Why is this being reposted? Has something changed recently or is it the same as before? I'd like them to extend it beyond four years to be honest, would go some way towards making up for this sh design
It keeps expanding to more and older MacBooks
Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
131–140 of 171 posts
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#132Rumour now has it that Apple will make the almost unprecedented move of abandoning this keyboard design [1]. Technically, they might be replacing it with a newer design (vs the old chiclet keys which IMHO were actually great) but still...
One can't help but note the timing of Johnny Ive leaving with this move. If it comes to pass (and it is just a rumour at this point and there are a lot of false Apple rumours because clickbait).
Johnny Ive does seem to be obsessed with thinness to the point of ludicrousness. It's said design is the art of compromise and any design is a compromise. To me the 2010+ Macbook Air was essentially a "perfect" laptop. Powerful enough, with enough ports but also quite cheap (under $1500) and light. Size, weight, cost and power are all axes for compromise. This was largely replaced with the 12" Macbook, which sacrificed pretty much everything to shave off another millimeter or two. One USB-C port.
It's almost unprecedented that this form factor (13" Macbook Air) would be resurrected yet it was. Is this tantamount to an admission of error with the 12" Macbook? Was it effectively a rebuke of Johnny Ive's "thinness above all else" philosophy? Is the new keyboard (if it happens) a furhter admission of error?
I don't know of course but I'm hopeful that the current trend of terrible Apple design will reverse.
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/4/20682079/apple-butterfly-s...
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you can wait until September that’s the month some people predict there will be a new MacBook Air with a new type of keyboard that goes back to the original design.
Don't make recommendations based on predictions. That's a terrible reason to wait for a necessary purchase.
But they do offer a small education discount ($50 or so on the cheaper hardware) and almost always have a "Back to School" promotion in which they also throw in some sort of accessory for free.
For the last two years (at least), the "Back to School" promotion launched in the middle of July and offered a free set of Beats headphones, which had a retail price of $200-300.
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don't care about the default telemetry and ads, switch to Windows 10 with WSL. I was a die hard Mac user for a decade and since switching I haven't looked back. Windows is a different beast than it was 10 years ago, and having the whole ecosystem of hardware and software at your disposal is fantastic.
I still am trying to figure out what WSL has solved for anyone. It works fine for the little tutorials they use to showcase it, but on any real project it is just as bad as what many of us have had to do for the last 10 years if we were stuck with Windows: use a VM with all the problems it brings like using extra CPU and memory, poor filesystem performance, duplicating tools and configs in both the Windows and Linux…
One example, Qiime[1] can now run on windows via WSL. Much faster than the previous best solution, which was virtualbox.
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#135I'll be holding on to my 2012 MacBook Pro until they switch to a different kind of keyboard. If they don't, then I'm getting a Surface instead.
If you don't care about the default telemetry and ads, switch to Windows 10 with WSL. I was a die hard Mac user for a decade and since switching I haven't looked back. Windows is a different beast than it was 10 years ago, and having the whole ecosystem of hardware and software at your disposal is fantastic.
If you do care about the telemetry and ads, try a Linux computer
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#136My report: I just got a new MacBook Air a few weeks ago, to replace an aging MacBook Air. Retina display is a huge upgrade, and USB C is great (I don't miss the mag safe charger as much as I thought I would). The keyboard though ... Week 1: For the first week the keyboard was great (although more clacky sounding than the older model). Week 2: The R key started misfiring. Press the R key 10 times, you only get 8 Rs on…
If I was in your boots, I would be quite upset. I can deal with some minor hiccups here and there, but the R key is quite crucial. I would weigh trying to do a repair anyway just to guard against against a probable future occurrence...
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
Companies like Dell and Lenovo just ships fault element if it's possible to replace it yourself and in many cases it is possible to replace keyboard without to much hustle. Not to mention their on premise warranty which usually cost somewhere around AppleCare plan. If I am working on a hardware, 9 hours a day 5,6 or even 7 days a week I don't have time to sit in Apple store for hours. Even worst, in country where I a…
They do that if you paid for the premium warranty options, it's not included by default -- it's typically depot service for everything by default.
I paid for premium service from Dell (Alienware actually, but they were owned by Dell by then), which was around the same price as AppleCare. Someone came out to my house the next day and fixed the computer on the spot, replacing a part. This was for a part that failed because I was stupid and didn't have the computer plugged into a surge protector. After that, setting up an appointment, going to an Apple Store, waiting in the sea of people, and having to send in my computer, only to have to come back to the store later isn't exceptional in the slightest.
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#138Add to that, that the keycaps break. They have teeny-tiny clips on the top edge, which just break after a while, and they just lift off, sticking to your finger, or just shift slightly, enough not to 'click' when you press them. I'm not a particularly heavy typist (though it sounds like it on the butterfly keyboard, compared to my previous 2013 macbbok pro), but I've now had about 8 keycaps replaced in the lasst year…
Serious question: how much force do you type with? The reason I ask is that I see many, many people stab laptop keyboards with a ridiculous amount of force. It actually bothers me like someone is banging on my skull, particularly for the bad keyboards you have (which includes the latest MBP). I learned to touch type in high school. At first, believe it or not, it was with manual typewriters. These actually require a…
Even without a lot of force, the new MacBook keyboards just sound like they're being abused and typed on with a ton of force. I make a conscious effort to type softly. My typing speed suffers a bit, but I don't get the anxiety that sometimes is triggered from typing hard and my body assuming I'm in some crunch mode.
I have a 2015 MacBook Pro and while there's noise when I type, you can barely hear it. I've used my SO's 2018 MacBook Pro with the new keyboard and it sounds (and feels) like I'm putting a ton of force on the keys when I'm not.
It's simply a flaw with the new keyboards. They're loud and fragile. It seems both of these criticisms are met with equal hatred amongst the community.
I'd like to add that the old MacBook keyboards can take quite the beating. I've seen people using 2011 and 2012 MacBooks while practically pounding on the keyboard and they have never had issues. I occasionally type hard on mine as well, but I've never had a fear of breaking the keyboard. I'm too hesitant to blame the way someone types when A) the keyboard is clearly a regression in feel, sound, and durability as well as B) the way people have typed hasn't been much of an issue with MacBooks in the past.
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple is usually very good with this sort of stuff. My wife bought a MacBook two months before OS X came out, so she had OS 9. When OS X came out, Apple sent free copies to everyone who bought a computer in the last 90 days.
Presumably it was more of a PowerBook than a MacBook, since OSX came out in 2001ish and MacBooks didn't exist till they switched to Intel in 2006. Sorry..
You're right; I remembered it wrong. It was an iBook. 10GB hard drive and a built-in DVD-ROM. I wish I hadn't sold it years later.
Re: Apple's service program for butterfly keyboard MacBooks, even out of warranty
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple is usually very good with this sort of stuff. My wife bought a MacBook two months before OS X came out, so she had OS 9. When OS X came out, Apple sent free copies to everyone who bought a computer in the last 90 days.
Or they could just announce their product schedule that they know months/years in advance so the customer could make an informed choice. No credit for fixing the problem they deliberately create.
I guess you've never heard of the Osborne Effect