Andrew O'Hara
The Logitech K380 has been around since 2015, but only in the last few years has the company bestowed us with a lovely Mac-specific version. We put it to the test.
The Logitech K380 Bluetooth keyboard for Mac is available in Rose, Off-white, and Blueberry. While all the colors look great, we chose the latter for our desk.
The Logitech K380 hasn't changed much since its original release. It's a small keyboard that fits easily on your desk but could also be tossed in your bag to take with you.
When compared to the Apple Magic Keyboard, Logitech's is slightly more bulbous, but not by much. On our Blueberry-colored keyboard, the body is darker against lighter keycaps on top and white Bluetooth buttons.
Those Bluetooth buttons, located on the top left, allow you to move between your host devices. You can connect up to three devices and jump between them using the built-in shortcuts.
We set ours up for our Mac while on our desk but then connected to our iPad while writing at home and even our iPhone when going through a laborious email session.
The keyboard is powered by two replaceable AAA batteries located on the back. Logitech says they should last roughly two years when typing eight hours a day, five days a week. We haven't had ours that long, but a cursory look around online says customers have experienced that level of battery life or better.
This keyboard lacks a dedicated number pad, though there is an inverted T set of arrow keys in the lower-left corner.
Unfortunately, this keyboard has no backlight, but at this price point, we're content.
Logitech K380 - A tactile typing experience
The K380 hits just the right balance for Mac users, providing a more tactile key feel than Apple's keyboards but not as loud and clacky as a fully mechanical keyboard.
Logitech uses iconically round keycaps that sit a millimeter or two above the body of the keyboard. The round keys technically provide less surface area for typing. We found our efficiency and accuracy were still on par compared to our Apple keyboard.
Each key has a solid poppy click as it gets pressed, providing that much-needed feedback. Keys bounce back quickly, and we have no issues speeding along as we type, nor do our fingers trip over the raised caps.
The keyboard is on the quiet side, which is probably best when in a shared office environment. Apple's Magic Keyboards are just a touch louder.
You'll find Apple-specific keys, as this is a Mac-specific version of this keyboard. You have the expected command, option, control keys, and the correct function keys.
Should you buy the Logitech K380 keyboard for Mac?
Frankly, there are a few keyboards we'd recommend over the K380 for Mac users. It's almost perfect in its fun, colorful design with responsive keys and impressive battery life.
Unless you're a big fan of mechanical keyboards or need a dedicated number pad, this keyboard is where it's at. It's also durable and easily held up to use by kids and adults.
It just checks all the boxes. Of course, some may argue for a rechargeable version, but with this excellent battery life, charging regularly would be much more annoying than swapping the batteries biannually.
This keyboard has been a mainstay for PC users and has quickly jumped to our top recommendation list for Mac users. Of course, Logitech creates a lot of great keyboards, but at roughly $30, this one is hard to beat.
Logitech K380 - Pros
- Affordable
- AAA batteries last two years with daily use
- Fun colors
- Multi-device connectivity
- Mac-specific layout
- Great typing feel
Logitech K380 - Cons
- Not backlit or rechargable
Rating: 5 out of 5
Where to buy the Logitech K380
You can find the Logitech K380 keyboard for Mac on Amazon starting at $29.99 in all three colorways.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
5 Comments
I wonder why most of these keyboarda lack the numeric pad. I always find writing the numbers in the row so painful…
Would it kill these companies to bold the legends on the keycaps? When you've got a relatively low-contrast color scheme like this rather than high-contrast black & white, it can be hard to read the legends, especially in low light. Yes, it's not really necessary for touch-typing, but it would help a lot when reaching for the number and symbol keys.
The K380 is a very good and highly versatile keyboard for the price. I actually prefer the typing experience and overall feel of Apple's keyboards over the K380. Apple's keyboards simply feel sturdier than the K380, but they should because they cost 3X as much. Apple’s Touch ID equipped keyboards are hard to beat and difficult to move away from. Once you’ve had the Touch ID feature you don’t want to give it up.
I love Logitech's now discontinued K600 keyboard with the built in trackpad, mouse buttons, d-pad, and multi device capability for controlling the Mac mini, Intel NUC, and Apple TV attached to my 4K TV. Works like a charm with one exception, the YouTube app on Apple TV. With its demise I’ll have to switch back to the K400+ for similar use cases, but the K400+ is single device only.
i can’t say anything negative about Logitech’s keyboards, trackballs, and mice. They’ve always served me well at an affordable price and exhibited excellent battery life. But if Apple were to equip their keyboards with multi device capability and Touch ID I’d be all over them. That said, I still keep a K380 and a compatible USB wireless dongle around as a backup keyboard because it is so versatile and usable across pretty much every device I own, from Raspberry Pi, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Windows, Linux, Apple TV, etc.
I use a K480 myself, picked this model because of the ability to switch between a few devices. (Mac and PC) The selector switch is nice because you always know which mode you are in, and the slot at the top has been surprisingly useful. I nearly always have my iPhone in it, and when I'm using my Mac, the MX Master 3 I use on the PC-side can rest in the slot too. I've also put iPads in there and not felt like they were going to tip over. I generally prefer the super slim Apple keyboards too, but the multi-device functionality is hard to beat. (as is the slot)
I bought a K380 18 months ago and I really like it. I have 3 office spaces and I take the keyboard with me in my backpack . One the features that are not mentioned in the article but that is important for me it the mechanical on/off switch, so it does not occasionally switches on, emitting spurious key strokes while it is in my backpack. The multi device is also important. I am frequently working with 2 machines simultaneously and I can use the keyboard for both at the same time (just needing to press one the selector switches).