Apple accessories have a certain reputation for being a little on the pricey side. For example, $129 and up for a Magic Keyboard might be considered expensive when third-party models are available from under $20. But the Seneca keyboard from Norbauer makes Apple prices look positively Dollar Store level …
The Seneca mechanical keyboard goes on sale today “from” $3600. For that price, you could buy a very nicely-specced MacBook Pro or a Vision Pro.
Founder Ryan Norbauer does admit this sounds crazy.
On paper, nothing about this makes any sense. It is over the top. Needlessly lavish. Exuberantly irrational.
And that is the point. If you’re looking for a keyboard to solve only an earthly practical need, the Seneca is admittedly maybe not for you […] It is meant to be a sentimental escape hatch to a beautiful and better place—a world of sensual luxury, insane engineering, and forgotten visions of a glimmering future.
Why so expensive?
Its intricate mechanisms can only be assembled and tuned by human hands, over hours of skilled work—typically by a single artisan, from start to finish.
Every component is custom made (right down to the individually-machined screws), hyper-engineered from first principles for maximum acoustic, artistic, and tactile refinement—costs be damned.
Even the key switches are designed and manufactured by Norbauer – and they are not the mechanical switches you’d expect from a premium keyboard.
The elastomeric domes of capacitive keyboards use a controlled collapse at a predetermined inflection point on the downstroke, imparting a satisfying tactile snap. Further, the unusual physical design of the key system (a free-sliding linear bearing, made of resin, which flattens a helical coil against a sensor pad) creates a characteristic and satisfying sound—a deep and quiet acoustic profile sometimes described as a “thock.”
The Seneca takes the architecture of these switches as inspiration but reinvents and reengineers every component from the ground up. This allowed us to construct a keyboard with a fundamentally vintage character, but optimized for all the things that 21st century keyboard enthusiasts have learned can make keyboards sound and feel uniquely pleasurable.
The design is intended to blend elements of Midcentury look with those of the 80s and 90s.
But it’s not just that I think these semiotic codes (forgive me) are inherently beautiful. I love them because they capture a feeling: nostalgic optimism for the future.
These decades saw incredible advances in aerospace, energy, computing, and communication technologies, accompanied by a pervasive belief in the inevitability of cultural progress, economic growth, and liberalization.
You can see and hear it in action here:
I shall not be ordering one personally, but you can order yours later today from the company’s website.
Highlighted accessories
Via Daring Fireball. Photo: Norbauer.
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