Apple USB Keyboard

1998 · iMac era Accessories

Introduced

1998

Original OS

Mac OS (bundled with iMac G3, August 1998)

Colors

Bondi Blue, Graphite, and iMac G3 fruit colors (Blueberry, Grape, Lime, Strawberry, Tangerine)

1976

1984

1998

2001

2007

2020

2026

Pre-Mac

Mac era

iMac era

iPod era

iPhone era

Silicon

Connectivity

USB2 downstream USB 1.1 ports (one at each end)

Software

Original OSMac OS (bundled with iMac G3, August 1998)

Included peripheralsBundled with iMac G3

Power

Dimensionsapprox. 370 mm (W) x 108 mm (H) across all keys

Identifiers

Model N°M2452

Lifecycle

Introduced1998

Discontinued2000

History

The ADB era lasted until 1998, when Apple released its first USB keyboard for the iMac. It featured the same dimensions as the Keyboard II, launched in 1986. However, unlike the Keyboard II, the USB Keyboard had all keys (except for 6) with standard sizes.

Trivia

• ADB remained the Apple standard until 1998, when the USB keyboard was introduced with the iMac, while maintaining the same dimensions as the famous Keyboard II from 1986. • The 1998 USB keyboard represented a major advancement over the Keyboard II, introducing for the first time almost all keys at standard size, except for 6 special keys. • Despite the transition from ADB to USB, Apple maintained coherence in industrial design: the new iMac keyboard had exactly the same proportions as the keyboard released 12 years earlier.

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