This Custom, Vintage Apple-Styled Keyboard Works with Modern Windows PCs, Too

Starting in the 1980s and going throughout the 1990s, IBM compatible PCs all tended to look the same: like beige boxes. Apple stood out a bit with their slightly differently shaped beige boxes and that industrial design now has deep nostalgic appeal. Newtle Kim designed this nice Bluetooth 3D-printable keyboard that harnesses that aesthetic, and it is also compatible with modern Windows PCs.

From a technical perspective, this works just like any other modern Bluetooth keyboard. It doesn’t matter if you’re using macOS, Windows, or Linux — if the computer has a Bluetooth adapter it can use for input, this keyboard should be compatible.

But though it is compatible with any operating system, it oozes 1980s Apple style. It isn’t an exact recreation of any particular Apple keyboard design, but captures the general aesthetic. Though, as shown, it is more white than any of those were.

The mechanical parts are all 3D-printable and it uses Cherry MX key switches. Those switches connect to a keyboard matrix on a custom PCB. A second PCB hosts an ESP-WROOM-32 development board, which monitors the keyboard matrix and sends key press events over Bluetooth to the connected computer. Power comes from a LiPo battery through a TP4056-based charging module.

If you are a DIYer who enjoys that vintage Apple aesthetic, this may be the keyboard for you. The files you need to build it are on Maker World.