A judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit against Apple over its controversial, allegedly flawed MacBook butterfly keyboard design, and agrees that owners of any model affected in seven countries qualify for the class.
As of 2018, several MacBook owners in seven states have filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company knew the butterfly-style switches were defective. In an order (PDF) released Friday, Judge Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed to grant the lawsuit to the case. All customers living in California, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan or Washington who purchased a 2015-2017 MacBook, a 2016-2019 MacBook Pro or a 2018-2019 MacBook Air now qualify for the class.
The butterfly-style keyboard design has been controversial from the start. Apple designed it to be thinner and deliver a shorter yield, which would save space inside the computer chassis and make typing faster. Some users hated the feeling of it, while others loved it. However, the bigger problem does not seem to be one of the preferences, but rather a basic function: the thinner keys appear to be more susceptible when used in the real world, because even small dust particles around the switches can cause them to stop work, which should completely replace the full keyboard.
The plaintiffs in the case allege that Apple’s actions, as well as internal documents of the company, show that Apple knew the design was defective. They allege that the company violated several states’ consumer protection laws when it sold the defective products to consumers.
A 2018 report found that MacBooks needed about 40 percent more frequent keyboard-related repairs after Apple introduced the butterfly-like keyboard. Repeated repairs – keyboards that require an expensive second or even third solution – have also increased significantly.
In June 2018, Apple acknowledged that butterfly-style switches were causing problems, and the company launched a keyboard service program to address these issues. The program allowed affected MacBook owners to repair or replace their keyboards for free over the next four years, and some customers who had previously paid for the repairs were eligible for a refund.
By mid-2018, Apple had only sold MacBook models with butterfly keyboards. By 2019, however, Apple had revamped all the keyboards in the MacBook Pro series, and by 2020, the company had completely phased out the butterfly keyboard from its entire range of laptops.