If you haven’t already heard, a large percentage of Apple notebook users are having problems
with their keyboard.
Things like repeating characters when a key is only pressed once, characters not appearing
when pressed, and sticky keys that don’t respond reliably.
And over the past few years these issues have only become more widespread.
So in this video we’re going to explore what started these keyboard problems in the
first place, just how bad the situation is today, what Apple is doing to fix it, and
what it could mean the future of Apple’s notebook keyboards.
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So if there’s one thing Apple is known for, it’s likely their incredible industrial
design.
It’s resulted in products like the iPod being featured in national museums and it’s
influenced the form factor of entire categories of products.
But sometimes Apple can get a little carried away with their emphasis on design, resulting
in products that favor form over function.
For example, if you owned an older iPod power cable, you’d find a stain relief on the
30-pin connector which prevented splitting and fraying.
But somewhere along the way Apple’s design team decided that strain relief was an eyesore
and needed to be removed, despite strong opposition from the engineering and quality control teams.
This resulted in widespread cable durability issues that still exist today.
And Apple has found themselves in a similar situation these past few years for the same
reason: valuing form over function.
Now I’m not suggesting Apple shouldn’t try their best to pursue great design.
After all, that’s a large part of what makes their products so appealing and enjoyable
to use.
I just want to point out that sometimes compromises need to be made in the process, and sometimes
there are oversights that are difficult to identify until millions of people are already
using the product.
That’s exactly what happen in the case of Apple’s notebooks.
And it all began in 2015 with the MacBook.
It was designed to be as thin and compact as possible, which as I mentioned before,
came with compromises.
Not only did it run on a mobile processor, but it had just one USB-C port and a 40% thinner
keyboard with so little travel that it was hard to feel if keys were even being pressed.
But Apple touted the new keyboard as an engineering accomplishment.
Saying its new butterfly mechanism made the keys 4x more stable for a more enjoyable typing
experience.
But judging from the initial reactions of people who demoed the product, the MacBooks
keyboard definitely didn’t deliver a superior experience.
Many people said it felt spongy and would take a while to get used to.
But that was nothing compared to the issues users would experience once the product went
on sale.
It turned out that because the MacBooks keyboard was so thin, and the butterfly mechanism was
so fragile, that just some particles of dust could render a key unresponsive.
And because of the new butterfly design, the key caps were much harder to remove than those
keys with a traditional scissor mechanism.
This resulted in many users breaking unresponsive keys that they were trying to fix.
And I think Casey Johnston, a MacBook user writing for The Outline who experienced key
failures, said it best when she wrote, “If a single piece of dust lays the whole computer
out, don't you think that's kind of a problem?”
So what do you do if one of your keys stop responding?
Take it to the Apple Store, of course.
Perhaps they can remove the key cap properly and clean the mechanism to make it functional
again.
But in most cases, that isn’t what happened.
Instead, Geniuses were recommending replacements of the notebook’s top case.
Which carried an out-of-warranty cost of $330 to $700 depending on the model.
A big price to pay for a few specks of dust finding their way inside your MacBooks keyboard.
Now it took Apple almost a year to take any sort of action on this problem, but they eventually
did.
By creating a webpage with instructions on how to properly clean your MacBooks keyboard
with compressed air if a key becomes unresponsive.
A temporary solution at best for a problem caused by Apple’s design team themselves.
And remember Casey Johnston?
She ended up experiencing temporarily dead keys again, just two months after her MacBook
had been repaired.
The issue became so widespread that John Gruber of the Daring Fireball, who’s a known Apple
loyalist, called the keyboard problem one of the biggest design screwups in Apple history.
And it appeared customers felt the same way, since three class-action lawsuits were filed
against Apple in a span of two months.
With the most common accusation being that Apple knew about the defective keyboard since
it’s introduction on the MacBook in 2015, but they decided to hide its problems from
the public, and continue including the faulty keyboard in subsequent notebooks like the
MacBook Pro.
And the lawsuits were effective, with Apple publicly acknowledging the keyboard problems
a month after the third lawsuit was file, and launching a repair program to cover what
they called “a small percentage of keyboards in certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models.”
And considering how much trouble Apple’s butterfly mechanism caused their customers,
many assumed the keyboard would be redesigned for the next MacBook Pro refresh in July 2018.
But Apple only made one change, adding a silicon membrane that would allow for quieter typing.
And while Apple listed several features of the refreshed notebooks in their press release,
nothing was mentioned about making the keyboard more durable or less susceptible to failure.
But many people suspected Apple didn’t add the silicon key membrane only for quieter
typing.
Many believed its primary purpose was to protect the fragile butterfly mechanism from dust
and debris.
And this suspicion was confirmed by a leaked Apple service document that said: “The keyboard
has a membrane under the keycaps to prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism.”
So that must’ve fixed the keyboard issues, right?
Well, that’s what many people were hoping, including Casey Johnston who wrote about an
exchange she had with an Apple Store associate: “I described my issues with “dust” to
one shop associate at the Apple Store at the World Trade Center and asked if the new computers
were any better.
“Yeah, yeah, they fixed that problem… it was a BIG problem,” she told me.
“So it doesn’t happen at all?”
I asked.
“No, it shouldn’t happen,” she said.”
But as time passed, it turned out the only thing the rubber membrane did was simply delay
the usual keyboard issues customers had been experiencing.
And it wasn’t long before reports of stuck keys started piling up yet again.
Apple did eventually issue a public apology in March for their faulty keyboard, saying,
“We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third-generation
butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry.
The vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the
new keyboard.”
But this was far from satisfactory for most users.
Since Apple didn’t extend the keyboard repair program for the 2018 MacBook Pros and refreshed
MacBook Air, all of which featured the faulty keyboard Apple apologized for.
And shortly after Apple’s apology, John Gruber made a second statement about their
butterfly keyboard.
Saying, “I consider these keyboards the worst products in Apple history.
MacBooks should have the best keyboards in the industry; instead they’re the worst.
They’re doing lasting harm to the reputation of the MacBook brand.”
And I think he’s right.
There are so many videos like this one from Unbox Therapy that are damaging the Macs reputation
of reliability [clip]
So just how common is this flaw with Apple notebooks?
It certainly appears to be much more widespread than Apple is admitting.
And while there haven’t been any scientific studies, people like David Hansson have collected
data of their own from Basecamp employees and Twitter users.
30% of the 47 people at Basecamp reported keyboard issues as of April first, and keep
in mind that doesn’t include users who already had their keyboard repaired.
And on Twitter, Hansson’s poll received over 7,500 responses, 64% of which reported
experiencing keyboard problems at some point in time.
Now I should point out this data is just anecdotal, but even if the numbers have been artificially
skewed upward, and the real number of effected users is something like 25-30%, it’s still
a huge number that suggests a serious design flaw.
Another interesting piece of data came from a Reddit user who said they work in Apple
retail as a Genius.
According to them, half of their total Mac repairs, desktop and notebook, are for butterfly
keyboards.
So it’s undeniable that Apple has a big problem on their hands, whether they’re
willing to admit it or not.
And it’s causing notebook customers to either avoid buying MacBooks altogether, or to purchase
earlier 2015 models that feature the traditional scissor keyboards.
The only way Apple can bring this problem to an end once and for all is to completely
reengineer the keyboards in their next notebook update.
With durability and reliability as the primary design goals instead of thinness.
And we’re actually seeing some new patents from Apple that may give us an idea of what
their next generation keyboard might look like.
Instead of using a chicklet-style keyboard that’s typically seen in notebooks today,
Apple may go in a new direction entirely.
Opting for a glass panel keyboard with no loose keys or mechanical switches.
This patent, which Apple vaguely named “computer with keyboard” demonstrated how Apple would
create a tactile glass keyboard without moving parts.
A glass panel would feature raised sections that represent each key, and when the user
presses on one of the sections, the key would buckle slightly, allowing for key travel without
fragile moving parts.
Now I imagine this sort of keyboard design would take some getting used to, but its benefits
are pretty incredible.
Not only does it eliminate the possibility of key failure due to dust or debris, but
it allows for the keyboard layout to change since they keys are actually just a display
underneath the tactile glass panel, similar to the Touch Bar.
It would also be thinner than Apple’s current notebook keyboard while also more durable
and reliable.
But this isn’t the only keyboard patent Apple has filed.
They’re also exploring flat touch-screen keyboards that would be similar to what I
just mentioned, except without the raised key sections, which I think would be very
controversial since it’s almost impossible to touch-type on a keyboard with no tactile
response.
Now according to various rumors, Apple’s new notebooks could be coming as soon as this
year or as late as 2021.
But whenever it may be, they’ll have to feature a completely redesigned keyboard that
Apple can prove is actually reliable, or else this while keyboard fiasco could get even
more serious and last even longer.