Apple redesigned the “butterfly” MacBook keyboard several times before giving up.
Stephen Shankland / CNET
A federal judge in California earlier this month certified an ongoing class action lawsuit against Apple, which eliminates another hurdle for customers who say the company could not address the issues with the “butterfly” keyboards on its MacBook laptops. not.
In a verdict handed down on March 8, but made public last week, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila submitted in 2018. Apple’s designs for its laptops keyboards are at the heart of the matter, with customers saying Apple knew its new “butterfly” design was faulty, but sold it anyway.
The butterfly mechanism, first released in 2015, is designed to enable thinner laptops than traditional “scissors” boards, whose switches under the keys require more space to move up and down. Apple said at the time that the butterfly was 40% thinner than traditional keyboards, but also four times more stable. “The keys are much more precise, much more accurate,” said Phil Schiller of Apple at the time.
Apple’s MacBooks were no stranger to controversy.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Not long after their launch, customers started complaining that keys also do not detect presses, and that dirt and other debris get under the butterfly mechanism. The problems were enough that Apple set up a replacement program in 2018, and also tried to solve the problem.
The lawsuit points to another chapter in the saga of Apple’s MacBook design, which critics say sacrifices quality and essential features for thinness.
Apple’s butterfly keyboards were not the only feature that came under fire. Some customers have also criticized the company’s Touch Bar, the touch controls above the number keys on the keyboard that change depending on the app someone is using, to show features like emojis or a search bar or call buttons. CNET’s Stephen Shankland, who bought a MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar shortly after it came out in 2016, said it drove him ‘bonkers’. “I kept an open mind about the Touch Bar, which looked smart and something that could dramatically change the way we use our computers,” he wrote. “Alas, I do not see those benefits.”
The class action lawsuit against Apple over its butterfly keyboards goes a step further than criticism, citing internal Apple communications which, according to plaintiffs, claim that drivers were aware of the problems. No matter how much lipstick you try to put on this pig [the butterfly keyboard] “it’s still ugly,” wrote one driver, according to the case, previously reported by The Verge. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple has disappeared the butterfly keyboards start in 2019. “Yes, it helped with the launch of thinner, lighter, portable MacBooks, but we can safely say that the Butterfly Keyboard never elicited joy,” said CNET reviewer Dan Ackerman. written from the keyboards last year. “Perhaps the best thing we can say about the Apple MacBook Butterfly keyboard is, ‘Thank you for your service.’