Apple brings the darkness back to its peripherals with a black trackpad

On Mar 8, 2022

Apple announced a new Mac and monitor at its Peek Performance event, but let’s talk about what we were all really hoping for in our heart of hearts: a black version of the Magic Trackpad. Please hold your applause, and let the darkness consume you.

It’s been a second since the company has sold a dark version of the trackpad separately. The space grey (which was decidedly lighter than the version on Apple’s store now) version was discontinued early last year. The black and silver version was available — if you bought a Mac Pro. In fact, the Mac Pro product page still says that the “matching trackpad can only be purchased with your Mac Pro” at time of writing. But nobody would do that just to get a black trackpad. (Please do not tell me you would or, worse, have. I cannot mentally handle it.)

While Apple has decoupled the black trackpad from the $6,000 Mac Pro, you will still have to pay a price premium for the aesthetic, as with the space grey trackpad before it. The silver Magic Trackpad costs $129, whereas the black version costs $149. Is that the worst way you could give Apple $20? Absolutely not — I’m sure we all remember that the $19 cleaning cloth exists. (Actually, you may want to pick one of those up if you’re getting a nano-texture Studio Display. It comes with one, but it can’t hurt to have extras, right?)

The Magic Mouse is also available in the cool black and silver look, too, also for a $20 premium over the white version. Unfortunately, you still can’t get the colorful versions that come with the M1 iMacs. That’s not the most upsetting thing about the mouse, though — that (dis)honor belongs to the fact that you still have to flip it upside down to charge it.