Apple Exploring New Glass Panel MacBook Keyboards That Could End Sticky Key Problems

[pat500000]

Every MacBook keyboard ever released is designed in a way that liquid and dirt can get in. It is not unheard of that a 2010 keyboard gets a broken key that can only be repaired by replacing the entire keyboard (happened to my dad). If Apple is designing a (near) solid state keyboard that still feels like a 'real' one (like the trackpad for example), that would be a major improvement.

I mainly think people just don't like to learn a new keyboard, but you can't stay with the typewriter forever.

It’s still stable..that’s for sure.

 

[kazmac]

No thanks, Apple. Feels like even more of a push to iPad-like designs. Considering Apple’s engineering for the iPad Pros and laptops since 2016, I will pass.

HP still provide comfortable, tactile keys.

The Huawei Matebook X -as mentioned- has a thin keyboard too, not as comfortable as HP, but not as bad as Apple. This kind of engineering can be done. Apple chooses not to pursue it.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Apple: How can we make the keyboard more fragile than it already was?
Also Apple: We make it GLASS!

 

[kemal]

But would they seal it so your Coke stays off the motherboard? Something tells me they'll screw that up, too.

Another vote for bringing back the(IMHO, terrible) 2015 keyboard and conformal coating the mobo.

 

[atotic]

I do not understand this.

I like my phones small and light. My laptops, I do not care about weight as much within reason (2014 lineup is small/light enough).

Yet, Apple keeps making larger/heavier phones.

2014 iPhone 6 was 129 grams,
7 is 138, 8 is 148, X is 174,
2018 Xs is 177 grams
27% heavier

Macbook Pro 13" 2014: 1.57kg
Macbook Pro 13" 2018: 1.37 kg
12% lighter

If they keep going like this, iPhone and 13" MacBook will both weigh 730 grams in 2042

 

[Lone Deranger]

Prove it.

I don't need to. Time will prove me right and have you eat humble pie.

 

[trusso]

Apple, you're making Linux look more desirable every day.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Okay, well I'm curious how they're hands will hold up in more than a year. Also, I'm still a small sample size, probably three dozen people I've talked to about this issue, and everyone hates it other than one person, who doesn't care and doesn't type much. So, between that and this forum, there does seem to be a direction this all leans too. Yes, one person here prefers it, everyone else I know who types that much thinks it's tolerable at best, garbage and won't buy it at worst

There is also the poster that claims to admin 20k Macs, 80% of which have the new keyboards, and claims pretty much zero complaints...
[doublepost=1549315342][/doublepost]

Heh. Many liked that one, but I found it too clicky. My favorite so far is the Apple wireless keyboard (same as the earlier Apple laptops before the butterfly disaster). Perfect.

I disagree with you that glass can possibly provide the proper tactile feedback. Maybe possible with a press (à la the most recent iteration of the iPhone home button), but we don’t press when we type. It’s a psychophysical phenomenon from the small timing difference (and physical yield) between when the fingertip contacts the key and when it hits the end of travel. I don’t care how clever they get with glass, raised “keys,” and haptics, it’ll still feel like we’re tapping away on a glass window.

I agree that it remains to be seen.
[doublepost=1549315534][/doublepost]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the consensus seems to be that the butterfly keyboards suck .
And no, not many people seem to love them, apart from those who are affiliated with Apple . ...

Also, Apple tends to stick with poor design desicions - the touchbar is universally hated, yet it is forced on anyone who want's to buy a recent MBP with the new GPU or more than 2 usable ports .

What about the guy that says he admins 20k Macs, 80% of which have the new keyboards, and reports basically zero complaints? He doesn't work for Apple, nor do his co-workers...

And there are also many other posts, even those on this thread, that defend the new keyboard design.

Same thing with the TouchBar.

Don't confuse your opinion with others'. The internet tends to amplify that tendency.
[doublepost=1549315609][/doublepost]

I don't need to. Time will prove me right and have you eat humble pie.

Honestly, the amount of hand-wringing on this Forum is pretty ridiculous.

 

[mercuryfox]

Am I the first to mention this would be a great improvement for the touch bar? I guess Apple would first test this with a small area, and having a more haptic escape key is promising.

 

[Kabeyun]

There is also the poster that claims to admin 20k Macs, 80% of which have the new keyboards, and claims pretty much zero complaints...
[doublepost=1549315342][/doublepost]
I agree that it remains to be seen.
[doublepost=1549315534][/doublepost]
What about the guy that says he admins 20k Macs, 80% of which have the new keyboards, and reports basically zero complaints? He doesn't work for Apple, nor do his co-workers...

And there are also many other posts, even those on this thread, that defend the new keyboard design.

Same thing with the TouchBar.

Don't confuse your opinion with others'. The internet tends to amplify that tendency.
[doublepost=1549315609][/doublepost]
Honestly, the amount of hand-wringing on this Forum is pretty ridiculous.

Much wisdom here.

 

[jdiamond]

Apparently, part of the vision is that this allows for a flexible layout. So going back to the previous keyboard design is not a viable alternative.

Look more closely - it allows flexible LABELING, not a flexible layout. And you could easily put screens on the old keys as well. People have already done that with eInk - then you get the best of both worlds.

 

[griz]

Back when the first flat keyboard came out I called this. They have been slowly making the keyboards thinner and thinner and grooming us for the day that a flat glass screen is all we need.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Some of us rest our fingers on the keys while typing, and maybe not always on the home-keys at all times. It makes you wonder how Apple will get around that registering as an input...

That's a very good point. You might end up with a string of: fjfjjjjjjjjjkkkssssssssssllllllllllaaaaasssssssssss.

 

[ghanwani]

Think about all the positives. For those that communicate in emoji only, the keyboard can be repurposed to where all keys are used for selecting emojis. In addition, they can develop iKey technology where the keyboard detects which key the user is looking at and registers it. Physical, single purpose clickable keys are so yesterday. A little buzz in one's fingertips as one is typing is so cool--makes for a sensational experience.

(For the record, I'm being facetious.)

 

[carrrrrlos]

Laptops will eventually be the equivalent of two iPadpros that abut seamlessly and fold into a clamshell.

 

[Abazigal]

Think about all the positives. For those that communicate in emoji only, the keyboard can be repurposed to where all keys are used for selecting emojis. In addition, they can develop iKey technology where the keyboard detects which key the user is looking at and registers it. Physical, single purpose clickable keys are so yesterday.

(For the record, I'm being facetious.)

For the record, I won’t be surprised if Apple demos this exact same thing should this feature get released.

 

[Brandhouse]

I've always used a USB or wireless keyboard so that I don't have to reach over the trackpad and it's better ergonomically.

 

[Trusteft]

I am sure this will do wonders to the hands/fingers! No more pain!
LOL

 

[Tech198]

I am sure this will do wonders to the hands/fingers! No more pain!
LOL

lol..

Did Apple learn something ? Its' 'Glass' .. They must be a better way rather than switching to something that people can break

 

[techfreak23]

Just go back to the 2015 design already and call it a day. The new MacBook Pro design caused more problems than it was worth.

 

[0388631]

Took MR long enough!

I'd like to see more rumors postings in the blog portion of the site and via the forum referencing the blog. Mostly because I read another Apple-centric site and some of the more interesting rumors, mostly pertaining to Apple's patent filings, would make for some incredible discussion. Like the rumor of the next MBP/MacBook utilizing a glass composite keyboard with haptic feedback.

 

[noone]

Laptops will eventually be the equivalent of two iPadpros that abut seamlessly and fold into a clamshell.

We’re pretty much there. With the new chips in the iPad Pros being nearly equal to the i7s, all that they need to do is add a hinge, a couple of extra ports, and some software magic that lets the machine take advantage of both hardware sets and voila.

 

[Silverjerk]

I can't get behind the philosophy that moving backwards and staying with the safe old tech yield the best results. That would be a short-sighted temporary solution which in the end won't hold up. They failed with these new keyboards, but if that leads to a new type that's way more durable than it ever was and also spill-proof, the complaints go away surprisingly quickly. You can already hear the 'professionals' brag about their new machine with the best keyboard on the market, who totally forgot the sleepless nights they had over the Butterfly mechanism.

On the one side you have people complaining Apple doesn't innovate and hasn't released any significant updates in years, on the other side there are a dozen professionals who want everything to always stay the same. If they all got acces to the design lab and could make that one perfect machine, they would probably take just as many years and iterations and make as many mistakes as Apple did, if not more. Oh and it has to sell well too, we sold 5 million last quarter so try to keep up, good luck!

You're not seeing the forest for the trees. I'm not talking about moving backwards; I'm talking about iterating on the current design until it's perfect. Let's use another example. VR is a new way of interfacing with display technology; imagine Apple decided to sell laptops with VR displays rather than traditional ones; I'd guess most users would be up in arms over the shift to a drastically new technology that simply doesn't work for them. This is your example of "moving forward" in a different sense -- we don't need VR, the display works, and we simply improve upon that technology. The same goes for the keyboard. While a much more hyperbolic comparison, this is exactly how I perceive the switch to the 2016 design. It is a drastic departure from a keyboard that was near perfect and just needed some love and attention.

You seem to be stuck in the "always innovate" camp, and that's a dangerous place to be. As I said many times, not everything needs to change. There are things that "just work" and those things can remain the same. Work on improving the REST of the device, I'm all for that. But there is a time when you can leave well-enough alone.

 

[Acorn]

cant they just make the whole keyboard like the touch bar with feedback from the same type of mechanism that is in the track pad design. They need to suck it up that the butterfly keyboard was a bad design by trying to reinvent the wheel and to admit the keyboard was a failure. Go back to the original macbook air keys I had no problems with my original 2013 macbook air keys if they have too. when will apple realize that sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. they always have to over engineer everything.

 

[jeremiah256]

Ignore those shrieks of terror and anguish you hear. It's just the researchers from the iFixit Labs lamenting how they will have to tell future MBP owners out of AppleCare that the cost of replacing their MacBook Pro keyboard is a MacBook Air.

I don't like the newer keyboards. I'd rant and rave about moving to a PC, but I'd be kidding myself. As long as possible, for many reasons, I'm staying in the Apple ecosystem. But, this further increases my hope for iOS 13 to include trackpad/mouse support so that I can totally ignore the MacBook line of products.