Regardless of being born, raised and persevering with to reside in the US, for a lot of many years, I’ve been an avid person and promoter of Spanish keyboards, be they inside keyboards inside laptops (together with Apple MacBooks, Chromebooks and ThinkPads) or exterior units. I’ve even satisfied at the very least one English-only talking legal professional in the US that he can be significantly better off with a Spanish keyboard than with a regular US keyboard, for all of its benefits with out a single drawback. He’s eternally grateful for the suggestion. Sadly, each producers and end-users are sometimes responsible of generalizing them as being all the identical «Spanish» keyboards, when in actuality there are three totally different layouts bought and utilized in 2025, every with totally different benefits and drawbacks. These are the Spanish ISO, the Spanish ANSI and the Latin American keyboard layouts. A superb buddy was even deceived by Lenovo, since Lenovo bought him a brand new ThinkPad laptop computer marketed on the Lenovo US web site as having a «Spanish» keyboard which turned out to be a Latin American one, which is totally not the one he wished. Forward, I’ll element the totally different professionals and cons of every.
First, the variations between ISO and ANSI keyboard layouts
ANSI (American Nationwide Requirements Institute) and ISO (Worldwide Group for Standardization) are two totally different keyboard format requirements, as designed typically, earlier than precise symbols are assigned to keys per the nation or area. The principle variations are within the Return key form and measurement, the left Shift key measurement, which not directly have an effect on the whole variety of out there keys. ANSI, generally used with the US keyboard and a small variety of others, has an oblong Return key and a bigger left Shift. ISO, fashionable in Europe, options an L-shaped Enter key and a smaller left Shift, with the backslash key usually positioned to the left of the Enter key.
ANSI keyboards normally have 104 keys (excluding further ones), whereas ISO layouts usually have 105 (excluding further ones).
I personally desire Spanish ISO over Spanish ANSI, for the reason that Spanish ISO one gives direct entry to 1 further key, which permits direct entry to 2 characters I are likely to kind pretty usually, however not everybody does. That’s why (just for Tony and others like him) I might suggest the Spanish ANSI model, at the very least when selecting and buying an exterior keyboard. (Extra particulars forward about skins.) For anybody else, I desire and suggest the Spanish ISO format.
Examples of Spanish ISO keyboards
Above, backlit exterior Spanish ISO keyboard with USB for Mac, at the moment below US$25.
Above, backlit exterior Spanish ISO keyboard with USB for Home windows. Chromebook or Linux, at the moment below US$21.
Above, the backlit inside Spanish ISO keyboard in MacBook Professional M4. If you happen to customise one on Apple.com within the US, remember to select Spanish, not Latin American (for causes lined forward). It’ll certainly be Spanish ISO, despite the fact that Apple stopped specifying that element a couple of years in the past in its gross sales pages.
Above, the backlit inside Spanish ISO inside keyboard in my most up-to-date ThinkPad X1 Carbon from Lenovo. (I bought a brand-new Spanish ISO inside keyboard for this mannequin on eBay and put in it inside.)
Examples of Spanish ANSI keyboards
I solely suggest Spanish ANSI keyboards for Tony Palomo and probably others who’re ultra-sensitive to the dimensions of these two keys.
Above, Spanish ANSI keyboard with numeric pad, at the moment below US$23.
Spanish ANSI pores and skin for US laptop computer keyboard
Ever since Apple switched to its unibody design a number of years in the past, it’s not cost-effective to transplant a Spanish ISO keyboard right into a MacBook. since it could require changing your complete high case. Enter the Spanish ANSI skins for US laptop computer keyboards to avoid wasting the day! Though they’re Spanish ANSI as a substitute of Spanish ISO (as a result of bodily limitations of the US keyboard, which is ANSI), it’s nonetheless light-years higher than the Latin American format, as defined forward.
Above, Spanish ANSI pores and skin for newer MacBooks with US keyboards, at the moment below US$16. Examine compatibility together with your precise MacBook mannequin.
Above, Spanish ANSI pores and skin for older MacBooks with US keyboards, at the moment below US$7. Examine compatibility together with your precise MacBook mannequin.
Latin American keyboard format and its a number of disadvantages
I’m not a Spaniard nor a Latin American. I’m a bilingual (almost trilingual) and an authorized translator from the US who has fashioned this opinion primarily based upon irrefutable sensible causes. The Latin American keyboard is factually inferior for the next causes:
- In contrast to the superior Spanish ISO and even the Spanish ANSI format, the Latin American keyboard promotes tunnel carpal syndrome or an analogous discomfort by finding the accent mark utilized in Castilian within the higher row, inflicting stress on the pinky, because it should ascend a lot too usually. Happily, each Spanish layouts have it ergonomically positioned within the middle row, simply to the suitable of the Ñ key.
- In contrast to the Spanish ISO keyboard (which gives each the female and masculine superscript symbols for ordinal numbers, like 1ª, 2ª, 3ª, 1º, 2º, 3º and the abbreviation of the identify María in compound names, together with Mª Camila, Mª Milagros and Mª Teresa (who’re three individuals I do know), the Latin American keyboard is machista because it lacks the female model.
- In contrast to each Spanish keyboard layouts, which logically find the @ image on the quantity 2 key (simply because the US keyboard does), the Latin American keyboard format locations it on the Q key, which is a torture for individuals who should ceaselessly alternate with US keyboards.
- In contrast to the 2 Spanish keyboard layouts which supply each the € (euro image) and the $ (an emblem used for each {dollars} and pesos), the Latin American keyboard lacks the € image, making it weak for worldwide communication.
- In contrast to each Spanish keyboard layouts, the Latin American keyboard format sadly lacks the Ç/ç to be used in Albanian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kurdish, Manx, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen and Romance alphabets for Catalán, French, Occitan and Portuguese, the Latin American keyboard sadly lacks each of these.
Above, instance of Latin American keyboard format.
Deliberately, there are not any Latin American keyboards listed in my TuTeclado.com web site.
Lee este artículo en buen castellano
Teclado español: ¿cuál de las tres distribuciones?
(Re-)Subscribe for upcoming articles, critiques, radio exhibits, books and seminars/webinars
Stand by for upcoming articles, critiques, books and programs by subscribing to my bulletins.
In English:
En castellano:
Most of my present books are at books.AllanTepper.com, and likewise go to AllanTepper.com and radio.AllanTepper.com.
FTC disclosure
Not one of the producers listed has paid for this text. A number of the producers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur.LLC to hold out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Thus far, not one of the producers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta packages, though they’re welcome to take action, and a few are, could also be (or could have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition journal. Some hyperlinks to 3rd events listed on this article and/or on this internet web page could not directly profit TecnoTur.LLC by way of affiliate packages. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his personal. Allan Tépper just isn’t responsible for misuse or misunderstanding of knowledge he shares.
