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

[fuchsdh]

Lenovo beat them to this—the Yoga Book already has a glass keyboard called the Halo Keyboard. Reviewers say it is like typing on the glass screen of a tablet, despite the “haptic feedback.” No kidding.

You might want to actually read the patent filing—there would be physical deformations to the keys, it wouldn't be relying solely on haptic feedback.

Having a keyboard like this, assuming it works according to spec, would also have the advantage of being significantly more resistant to liquid egress—certainly an advantage some would like.

 

[rols]

I am certain I’m in the minority here, but my favorite Apple keyboard at the moment (I have both a 2017 iMac and 12” MacBook) is the Smart Keyboard on my new 12” iPad Pro.

I said something similar above, although I'm on the previous version pro. The smart keyboard for that has better feel than my macbook pro. Regrettably it's missing enough keys and functionality it's annoying in other ways, but the feel is fine.

 

[Pablo.A.Pucci]

For those people that want to come back to the 2015 keywords... They just follow the haters...

I have a 2018 Mackbook pro. And the keyboard is great! the bigger keys, are much more easy to hit. They take the space between keys in the 2015 and gave it to the keys in 2016. now in 2018 the solve all the sound and dust resistance with the membrane.

 

[sunapple]

Is it so hard to use a standard keyboard? Even an old laptop keyboards are sufficient than current mbp keyboard. Are they doing this for the sake of being “different?’

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.

 

[LordVic]

The ever persuit of Thinner for thinner sake at the cost of actual capabilities... never quit Apple, never quit. At this point Apple's not going to be content until their computers are completely unusable for those who need computers.

GO BACK TO YOUR 2010-> 2017 MODEL KEYBOARDS. They were world reknown as one, if not, the BEST mobile keyboard in the laptop business.

the new keyboards are generally panned. At some point Apple has to realize that these are not well liked keyboards. Nevermind the actual problems they have with quality.

 

[GtrDude]

Interesting that Lenovo can make the X1 Carbon super thin and light and the keyboard has plenty of travel with tratitional feel.
You can type on it all day without getting any fatigue.
This is just invention for the sake of invention.
Has no use-ability whatsoever.
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For those people that want to come back to the 2015 keywords... They just follow the haters...

I'm a proud hater of the new Macbook keyboards.

 

[Skeith]

For those people that want to come back to the 2015 keywords... They just follow the haters...

I have a 2018 Mackbook pro. And the keyboard is great! the bigger keys, are much more easy to hit. They take the space between keys in the 2015 and gave it to the keys in 2016. now in 2018 the solve all the sound and dust resistance with the membrane.

https://theoutline.com/post/6409/the-new-and-improved-macbook-keyboards-have-the-same-old-problems

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gen-3-butterfly-keyboard.2127111/page-19#post-26438299

 

[Suttree]

Knock on wood. I haven't had any problems with my MacBook keyboard and it's without question the best keyboard I've ever used and I generally type 5,000 to 7,000 words a day. The key caps are larger but they're so much more stable than previous designs, which are now obviously too wobbly.

 

[DNichter]

I never had a problem with the new keyboards, but I welcome this sort of change. Ultimately they likely want to have dual screen's in their clam shell designs.

 

[Dave245]

Knock on wood. I haven't had any problems with my MacBook keyboard and it's without question the best keyboard I've ever used and I generally type 5,000 to 7,000 words a day. The key caps are larger but they're so much more stable than previous designs, which are now obviously too wobbly.

I never had a problem with the new keyboards, but I welcome this sort of change. Ultimately they likely want to have dual screen's in their clam shell designs.

It’s nice to see some positive posts for a change, it seems that just lately this forum as turned into a Apple hating place

I do think a glass keyboard is the next logical step, the Touch Bar was only the beginning I think.

 

[LordVic]

Yea because they really need to loose the guy that was responsible for brining Apple back from the brink, the same guy that desinged the first iMac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and probably just about every other Apple first product

Why not take the guy that’s making Apple profit and growing the business with him, because that makes sense

Just out of curiosity. What was the last new device design that they came out with?

Because in the last 5ish years, just about everything released is identical to the one before it with a single difference. "thinner".

the 2016-Current Mac lineups haven't changed design in any fundamental way. they have all just been either internal upgrades or "thinner".

the iMac hasn't fundamentally changed design since 2009, just "thinner".

the Mac Pro new design turned into a dud. The Mac Mini hasn't been redesigned since 2010. Just thinner with the removal of the dvd drive.

the Apple Watch, is basically a scaled down iPhone 1st gen in design language. just. Smaller.

The only product in Apple's lineup that seems to have any hands on design in the last 5 years is the iPhone. Everything else is just "Thinner" at all costs.

So yeah, I give Ive a lot of credit for the initiator of most of the designs we see today. However, from a design standpoint, there's been little in the way of real innovation from Ive in the last 5 years. Either he's become disinterested, or he's got such a high opinion of himself that he thinks his own designs don't need to be better, just thinner. Either way, If he can't actually come up with designed products that don't have fundamental flaws due to "thinner", than maybe its time he retires, enjoys the life he's earned and move over for someone who can bring fresh ideas, Cause it seems like Johnny is out of them.
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I personally wish they would stick to 2 notebook lines.. The pro line can be thick (I'm talking 2008 "thick") and have good hardware, and the Air line can be thin thin thin.. This constant move towards thinness on the MBP is pointless.

Unfortunately, Apple no longer has a true "pro" computer compared to what we expected in the past. All of Apple's current computers would fall into the "Ultrabook" category.

There's just "Slow and super thin", "medium and medium thin", and "OK and normal thin"... apple has LONG moved away from the idea that a "pro" machine should put more emphasis on function than form.




edit: man i'm in a foul mood this morning lol. I don't mean to imply in tis that these are failures of products due to lack of innovation in design language and the priorities that they chose. Just that they seem to be chasing the Dragon here where they are desiring ever increasing thinness as a differentiator of their products, and willing to keep sacrificing other areas of functionality and quality to achieve it. When they could probably slow down thinning out the computer lineup and get back to what we loved about Apple computers for all these years.

 

[HacKage]

Apple really are making it easier and easier to consider moving across to one of the high end Windows machines, something like the Thinkpad X1 Carbon with it's well known great keyboard if function means more to you than how it looks in Starbucks
[doublepost=1549288918][/doublepost]

For those people that want to come back to the 2015 keywords... They just follow the haters...

I have a 2018 Mackbook pro. And the keyboard is great! the bigger keys, are much more easy to hit. They take the space between keys in the 2015 and gave it to the keys in 2016. now in 2018 the solve all the sound and dust resistance with the membrane.

Except they haven't. Unbox Therapy had a video out last week about keyboard issues in a 2018 MacBook Air. The butterfly keyboard is a failure in 2016, 2017 and now in 2018 models.

 

[Suttree]

It’s nice to see some positive posts for a change, it seems that just lately this forum as turned into a Apple hating place

I do think a glass keyboard is the next logical step, the Touch Bar was only the beginning I think.

I can speak only for myself but I'm generally a big fan of the new butterfly keyboard. It feels great for the long typing session I do. It feels as great as the Force Touch trackpad. As for the Touch Bar, I'm someone who lives inside Pages and Keynote and Mail all day every day and it's been fantastic for productivity.

 

[mi7chy]

Looks like reinventing the terrible 1970s Atari 400, Magnavox Odyssey 2, etc. membrane keyboard before the upgrade to mechanical keyboard. So, going backwards.

 

[MoreRumors?]

Apple have to accept it is the design issue and not because of dust. I have never had issue with any keyboards from the many other brand computers and keyboards that I have used. If there are crumbs inside the keyboard, that is the fault of the end user and maintenance is required and not the fault of the manufacturer. The concept of a glass keyboard is interesting but I would have to test it out to see if I would like it.

 

[Val-kyrie]

My only concern is if the Macbook is every dropped, that the glass within doesn't shatter. I hope they test this first before releasing it into the market.

LOL. Hahahahahahaha!

Here's an idea for Timmy to make more money for Apple suckers like me. Just like when they decided to move to glossy display some people want matte display for a price. There you go Tim make the old reliable keyboard as an added option for a $100 more.

And where is the “matte” option now? Oh, that’s right, on Windows PCs.

 

[manu chao]

ooh even less travel. Possibly 0 travel keyboards.
Nothing says touch typing like a total lack of tactile feedback.

We have zero-travel trackpads and they seem to work just fine. This keyboard would have two kinds of tactile feedback: 1) edges around the individual 'keys' and 2) haptic feedback like the current trackpads.

I think I need to stock up on some of the old desktop keyboards before they disappear.

Do you fear that third-party keyboards (and external keyboard support) will disappear?
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My only concern is if the Macbook is every dropped, that the glass within doesn't shatter. I hope they test this first before releasing it into the market.

Both the screen and the trackpad already have a glass layer.

 

[audiophilosophy]

When the new butterfly keyboard was first introduced on the MacBook, it took me less than 5 minutes to notice that the shallow, almost flat buttons that have very little travel when you press are much less comfortable to type on than the keyboard it was replacing. Maybe it’s because it’s California, but I really wonder sometimes how some things that should be obviously digressive get green lit all the way through r&d and then by the execs to make it in the the products that are being sold.

 

[sunapple]

Looks like reinventing the terrible 1970s Atari 400, Magnavox Odyssey 2, etc. membrane keyboard before the upgrade to mechanical keyboard. So, going backwards.

What if Apple could solve the problems they had with Taptic Engine and new productions methods for whatever glass-key mechanism they describe in the patents?

Those membrane keyboards were cheaper to produce and were resistant against dirt. They failed because of things we might be able to resolve now. I mean, it's been 40 years.

 

[Baymowe335]

Dumb. Why don't they just go back to the previous keyboard design on the 2015 MBP's? It was perfect! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Well, now it's broke.

Not everyone agrees with your focus group of 1 and anecdotes.

 

[Marshall73]

I have a 2012 MacBook Pro and a 2016 MacBook Pro and I hate typing on the big spongy keys of the 2012 model. Fortunately I have no issues with my 2016 (which I got a launch) keys or display. I can type much faster on the 2016 model and I actually like the click.

Maybe Apple should offer both types of keyboards

 

[sunapple]

When the new butterfly keyboard was first introduced on the MacBook, it took me less than 5 minutes to notice that the shallow, almost flat buttons that have very little travel when you press are much less comfortable to type on than the keyboard it was replacing. Maybe it’s because it’s California, but I really wonder sometimes how some things that should be obviously digressive get green lit all the way through r&d and then by the execs to make it in the the products that are being sold.

Yeah those were terrible. The newer gens from 2016 onwards were much better aside from the reliability issues. Very clicky and stable.

 

[tridley68]

Very cool can't wait to try this out.

 

[Dave245]

I can speak only for myself but I'm generally a big fan of the new butterfly keyboard. It feels great for the long typing session I do. It feels as great as the Force Touch trackpad. As for the Touch Bar, I'm someone who lives inside Pages and Keynote and Mail all day every day and it's been fantastic for productivity.

I’ve not used the Touch Bar for long periods of time, however a friend of mine who video edits for a living love it, he swears that it saves time when editing.

Just out of curiosity, how does it help in Pages? I use it daily as well as was wondering if the Touch Bar MacBook Pro would be better for me than the new MacBook Air.

 

[Skeith]

Yeah those were terrible. The newer gens from 2016 onwards were much better aside from the reliability issues. Very clicky and stable.

noice dude. you jus made my day.