Has Apple solved the reputation killing keyboard problems of the MacBook family? That’s certainly the suggestion in the latest report on the upcoming new additions to the Mac portfolio.
Noted Apple enlist Ming-Chi Kuo is reporting the roll-out of a new MacBook Air for 2019. More importantly this new Air will feature a change in approach to the keyboard. Gone will be the butterfly design, in its place will be a scissor-styled keyboard. Benjamin Mayo reports:
The new scissor switch keyboard is a whole new design than anything previously seen in a MacBook, purportedly featuring glass fiber to reinforce the keys. Apple fans who have bemoaned the butterfly keyboard should be optimistic about a return to scissor switches.
Kuo says that Apple’s butterfly design was expensive to manufacture due to low yields. The new keyboard is still expected to cost more than an average laptop keyboard, but it should be cheaper than the butterfly components.
Apple has never really solved this problem. Stopgap measures have been introduced, including extra dust protection, new materials over the switch, and in the metal key domes; but it still felt the need to actively promote the free keyboard replacement service on the latest MacBook updates launched in late May.
Although the butterfly design has promised a physically lighter keyboard with thinner dimensions, the MacBook keyboard now has a reputation for poor reliability, repeating keystrokes, or ignored key presses. A move away from the butterfly design feels like an acknowledgment not just of the problem, but that it cannot be easily engineered away.
For the record, the older MacBook keyboards before the move to the butterfly system were all based on the scissor-based system.
The question now is if this keyboard change will be for every new MacBook announcement going forwards, or on a case by case basis. Kuo suggests that the upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro rumored to be announced later this year (potentially in the traditional October slot) will stick with the butterfly keyboard.
If the latter is the case, hobbling any new Mac technology with the discredited keyboard sounds like a terrible idea. Imagine having to choose between a big and bright new screen but only if you gamble on the keyboard?
Now read more about Apple’s plans for a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro…
