Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
1–10 of 39 posts
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#2I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.)
I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replace the bottom half of your laptop because we made a poorly-conceived design decision" is... dumb, to say the least.
But I don't relate to people who talk about how awful this keyboard is from a usability perspective. I like practically everything about the new keyboard much better than the previous generation's, but my opinion seems to be the overwhelming minority on this. What exactly is so bad about the new keyboard — leaving aside anything repair-related?
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#3I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.) I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replac…
I though Apple started replacing those keyboards for free now?
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#4I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.) I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replac…
Btw I also love this new keyboard especially compared to the last one I had on MBA 2014, I like the speed and the feel. Though Magic Keyboard is probably more balanced for the general audience.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#5The design goal for butterfly switch wasn't enhancing user experience. It was designed to make MacBook Pro thinner.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#6I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.) I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replac…
I though Apple started replacing those keyboards for free now?
> pay us hundreds of dollars to replace the bottom half of your laptop because we made a poorly-conceived design decision
...makes it sound like it's not technically possible to replace only the keyboard. Maybe Apple is doing it for free within the warranty, but if so, if I'm reading this right, you'll have to be prepared that your laptop is going to come back with a wiped disk drive (new bottom half).
That sounds like an awful design decision. Do I have that right? (I really don't know, as I have stuck to the 2015 models, and I haven't had to open it for any reason.)
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#7I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.) I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replac…
I am also using a 2017 model and I have to say, I love the keyboard.
It feels perfect to me as far as typing is considered. (Well, I have one issue with it, which is that I could only get an EU English layout and I used to have a US English 2015 model, I much prefer that layout, but this is hardly a butterfly-related issue!).
Honestly, I expected to hate it, especially after reading so much on the consensus about it. 3/4 of a year in, I've had little to no issues with the keyboard, mechanically. I hope that this will keep being the situation, but I can't say that I'm not afraid that it'll break. I really hope it won't, it's kind of annoying to have that sword of Damocles hanging over one's head - that much is true.
As for usability, I find the key travel distance, the firmness of the press and the clickiness to be perfect for me. It took me a while to get used to it, it felt really strange at first but then suddenly, I didn't even notice and I was typing on it like it I never had any other type of keyboard but this butterfly one. Strangely enough, though, typing on an old 2015 model feels strange, awkward, uncertain and kinda mushy to me now, even tho just using a Magic Keyboard at work still feels natural. Maybe it's just muscle memory -- as the Magic Keyboard feels like a separate device from just typing on a laptop? I don't know.
Going over to any other laptop feels so painfully awkward now, the typing experience just feels terrible in comparison to my MacBook Pro. Kind of reminds me of how the Force Touch Trackpad became one of the best pointing devices I've ever used -- any other laptop without one, even the old MacBook Air, just feels so cheap and terrible to use.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#8I've been using my 15" 2017 MBP since it was released (so 1.5 years) with absolutely zero keyboard issues. And honestly, I like this keyboard much more than the previous generation. (I had a 15" Early 2013 MBP until I got my current one.) I'm not saying that my lack of issues negates the presence of issues for other people by any means, and I think that Apple's "repair" policy of "pay us hundreds of dollars to replac…
I though Apple started replacing those keyboards for free now?
Yup! two keys had the issue and I got mine replaced for free! But, I was told that the free replacement is because of the battery issue and they've to replace the top part anyway!
https://www.apple.com/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-repl...
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I though Apple started replacing those keyboards for free now?
> pay us hundreds of dollars to replace the bottom half of your laptop because we made a poorly-conceived design decision ...makes it sound like it's not technically possible to replace only the keyboard. Maybe Apple is doing it for free within the warranty, but if so, if I'm reading this right, you'll have to be prepared that your laptop is going to come back with a wiped disk drive (new bottom half). That sounds li…
Yes, I had a late 2016 MBP which suffered stuck keys and display discoloration. Apple Store repairs wiped the hard drive.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I though Apple started replacing those keyboards for free now?
> pay us hundreds of dollars to replace the bottom half of your laptop because we made a poorly-conceived design decision ...makes it sound like it's not technically possible to replace only the keyboard. Maybe Apple is doing it for free within the warranty, but if so, if I'm reading this right, you'll have to be prepared that your laptop is going to come back with a wiped disk drive (new bottom half). That sounds li…
You get your 'hard drive' back. They simply lut your
motherboard in a new bottom case, which also contains the keyboard and battery.
You get your old screen and bottom cover back.
I have had this done three times on two different Macbook Pros so far.
I sold my 2015 Macbook Retina and purchased a keyboard on eBay
to fix the keyboard, well before the repair program was launched.