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How often do you hear Apple saying sorry?

“We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third-generation butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement.
“A small number of users” is a lot different from the 25+ million users who own the MB/MBP. Yeah, there’s a problem and Apple’s said so. They’ve put in place an extended repair program. What’s a small number? 10%?

If the class action lawsuit goes anywhere, I suppose we’ll see some actual data at some point.
 
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Can’t wait to see their Apple (not Intel) powered MacBook next year. It will probably be faster than current MacBook Pros at some things.

They will be faster with Apple software (eg Logic), iOS apps ported to MacOS and Cloud apps (if your connection is fast enough with low enough latency). Third party software will struggle to maintain performance unless rewritten.

ARM is not designed for things like engineering or CAD software. There is only so much calculation available in ARM before you have to increase frequency, just like Intel. Barring a shift to ARM at Microsoft, a transition to ARM will make Apple a consumer only company. Once Apple transitions to ARM, they will stop supporting their Intel machines within 12 months, just like last time. Sorry, Pros....
 
Why the MacBook and MacBook Air both exist, boggles my mind.
Apple should just pick and focus on one ultra-light portable.

I’ve never heard anyone say the MacBook Air is too big and wish it were slightly smaller and lighter.
But I have heard the other way around. If I had to choose, I’d keep the Air and ditch the MacBook.
 
Why the MacBook and MacBook Air both exist, boggles my mind.
Apple should just pick and focus on one ultra-light portable.

I’ve never heard anyone say the MacBook Air is too big and wish it were slightly smaller and lighter.
But I have heard the other way around. If I had to choose, I’d keep the Air and ditch the MacBook.

I'm not sure if you have used one, but the 12 inch MacBook is a remarkable device in terms of its size. It is very different to use than the MacBook Air. The overlap I see is between the MacBook Air and non touchbar MacBook Pro. And between those two I would ditch the Air.
 
Why the MacBook and MacBook Air both exist, boggles my mind.
Apple should just pick and focus on one ultra-light portable.

I’ve never heard anyone say the MacBook Air is too big and wish it were slightly smaller and lighter.
But I have heard the other way around. If I had to choose, I’d keep the Air and ditch the MacBook.

Totally agree. They’re buried in this sea of a thread, but I wrote a couple of small dissertations on it. :)
 
Why the MacBook and MacBook Air both exist, boggles my mind.
Apple should just pick and focus on one ultra-light portable.

I’ve never heard anyone say the MacBook Air is too big and wish it were slightly smaller and lighter.
But I have heard the other way around. If I had to choose, I’d keep the Air and ditch the MacBook.

Then you've never been on the Macbook forum.

The main issue people have with that Air is that it's close to weight and size to the MBP 13. So you might as well cough up for the MBP 13 and get a far more powerful machine.
 
Nice anecdotal story. That’s not data.
I seen 10 pages of you religiously defending Apple with zero evidence to support your point of view other than Apple fanboy trolling.

People have provided links to hundreds, possibly thousands of people complaining. You're going to trust a corporation that keeps its failures secret and tries to spin things in the best light for their company over the users of a computer, for what reason? Because you likez teh Applez?

Please be honest with your debate. You're being intellectually dishonest by intentionally not using inductive reasoning. It is not a wise thing to throw out all evidence or possible evidence just because you want to support your point of view.

You want hard numbers:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/A-wor...oard-failure-rate-of-30-percent.415595.0.html
The guy did a survey of his 47 company MB's, 30% of those had a keyboard failure. He also did an "anecdotal" survey [since you like using that work on every page of the 10 pages of this threat] and found the number to be 50%, using data ingesting from social media.

More hard numbers:
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/apple-macbook-keyboard-failure-rate
Apple Insider collected data from many Apple-authorized repair shops and found a 5-11.8 percent failure rate.

I know you'll ignore this evidence in this post though because it didn't come from Apple, who has been "oh so honest" in the past, requiring lawsuits to get them to reluctantly admit fault and cover repairs under warranty.
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Then you've never been on the Macbook forum.

The main issue people have with that Air is that it's close to weight and size to the MBP 13. So you might as well cough up for the MBP 13 and get a far more powerful machine.
I do agree that there is no reason to have a MBA with the current MB. It's a shame really, they should keep the Air product line for size and not intentionally cripple their MB and MBP product lines for the sake of thiness.
 
Nice anecdotal story. That’s not data.

Maybe you need to talk with an independent Apple repair company. Their you'll find the data. I for one have sent quite a few people to Apple to get their keyboards replaced and I've tried helping a few trying to clean the debris that got under the key.

Sadly, the dirt thing is one issue the other is the butterfly design in its self. The plastic fatigues over time from the constant strikes so certain keys just wear out.
 
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I'd agree the 7 new registrations likely represent new MBs and MBAs, but it would be nice if one of them represented a 16-17" laptop with a real keyboard. That said, the 2019 models we use haven't failed yet.
 
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Butterfly keyboards aren't going anywhere because they aren't nearly the problem believed here in the echo chamber.

You are a part of Apple propaganda – stop this!

Of course in some investigation they talk about 50% of delivered Mac Book Pro and Mac Book Air that make earlier or later problems – the estimated number of unreported failures is high (many customers are too lazy, too far from Apple Store, cope with an external keyboard and...).

And Apple provides this repair program just 4 years after purchase – and then?!

So OF COURSE WE NEED ANOTHER KEYBOARD such as the old and proved scissor keyboard instead of this insane butterfly one!
 
They will be faster with Apple software (eg Logic), iOS apps ported to MacOS and Cloud apps (if your connection is fast enough with low enough latency). Third party software will struggle to maintain performance unless rewritten.

ARM is not designed for things like engineering or CAD software. There is only so much calculation available in ARM before you have to increase frequency, just like Intel. Barring a shift to ARM at Microsoft, a transition to ARM will make Apple a consumer only company. Once Apple transitions to ARM, they will stop supporting their Intel machines within 12 months, just like last time. Sorry, Pros....

You raise some great points, which I think Apple will address by maintaining Apple powered consumer devices and Intel powered pro devices. I was in college during the PowerPC switch, I was a Java programmer during the Intel switch, and Apple pulled both off incredibly well. I think this time it won’t be a complete switchover though.

In addition to your points, the ability to run VMs or even dual boot via Boot Camp is a big deal for many Pro users, and obviously Intel is a requirement for that.

For fanless devices such as the MacBook or MacBook Air, an Apple CPU would offer big performance gains over Intel, maybe battery life increases too.
 
I seen 10 pages of you religiously defending Apple with zero evidence to support your point of view other than Apple fanboy trolling.

......

More hard numbers:
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/apple-macbook-keyboard-failure-rate
Apple Insider collected data from many Apple-authorized repair shops and found a 5-11.8 percent failure rate.

I know you'll ignore this evidence in this post though because it didn't come from Apple, who has been "oh so honest" in the past, requiring lawsuits to get them to reluctantly admit fault and cover repairs under warranty.

Actually that particular hard numbers shows that the 2016 keyboard failure rate was higher than the 2017 rate (the 2nd generation ). From the article.

" ... The data shows a failure rate of 11.8 percent for the keyboard on the 2016 MacBook Pro, or 165 issues out of 1402. That rate for 2015 was just 6 percent. The 2015 model had a similar failure rate of 5.6 percent. ..."
2017 looks a bit better for the MacBook Pro’s 2nd-generation Butterfly keyboard, but not by much, and Apple Insider notes that it does not include a full year’s worth of data. It shows 8.1 percent of service events related to the keyboard. ... "

So the there was a 8-9% drop from gen 1 to gen 2. The gen 2 keyboards were only about 2% over the base rate of the "good design" keyboard (even the previous design failed at a rate over 5%). Apple is now on gen 4.

That they are still selling gen 2 keyboards in some models is beyond lame. There are perhaps approximately 10 million gen 1's out there so 8% of that will be a large number of folks on their own ( 800 thousand). But apply the previous rate to 10 million also. 5% of 10 million means there were 500 thousand folks that had keyboard problems before the butterfly keyboard. The pool of folks impacted with the gen 1 doubled which caused a spike.

However the pool in the "increase rate" has been going down. The gap is 2-3% (by these numbers) now. So the increased pool would be 2-300K.

That it took Apple 4 years to get to gen 4. is also pretty lame. But where the keyboards are not and where they started off in 2015-6 is different. if Apple got a similar a 5% reduction on the next two iterations ( going from 50% reduction to order of magnitude smaller) the gen 4 failure rate would be around 7% which isn't too far off the 2015 numbers. if Apple has had two 10% reductions they'd been in the same ballpark.

The part where the "echo chamber" has some traction when the disaster of the gen 1 keyboards being held up as why the gen 4 are bad. In part it is the gen 1 design failures echoing into the present. The 2015-16 systems are going to cost Apple money. For those systems the 4 year extended warranty is probably a bit too short ( for folks who bought AppleCare that's really only a 1 year increase, which is lame for the depth of Apple's lack of diligence in design evaluation. It should have been 4 years after whatever warranty/plan you had with Apple. ).


From the description of the gen 4 mechanism it seems as though some of the issue was not in the 'butterfly' nature of the mechanism, but in the Scrooge McDuck selection of the parts. Apple went for cheaper rather than better.


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I do agree that there is no reason to have a MBA with the current MB. It's a shame really, they should keep the Air product line for size and not intentionally cripple their MB and MBP product lines for the sake of thiness.

Part of the problem is that at around 2011 Apple switched roles for the names. There are two roles. One is the affordable Mac laptop. The other is the one created with the original MBA introduction; the penutlimate lightest/thinnest Mac laptop.

Around 2010-11, Apple dropped the 'Macbook' as an active product name and push the MBA into the role the 'Macbook' had classically covered. At some later point Apple decided to being the "penultimate' role back and had an 'unused' Macbook name so just slapped that name on the now new roles.

Much of the "there is no reason for the two" tends to arise out of the notion that both are competing for the same "penultimate" slot. Or that they are playing their pre-2011 name assignment roles.

There is room for both names if Apple went back to trying to fill the "affordable" Mac laptop role with something that is normally substantively under $1K ( like $899 not just a dollar $999). Apple appears to be chasing higher average selling prices, but that chase is the core conflict. The MBA fills that "affordable" role so it is probably not going away. [ some folks still cling to the MBA being an 'upscale' branding ... it isn't. Apple is just leverage that notion to help justify why their entry model is so much higher than the mainstream prices. That isn't the role is actually playing in the line up. ]

Apple perhaps wanting to dabble with ARM Macs is another reason for the MacBook in its current "1 port wonder" form to still be hanging around. An iPad Pro SoC would be a better fit with the design limitations. The system would be a good excuse for why Apple "had to" go homegrown because Intel/AMD couldn't deliver. If Apple wanted to shift gears and bring back an iBook ( with iPad OS) it is a candidate for that too. It is probably not going away because it has these useful jumping off points with some relatively minor modifications.

So yes there are reasonable reasons why they probably are keeping both. They aren't solely short term focused.
 
You are a part of Apple propaganda – stop this!

Of course in some investigation they talk about 50% of delivered Mac Book Pro and Mac Book Air that make earlier or later problems – the estimated number of unreported failures is high (many customers are too lazy, too far from Apple Store, cope with an external keyboard and...).

And Apple provides this repair program just 4 years after purchase – and then?!

So OF COURSE WE NEED ANOTHER KEYBOARD such as the old and proved scissor keyboard instead of this insane butterfly one!
And I'm saying they would have redesigned it in 2019 if it were a huge issue.

They'll probably end up redesigning it eventually, but it's not the sky is falling issue you're led to believe here. If it were, Apple would react.
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Maybe you need to talk with an independent Apple repair company. Their you'll find the data. I for one have sent quite a few people to Apple to get their keyboards replaced and I've tried helping a few trying to clean the debris that got under the key.

Sadly, the dirt thing is one issue the other is the butterfly design in its self. The plastic fatigues over time from the constant strikes so certain keys just wear out.
Why do you post some data? We don't have it so I can only judge based on how Apple is reacted...like it's not a big issue.
 
And I'm saying they would have redesigned it in 2019 if it were a huge issue.

They'll probably end up redesigning it eventually, but it's not the sky is falling issue you're led to believe here. If it were, Apple would react.
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Why do you post some data? We don't have it so I can only judge based on how Apple is reacted...like it's not a big issue.
I provided data, good job on avoiding the post just so you could continue building up Apple's stock prices.
 
Sorry, but it's not a small number of customers with issues.

Friend of mine works at an Apple Authorized Service Provider + Reseller, repairs for failing butterfly keyboards are multiple times higher than they have ever been for the old gen keyboards. It's the most common reason for warranty repairs now.
So why didn't they redesign it completely? Again guys, if it were THAT bad, it would be changed. They didn't even bother changing it in 2019.
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Touchbarless, with more ports, an SD card reader and cheaper? Yeah, I thought so.
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Apple intentionally doesn't post statistics, so that they can get plausible deniability from people like you. "Oh, there's no statistics out there, so apparently there isn't a problem.". You can't get statistics if the manufacturer doesn't provide them. Who are you going to contact to do your survey? All the independent Mac repair shops? Yeah, didn't think so.
You can watch what they do and understand if there is a big problem. Look what Samsung did when the Fold and Note 7 were design flaw problems.

Companies can't just sit back when there are serious issues, safety concerns, or a design flaw that impacts every device. Can't happen.
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And you still finding excuses in Apple behalf... you should work as an Apple PR.
We are not talking about Galaxy or Note.
We are talking about Apple, that always has been known to deliver quality "premium" products for an overprice.
And yes, there are some results. There are 2 massive class action lawsuits since it seems that Apple knew that the original design had problems.

And still that is why not a single reviewer is recommending the MBP. And that is why Apple is not releasing any more sales unit numbers. And that is why Mac sales have been down year over year.
Tell me more about class action lawsuits that never go anywhere.

Apple sold 300M devices in 2018. What about a few keyboard issues makes them incompetent or a non premium brand? Some products have issues...they are taking care of them (unlike many hardware companies).

What I'm trying to convey on this forum is not every problems is a design flaw, utter incompetence, or Tim Cook's evil doing.

The keyboards have some issues...but you guys DO NOT know the severity of them. Apple does. They CHOSE to not redesign the keyboard in 2019. I am inferring that means the issue is not that severe.

You don't agree? Fine...but don't act like you know because people tell you stories.

Remember the XS having a design flaw in the antenna? Where did that go?
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If Apple would not be concerned, they would not be apologizing publicly, they would not include the 2019 just release MBP in the repair program.

Again, you always seem to know better than Apple itself. I wonder why, none of the trustful reviewers recommend the MBP due to the problems with the failing keyboard. I would not buy it either, since although I am way overdue for an upgrade of mine, I would never support such a badly designed disposable appliance. Why pay 3k to 5k to buy something that is not reliable, not upgradable, has a touchbar that is useless, and very few connectivity for a so called "Pro" way overpriced laptop...


The MBP is one of the worse products Apple ever designed.
Not upgradable
All soldered components that make the computer a disposable appliance
Very few connectivities for a Pro computer.
Remove of one of the best features Apple ever designed, the Mag-safe.
The inclusion of a useless touchbar.
Furthermore, the cram 8 cores in a case that already had problems cooling 4.
While other laptops already offer full touchscreens, Apple comes with a pathetic touchbar.
The lack of innovation in the MBP line up is ridiculous.
Not to mention that is way overpriced.

It does Matter how many times they upgrade it if you cannot even type on it. No matter how nicely you dress a pig, a pig is still a pig.

No matter if Apple puts 12 cores, and do basic updates, it is useless if you cannot type.
If they were concerned, they wouldn't have rolled out the same keyboards in 2019.
 
There are few possibilities.

1. 12 inch MacBook with ARM processor: It is rumored to release in 2020 so far.
2. MBP series: Since they release a whole new design every 4 years, we may see a new MBP in 2020. MBP 16 might be the first one. Samsung already made 15.6inch OLED display so it's up to Apple to use it or not.
3. MacBook Air: Tho the new one released in 2018, there might be an update.

But problems are.
1. Intel: I highly doubt that Intel can make 10nm CPU for mobile in 2019 or 2020. They are not able to compete with AMD at this point.
2. ARM: It wont be that powerful enough to run MBP 15 inch.
 
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