After 2 months i can say the Butterfly keyboard was a mistake

[UnrealWhale]

My initial impressions for the keyboard was that people had overblown how bad it was, and in fact i was enjoying it a great deal but after 2 months or so of owning the computer and typing on the keyboard i'm finding myself ache for the old keyboard on my 2014 macbook air.

The butterfly keyboard is decent for blast typing- sending out a quick imessage, or email. Maybe some light browsing on the net, followed by a forum post... sure, those things are ok and even pleasurable to do on this keyboard. But anything more than that? Anything requiring lots of typing like writing up a paper, taking notes or god forbid anything that can't be spelt checked like coding, and it becomes a nightmare.

The lack of travel makes it easy for missed keystrokes, or presses you thought you initiated but didn't since this key pad is about "feel" typing... it's borderline swipe typing and it has made me change my typing technique for the worse. I make more errors now than i have ever before and it is annoying. Also, i find laying down and typing on it much better than actually sitting up, so now i find myself laying down to use the computer. Sigh..

At least i have not had any key stuck from dust or anything, so i guess they fixed that issue but the entire design has to go . You should not be putting in this type of keyboard in pro models, especially for people that like to program on this, it will be an absolute nightmare.

I was hoping to keep this laptop for the next 5+ years but from the looks of it i'll be upgrading as soon as they change the keyboard.

 

[Muyfa666]

Personally, I really don't think about the butterfly keyboard at all anymore, so I've gotten used to it and don't really long for anything else.

However, if a new MBP13 have a keyboard that's ages better, I may be tempted to switch. We'll see. So far we only got rumors, we don't even know what Apple will be replacing the butterfly with for sure.

 

[Super Spartan]

I just got my first MacBook ever which is a 2019 model. The typing is great and I love the tactile feedback. IMHO, I think they could have made the keys a little bit bigger though instead of that wasted space on the left and right to the keyboard.

 

[lJoSquaredl]

I enjoyed and missed the old keys but i've got used to these new ones as well. I enjoy typing on them now, but I also haven't had any reliability issues yet so perhaps that's clouded my enjoyment of them. If I had to return 3 until it worked i'd be less happy with them for sure.

 

[maflynn]

The general consensus (in my opinion) is that the butterfly keyboard is a mistake.

I think nearly every article, blog, YT on the butterfly keyboard is overwhelmingly negative, and for good reason. its a horrible design, that introduced frailties that have caused premature failure.

 

[seeforyourself]

My initial impressions for the keyboard was that people had overblown how bad it was, and in fact i was enjoying it a great deal but after 2 months or so of owning the computer and typing on the keyboard i'm finding myself ache for the old keyboard on my 2014 macbook air.

I was the same exact way as you. I thought people were exaggerating and didnt like change. Just as i got used to the keyboard +6 months in, my keyboard began to fail. After the first repair, it took a month for it to fail again (repairs didnt last as long as it was new). Then 3 repairs later my USB C began to fail. Now I am due for a 5th repair (my E key is 4x brighter than the rest of the keyboard). Also my USB c is super loose on 3-4 of them. Apple gave me an option to replace it with a new one, but my bf who has a 19' MBP had an issue with a key as well which fixed its self after a week. Apple kept claiming that the new ones dont experience the issue, yet its on the repair program.

I declined the replacement device and im holding onto it until the new one is released, THEN ill go and replace it. Its a shame how terrible the keyboard is.

 

[UnrealWhale]

I was the same exact way as you. I thought people were exaggerating and didnt like change. Just as i got used to the keyboard +6 months in, my keyboard began to fail. After the first repair, it took a month for it to fail again (repairs didnt last as long as it was new). Then 3 repairs later my USB C began to fail. Now I am due for a 5th repair (my E key is 4x brighter than the rest of the keyboard). Also my USB c is super loose on 3-4 of them. Apple gave me an option to replace it with a new one, but my bf who has a 19' MBP had an issue with a key as well which fixed its self after a week. Apple kept claiming that the new ones dont experience the issue, yet its on the repair program.

I declined the replacement device and im holding onto it until the new one is released, THEN ill go and replace it. Its a shame how terrible the keyboard is.

Geez, i hope i don't have any failure issues. I have a dog that sheds a lot and so i'm concerned about dust and hair getting under the keys. I bought dry air spray can to spray the keyboard every morning. I can't afford issues with this laptop for at least 2 years and then i'll sell it and get one of the newer ones if they released something with new keyboard by then (which they should be doing in 2020 anyways)

What really angers me about the keyboard is the lack of travel. Sure, it's nice that it is a smaller keyboard and i can reach the numbers with ease but the amount of missed keystrokes that happens because now i 'feel' the keys instead of pressing on them is annoying, really annoying.