Nah
Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
31–39 of 39 posts
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#32I'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…
My office replaced our 2015 Macbook's with the "latest and greatest." I hate sitting next to my coworkers who use them now. They're good typists and prior to the switch I didn't even notice their keyboard noise, but the new keyboard design made keystrokes noticeably louder because the cushioning was sacrificed in the name of thinness. It's distracting in the workplace and I would feel bad if I ever had to use one in…
Do they have the 2018 model? I have the 2016 and the 2018 seems quieter.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#33I loved my 2016 MacBook except that I had to have the keyboard replaced twice. But I have a 2018 MBP TB and the keyboard is, IMHO, great. I use the built in kbd exclusively about 70+ hours/week and have had zero problems (except I can't remove the escape key from the touchbar -- but that's another topic).
I wrote and debugged about 60,000 lines of C++ on the supposedly non-"pro" MacBook and it was fine.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#34I'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…
After I started using MBPs, I developed wrist pain and later, a ganglion. Could just be me getting older, but after my wrists started hurting, part of what I changed was keeping use of the MBP keyboard to an absolute minimum. (I use an external ergo keyboard primarily now.) What I wonder about is whether it's the short travel distance (the key moves less than a millimeter), and rather rough stop (given the short trav…
A ganglion is likely not due to keyboard use or similar stress, but simply a small tear in the sheath. FWIW my mum (a GP) used to just whack them with a book.
==
The 2018 ones got a protective membrane that seems to have ameliorated the dust mote issue.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#35I've only used macbooks since the white polycarbonate versions, but my 2016 macbook pro will probably be the last time. The issue for me is that the keyboard is completely fine 99% of the time, but then a key randomly sticks or doesn't trigger and it just throws me off. I can't even replicate the problem reliably.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#36The design goal for butterfly switch wasn't enhancing user experience. It was designed to make MacBook Pro thinner.
Not disagreeing, but: Dear Apple, enough with the thinner! I don't need or want my iPhone to be any thinner, I'd rather it not bend and I'd rather have a headphone jack. I don't need or want my MacBook to be any thinner than ~2015 MBPs; I care about weight, about a decent keyboard, and about convenient ports. I don't care about it being 5mm thicker or thinner.
>I don't need or want my iPhone to be any thinner
Every iPhone since the iPhone 7 Plus has been thicker than the one before it. The X is the thickest phone since the 4S, which was released in 2011.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#37Earlier 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…
It's not possible but that's not what I'm talking about.
Here's the replacement program: https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-m...
It took a lot of time for them to accept the problem but now they are servicing every laptop 4 years after inception and it doesn't matter if you have warranty. I'm also pretty sure you can ask them about your data so they'd transfer it (there's even a dedicated port on the motherboard for that) and you should do backup anyway.
Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not disagreeing, but: Dear Apple, enough with the thinner! I don't need or want my iPhone to be any thinner, I'd rather it not bend and I'd rather have a headphone jack. I don't need or want my MacBook to be any thinner than ~2015 MBPs; I care about weight, about a decent keyboard, and about convenient ports. I don't care about it being 5mm thicker or thinner.
I don't really care about the headphone jack, but I wish they'd just make the phone thicker to accommodate the camera bump. In that extra volume, just fill it with a larger battery. With their laptops, I enjoy the form factor, but it's really Intel's fault for not delivering the low TDP, low wattage CPUs they promised years ago. The old MBP form factor feels too thick but the battery life of the new ones is disappoin…
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Re: Is It Time to Call the Butterfly Switch Keyboard an Engineering Failure?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
After I started using MBPs, I developed wrist pain and later, a ganglion. Could just be me getting older, but after my wrists started hurting, part of what I changed was keeping use of the MBP keyboard to an absolute minimum. (I use an external ergo keyboard primarily now.) What I wonder about is whether it's the short travel distance (the key moves less than a millimeter), and rather rough stop (given the short trav…
A ganglion is likely not due to keyboard use or similar stress, but simply a small tear in the sheath. FWIW my mum (a GP) used to just whack them with a book. == The 2018 ones got a protective membrane that seems to have ameliorated the dust mote issue.
> A ganglion is likely not due to keyboard use or similar stress, but simply a small tear in the sheath.
The small tear in the sheath is, effectively, the ganglion. (A ganglion cyst, for others reading this, is a tear in a tendon through which joint fluid exits, when it should not. The fluid is in a pouch, so it doesn't go anywhere, but the pouch being pushed through the tear by the fluid causes a bulge wherever this is on your body.) To say that's the cause is like saying the cause of a laceration is that the skin is broken. It's true, but it's not particularly enlightening. The question is what causes that tear to arise in the first place, and trauma and repeated strain are theories (though it seems medical science does not actually know the root cause of ganglions). So, it could be coincidence, but I was already having general wrist pain and numbness, and managing my keyboard use better solved both.
> FWIW my mum (a GP) used to just whack them with a book.
My research brought me across this home "remedy" very quickly. Modern medical science does not recommend this. (Mostly due to the risk of causing other injury to the area.)