’s not quite silent, but it is a lot quieter.) And you can disable Force Click entirely if you desire, or adjust the firmness of a standard click if you find that it’s too difficult or too easy to activate the Force mechanism.
Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (wireless rechargable) – silver Performance review
It has its wide surface area, I can zip between apps on my iMac’s large 24-inch display while keeping my wrist stationary instead of dragging my arm around like I typically have to with a mouse.
To enable three-finger drag, head to System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad, and click Trackpad Options. Click the box for Enable Dragging, and select three-finger drag.
The cursor snaps into place when it moves over icons, so I didn’t need to be too precise. The shape of the cursor changes depending on the context, so it’s easy to tell what I’m interacting with and what the result will be. Two seconds after I lift my hand from the Trackpad, the cursor disappears. This feature can be changed in Settings, along with others like cursor size and contrast.
Compatibility
It’s worth noting that the Magic Trackpad 2 isn’t explicitly designed for non-Apple computers, such as Windows and Chromebook machines. I was able to pair it to my Windows desktop pretty easily, but while basic pointing and clicking worked fine, I wasn’t able to scroll, zoom or perform gestures.
How to setup Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (wireless rechargable) – silver?
Plugging a Lightning cable running from your Mac into the trackpad’s charging port instantly pairs the device, no configuration needed. A confirmation message pops up onscreen to let users know that their trackpad is ready to use over Bluetooth. If you are not comfortable digging into the settings of your Mac and want things to “just work,” these new devices are for you. With Magic Trackpad 2, Apple has truly continued the tradition of building in foolproof device setup procedures.
Users can easily adjust settings for click and haptic feedback in Mac’s Settings menu.
Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (wireless rechargable) – silver Customer review
Pricey, but great!
Unlike the bluetooth keyboard (reviewed separately) the price of this item is a little more understandable, especially as an Apple product. Where the keyboard is basically a standard wireless keyboard, this trackpad is a think of beauty with a wonderful design. I’ve always used mice and loved them, but the experience on a MacBook with their wonderful trackpads have changed my mind about trackpads entirely. Apple trackpads are the only laptop trackpads I can use for hours without regretting not plugging in a mouse. Ultimately, this is why I choose this device as an external I/O device.The design is wonderful, with the same haptic feedback you get on a MacBook and the wonderful surface area that is a pleasure to grace with the tips of your fingers. This external device is larger that what you get in most MacBooks and slightly larger still than the most recent MacBook Pro trackpad (which was also much larger than previous iterations).
My only gripe – as I stated in the bluetooth keyboard review – was with the signal. I’m not entirely sure if this is just due to my setup and signal iterference form other devices, but I need to move my laptop closer and under my monitors rather than off to the side of my desk, moving from about 3 ft to about 1.5 ft. This was necessary as the signal quality was terrible and the mouse would jump all over like some second-rate bluetooth product being used from across the room (like the crappy stuff you often find in business conference rooms). This was unacceptable but moving things closer has completely cleared up the issue.
The battery life is pretty remarkable for this trackpad. I often tend to leave it on forgetting to switch off the power in the evenings after work but it still holds a charge for couple weeks without issue. The battery level is easily seen in the bluetooth settings and information in the OS (adding this to the task bar is helpful to easily check levels).
If you like the trackpads on the MacBook lineup and are in the market for a great external pointer device, I recommend this device.
By Chris at Best Buy
Editor’s recommendations
- Apple Smart Keyboard Folio for iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) review
- Apple Watch Band 44mm price
- AirPods wireless charging case vs wired – which charge fast?
- Apple wireless charging case for AirPods Pros review, price & how to charge?
- 2020 Apple Mac mini with Apple M1 chip (8GB RAM 256GB SSD storage) review
