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Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

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Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#71

Post by sandmansandine »

yawn_010101 wrote: post #47

Having interfaced with Apple in a different way (apart from owning a new MBP and an iPhone X) I'd say the issue is, and continues to be, growing pains. They're certainly losing the lead in software engineer talent (giving it away to whom, I'm not sure). But the single most horrible experience I've had with Apple in the last year was trying to get software published on the App Store. That's a department that's so larg…

Serious question: Why didn't you mention the genders of the the people from "the "good old days"" but had to say over and over again that you were dealing with "Middle manager woman"

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#72

Post by manigandham »

spyckie2 wrote: post #52

This is NOT a big issue for consumers. Apple is great at keeping customers happy, their 4 year warranty extension for replacing the keyboard shows this. This IS a business issue. It has a quantifiable effect on profit margins for Apple's macbook, and I would look at it as an investor and see if it effects Apple's valuation in the short and long run. The Note 7 is a fantastic comparison - the complete recall did not h…

Warranty and free repairs do not mean that it doesn't take time and effort to actually get done. Consumers would very much prefer to not have problems than to constantly get them fixed, even if free.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#73

Post by wpdev_63 »

awad wrote: post #56
wpdev_63 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like a business thing where thinness=money. Can't be from any other angle.

How about thinner is lighter, which generally makes the consumer happier?

idk - do consumers really notice if a laptop is 30grams lighter or if it will get them through a full day of work and won't hurt the joints in their fingers after a marathon of typing.

Apple makes the best laptop, no doubt but this laptop sucks and the direction they are going means it's just going to get worst.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#74

Post by malloryerik »

dguaraglia wrote: post #59
malloryerik wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing from my 2017 MacBook Pro. Apart from the keys being louder than before and my nagging fear of an errant crumb or cat hair I'm happy, typing is crisp and maybe faster for me than on any other keyboard. I move my hands less. In comparison my regular Mac keys now feel loose and smooshy, almost as if they'd been produced by the Haribo Gummy Bear factory. (Not that this is a horrible feeling. I miss gummy bears; c…

Have you had issues with OS X? My fiancée's laptop needs to be rebooted every time it goes to sleep, and both her and my own older (2015) MacBook Pro want to boot from the recovery partition every time. It's a pain in the ass and a terrible degradation of experience.

That sounds awful, but no, I haven't had that kind of problem before. Sounds like you might want to think of reinstalling/upgrading the OS? I've never heard of that issue though, sorry.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#75

Post by oldcynic »

phinnaeus wrote: post #3

Realistically, I just can't really see Apple fixing this by introducing a new keyboard design that's any thicker. As much as I would love to hear "We've heard your feedback on the keyboards and we've made some drastic changes to address them in our new Macbook Pro", it just doesn't seem like their style. What do others think they're going to do for their next release of laptops?

Short of fitting a keyboard condom, or iPad (no doubt called TouchBoard) where the keyboard used to be, what can they do? Make the battery thinner so they can get sane key travel back within the case without increasing overall thickness?

So I expect to see a couple more releases of ultra thin keyboards with various fix mechanisms before they accept that rules of physics and dust apply to them too. :)

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#76

Post by mirimir »

waitButWhy wrote: post #66
wpdev_63 wrote: post #7

Classic case of why business managers shouldn't be directing design of a product. Business managers sees .2mm shaved off the thickness of macbook pro to 'justify' the premium cost of it over other laptops while a developer/pro user of the laptop would increase the thickness to gain battery and maybe mechanical/mesh hybrid keys... I would be more than happy to pay for a pro version of the current macbook pro. EDIT----…

Dude. ...a pro version ...of the current macbook pro ?

Missing /s, I think ;)

Or rename Macbook Pro as Macbook Lite or whatever.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#77

Post by ethagknight »

eslaught wrote: post #20
ethagknight wrote: post #12

I picked up my repaired late-2016 15” mbp this morning from warranty repair (replacement). The keyboard feels 100% better. Apple replaced my top case, logic board, and display system for free, out of warranty. I was very concerned about this computer’s longevity, I’ve even ordered a Razer mx cherry keyboard to use when at my desk to take some workload off apple’s questionable design decision, but the replacement keyb…

Can you describe what's better about it? Is it merely fixed or is it somehow better than when it was new?

When I first got my new computer back in late 2016, the keys had a distinctively inconsistent “clack” that would sorta come and go, and it felt inconsistent, maybe a subtly different amount of pressure required for different keys in different parts of the key. It’s hard for me to pinpoint it, but I’d say that the keyboard feels more consistent across the board. I’m all of 12 hours in on it, but I’m very hopeful. If anything, there is defiantly an improvement to the finger-feel with this new keyboard.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#78

Post by joering2 »

phinnaeus wrote: post #3

Realistically, I just can't really see Apple fixing this by introducing a new keyboard design that's any thicker. As much as I would love to hear "We've heard your feedback on the keyboards and we've made some drastic changes to address them in our new Macbook Pro", it just doesn't seem like their style. What do others think they're going to do for their next release of laptops?

They will fix it. They have 100 billion dollars (!!!) in the bank to fix this issue, even if it takes next 100 years.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#79

Post by manigandham »

Apple biggest UX failures always stem from putting form before function. There is a lower limit to thinness/lightness before consumers just don't care, and it was passed long ago.

There was great progress made with the unibody Macbook Pros and the Macbook Airs but these latest models are so thin that it's actually annoying and leads to issues like poor battery life, lack of repair-ability, and malfunctioning keyboards. Isn't better usability actually more of a luxury then simple aesthetics?

Based on the timing, this seems like a train set in motion by Steve Jobs but he passed away and now nobody wants to recognize that it's way off course and needs a correction.

Re: Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard

#80

Post by yesimahuman »

spyckie2 wrote: post #52

This is NOT a big issue for consumers. Apple is great at keeping customers happy, their 4 year warranty extension for replacing the keyboard shows this. This IS a business issue. It has a quantifiable effect on profit margins for Apple's macbook, and I would look at it as an investor and see if it effects Apple's valuation in the short and long run. The Note 7 is a fantastic comparison - the complete recall did not h…

Not mentioned in this article is how many people also dislike the feel of the keyboard. Add that to risking an out of commission work machine and it’s a big deal for consumers.
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