Apple Hit With Second Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Defective' Keyboards in Recent MacBook, MacBook Pro Models

[AFDoc]

There's nothing wrong. The keyboard isn't defective - it's just food debris get under the mechanical keyboard and the keys stop from being pressed down.

4 people claim compressed air isn't fixing that and are inflating the numbers to make it seem like a bigger problem than it is.

This "law firm" has a history of suing corporations for BS, and then running off with all the money after the settlement. We need tort reform in the USA to stop these troll law firms.

How can you say there is nothing wrong when there obviously is.... would be one thing if it's just a few but that doesn't seem to be the case.
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These greedy lawyers are ust looking for a quick payout!

...excuse the typo, I have a couple keys that aren't functional.

LoL... you win the interwebs today!
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Well, I guess at least we got that useless touchbar nobody asked for.

It does sound like a BS troll lawsuit though.

unless of course you have a computer with a defective keyboard that apple wants to charge you $700 to fix

 

[Mac Tyson]

This is great. The new macbook pro keyboards feel awful. It’s whats preventing me from upgrading my 2013 mbp.

Hopefully the 2018 will get redesigned and i’ll finally upgrade.

 

[kirky29]

I have issues every day with my 2017 butterfly keyboard. I'm actually on my second laptop replacement.

I'm also an 8 hour drive from the nsarest Apple store or even apple certified repair shop.

It's the first time I've ever told people not to get one.

 

[Hater]

I have absolutely no idea why a "Pro" laptop has this kind of crap. The MacBook is the svelte one, the Pro should be bigger and thicker to accommodate things "Pro's" need, like more than one hard drive and a keyboard with actual tactile feel to it.

My 2012 was replaced with a ThinkPad as there was no upgrade path for the Pro after the Retinas came in.

 

[Tech198]

lol.. they made a song out of the space-bar issue ?


Now, if this was a Windows laptop, you'd just it replace it without worry. A jingle may "help" calm the nerves, but not really need.

 

[Aciddan]

The thing I find most interesting is the economics: The design is such that the whole top has to be replaced. From an efficient use of resources point of view, it's an interesting decision. Furthermore, as an environmental consideration, it encourages disposability.

I don't think any hardware component that has movement in it (i.e. fans, older HDDs and keyboard mechanisms) should be designed without replaceability mind otherwise (even for users whose machines are not affected) good old wear and tear will eventually take its toll.

As one poster mentioned, a solid state keyboard (screen, with haptics) could be a viable option, but until the moving parts are eliminated, it's not a question of if, but when they will eventually fail.

 

[jonnysods]

My keyboard makes me crazy. Sounds like someone spilled sticky juice under random keys. Then I take it to the genius bar and it stops.

This time I made a video and I'm going to make sure they replace it!!!

 

[elppa]

Yes!!! Fire Mr. Cook!!! He's terrible!!!

Oh, wait...

AAPL during Tim's time as CEO:

View attachment 762729


As for Macs:

BGR: Apple outperformed nearly every PC maker in 2017 as Mac sales remain steady

Same could be said for Microsoft under Steven Anthony Ballmer but he got key strategic moves wrong, products stagnated or got worse and aside from the balance sheets he left the company in a worse place than when he started.

Regardless of views on Tim Cook - stock price not really a good way to measure the quality of the products.

 

[corebeliefs]

I have absolutely no idea why a "Pro" laptop has this kind of crap. The MacBook is the svelte one, the Pro should be bigger and thicker to accommodate things "Pro's" need, like more than one hard drive and a keyboard with actual tactile feel to it.

My 2012 was replaced with a ThinkPad as there was no upgrade path for the Pro after the Retinas came in.

How is the ThinkPad? The X1 Carbon (?) seems like a good alternative to a MacBook Pro.

 

[dohspc]

How is the ThinkPad? The X1 Carbon (?) seems like a good alternative to a MacBook Pro.

Except that it doesn’t run macOS....

 

[Hater]

How is the ThinkPad? The X1 Carbon (?) seems like a good alternative to a MacBook Pro.

It has been pretty good, the webcam doesn't work under MacOS (who cares) but it has been fairly stable so far. 64GB of RAM is a blessing.

Unfortunately the Quadro isn't supported, so it's using the Intel inbuilt graphics.

 

[djlythium]

Yep, I’m part of one of these lawsuits.

APPLE: WHILE YOU CREATE A BETTER DESIGN, REPLACE OUR KEYBOARDS FOR FREE! SIMPLE!

 

[BlondInBlue]

Oh yes, class-action lawsuits are definitely a better alternative to getting a warranty on your product in the case that eating hot Cheetos over your computer tends to garner negative effects on your keyboard. Hopefully this will convince Apple to back out of the Mac business altogether, since it's already not making the kinds of margins that its iOS branch is making, and then people will have nothing to complain about. Then we'll just have wonderful, reliable Windows computers to use, and everyone will be happy. /s

 

[DevNull0]

Don't worry, Apple will make a giant touch pad and remove all the keyboards like removing CD-rom, ports..

Or they'll tell you you don't need a keyboard when you've got the touch bar.
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unless of course you have a computer with a defective keyboard that apple wants to charge you $700 to fix

Where did the $700 figure come from? I just took my 2017 MBP in for repairs on an unrelated issue, but when I was there I asked about the keyboard, and the genius told me it's a $450 repair that includes the keyboard, trackpad, battery, and upper case.

Not that $450 makes me feel happy, but just wondering since I see the $700 a lot.

 

[James Bondo]

Wish they would just update the old retina MacBook Pro chassis with the latest hardware. Get my SD card slot, ports, MagSafe and a proper keyboard back. Not going to miss the touchbar at all.

I'd still wait one more year, though this is my form factor dream.
I'd want updated display, 32GB RAM, 6-core processor, and latest USB-C/Thunderbolt.

 

[kemo]

Well, I bought a 2017 MPB 15'' about two weeks ago, and so far the keyboard is pleasure to type on, touch bar is kinda meh, but what worries me most is the issue mentioned in the post.

Is it just that the dirt gets under the keys, which causes the issues, or is it more about the parts of the each key which are not durable enough? Or possibly combination of both?

Should I rather use external Magic Keyboard at work or use the built in keyboard as much as possible and try to "break" it within a year and get it replaced?

 

[Apache1]

Good. Don't let Apple get away with building **** and then charging premium prices for it. If I spend $2,799 on a 15-inch MBP for similar specs to a $1,499 XPS 15/insert other system here, I at the very least expect the MacBook to be as durable as the $1,499 computer if not moreso.

Dell and HP history are notorious for horrible track pads for almost 20 years so Apple is entitled to some problems now and again but lately the problems have been more than usual.

 

[jimsong]

Offering a fix for something is a form of a recall. Your car has a recall they don't replace your car, they offer you a fix.

No. A recall is a very specific thing that this is not.

See https://www.usa.gov/recalls

"A recall is an action taken by a manufacturer, or the government, to protect the public from products (such as medications, food, vehicles, child safety seats, cosmetics, and more) that may cause health or safety problems."

 

[CarlJ]

As one poster mentioned, a solid state keyboard (screen, with haptics) could be a viable option, but until the moving parts are eliminated, it's not a question of if, but when they will eventually fail.

The problem with a glass (or similar) keyboard with haptics is, the haptics would have to be crazy good and subtle - for something like the button on the iPhone 7/8 (hmm, those are the ones with haptics to buzz when you click the non-moving home button, right?), all it has to do is react when you press down moderately hard on a single button, and it affects a bit of the area around it. But for a glass keyboard - for touch typing, you have to be able to feel the keys without looking at them, you have to be able to rest your fingers on them, ready to press a key at just the right moment, and feel the edges of the keys to be able to tell precisely where your fingers are positioned. It's going to be a few decades before they can get it good enough, and localized enough, so that your fingers are successfully tricked into thinking they feel the edges of keys. Alternatively, they could make all the keys raised, and they simply don't actually push. But you have to get the haptic feedback localized enough so that when you "press" the "K" key, you get the distinct sensation of the K key being pressed, but no effect whatsoever transmitted through the "J", "L", "U", "I", "O", "M", comma or period keys (everything surrounding the "K"). And then get that whole thing replicated for every key on the keyboard. If they can ever get that to work, I'd expect it to be at least decades out.

 

[iSayuSay]

Problem with Apple design: They think the whole world is as sterile and hygiene as their in-campus lab environment. They test it against what? Synthetic debris particles? Or simulated sticky thing?

That's the problem with pretty looking design, they can't be as rugged. Luckily I never have and never need a Macbook of some sorts. Keeping my iMac for as long as it can. IF the keyboard is broken (slim chance, since the Magic Keyboard is great), I can just replace the keyboard, and not worrying about the machine.

 

[blacktape242]

you're typing it wrong....

 

[iSayuSay]

Dell and HP history are notorious for horrible track pads for almost 20 years so Apple is entitled to some problems now and again but lately the problems have been more than usual.

Windows laptop trackpad are notorious for horrible feedback and feels. But then again a good mouse can replace the trackpad, and there's aplenty of good bluetooth mice around. It's forgivable. But keyboard? Well keyboard is a life changing experience for a laptop. Without a reliable built-in keyboard, you need to get a bluetooth keyboard. But it wouldn't be as portable as a bluetooth mouse.

Macbook is cumbersome by itself. You need dongles, cables and bunch of adapters, maybe also a mouse. Now you'll need a keyboard? Might as well bring an iMac around. LOL

 

[Acronyc]

You are suppose to buy the extra Apple Magic Keyboard.

I’m not agreeing with this, but the Magic keyboard is a pretty great keyboard. I’ve used one for 3+ years with a Mac mini and haven’t had a single failure. It seems a good design to use in the MBP.

 

[Eso]

Funny, that's the same guy that made the song about the iPhone 4 antennagategate, featured by Jobs himself in their press conference.

 

[corebeliefs]

Except that it doesn’t run macOS....

All the apps I use anymore are cross-platform. MacOS is awesome, but after years of shenanigans from Apple, I could take or leave it at this point.