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Apple sued over keyboard design
- Thread starter baypharm
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As one of those people who went nearly a year defending this keyboard it's obvious there is a design problem. My space bar just started to become unresponsive and the caps lock key has been inconsistent for a few months now but never noticed it much. I've had Apple products dating all the way back to my eMac in 2004 and this machine has had more software issues than any previous machine before it. This is my first hardware issue but it's obvious from reading around the internet the problems aren't "overblown".
Not all them fail though. I’ve had my machine since Thanksgiving 2016 and it looks and works like it did when I first took it out of the box.
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It is common sense to practice good hygiene. I clean my phone as well and I wash my Rolexes as well every single week. As durable as these watches are, if you don’t clean them, the bracelets will stretch and will look like crap after a few years.
I find it crazy that someone would argue against not having dirt, oil, dust and bacteria all over stuff they use every single day.
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ction-lawsuit-defective-macbook-pro-keyboards
Excerpt:
Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over the design of its MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards which, consumers complain, has keys that are prone to becoming stuck.
The lawsuit follows a litany of complaints across user forums, specialist media and a petition with over 21,000 signatures urging Apple to recall the Mac laptops released since late 2016.
“Because of the new keyboard design, consumers report that fixing affected keys requires replacing the whole keyboard, which costs $700,” Girard Gibbs, counsel for the plaintiffs, state. “Because typing is the primary purpose of laptops, over time, consumers have become more and more frustrated with the keyboard defect.”
Excerpt:
Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over the design of its MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards which, consumers complain, has keys that are prone to becoming stuck.
The lawsuit follows a litany of complaints across user forums, specialist media and a petition with over 21,000 signatures urging Apple to recall the Mac laptops released since late 2016.
“Because of the new keyboard design, consumers report that fixing affected keys requires replacing the whole keyboard, which costs $700,” Girard Gibbs, counsel for the plaintiffs, state. “Because typing is the primary purpose of laptops, over time, consumers have become more and more frustrated with the keyboard defect.”
So what are you saying? Why can’t I express my feelings here and you can? I did not postulate any theory. I am happy for you if your keyboard is still working. Don’t tread on others whose keyboard has failed multiple times. They deserve a voice.
Agreed, its great that many people have experienced zero issues, I wish them well and hope their keyboards last. Yet we shouldn't marginalize those people who have had issues. More so for those people out of warranty and are facing expensive repair bills.
I've had expensive watches sitting on my wrist through salt water and not cleaned it for a year with no issues. Does that mean I should have? No. Did it function as designed for the user? Yes.
I think Apple should be designing for the majority of its users daily habits. I would be shocked to see data regarding frequency of individuals cleaning their computer and keyboard to be greater than 3 weeks.
Daily my friend. After you suffer from defects and long periods of time waiting for repairs, sadly you tend to clean this thing on a daily basis.
Something isn't right if a product requires daily cleaning like that. I understand the idea of avoiding a failure, so I'm not critizing the act, just pointing out, that its a sad state of affairsDaily my friend. After you suffer from defects and long periods of time waiting for repairs, sadly you tend to clean this thing on a daily basis.
Daily my friend. After you suffer from defects and long periods of time waiting for repairs, sadly you tend to clean this thing on a daily basis.
I wipe my 2015 15" MBP off once a year whether it needs it or not.
I'd be concerned that cleaning it could make it even worse, since wiping it down will get the dirt under the keycap. Dirt/oil on the surface of the keycap won't cause a failure until it makes it underneath.
Yep it is good to raise awareness so it gets fixed.
The popular headphones Sony 1000XM2's have a design flaw which leads it to crack easily - Sony said they fixed the issue but they had changed the material so it only means it cracks differently (with plenty of evidence of how it cracks under both materials). A lot of people either dismiss it to just being rare, or that the users must have mishandled it(similar to the keyboard issue), but the flaw is there for the world to see. I recently went to two stores which had a display unit (tied to the stand so it can't be dropped or sat on) which had the same crack issue.
Strangely I have not seen any of the other popular headphones with the same issue. But people still will tell you "My headphone is fine, this is all overblown- great that your headphone is fine now or has been for the last x months, but that doesn't mean there isn't a flaw that means it cracks far too easily compared to other headphones. The more you pretend the issue doesn't exist, the less incentive a company will have to fix it.
I watched this week's MacBreak Weekly, and instead of having Rene they had Lory Gil who works for Rene, and she was a breath of fresh air. Instead of trying to defend that there isn't a problem or marginlize it, which Rene had done previously, she fully embraced that there is an issue and many people who she knows owns MBPs have had keyboard issues.
Hopefully this lawsuit will help owners with maybe a repair program. I don't know if there's anything that will be done to the 2018 MBP design, but we'll find out when they roll out new laptops, either at WWDC or in the fall.
Hopefully this lawsuit will help owners with maybe a repair program. I don't know if there's anything that will be done to the 2018 MBP design, but we'll find out when they roll out new laptops, either at WWDC or in the fall.
Apple seriously needs to rethink how it deals with it's customers; Keynotes procrastinating how awesome products are yet in reality they are significantly less reliable, with reduced usability. Customer's and professional's alike are met by Apple's wall of silence, small wonder the professional community is shrinking, like many others I expect engagement, not exclusion...
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I seriously can't stand Rene. He changes his opinions constantly based on what Apple does. I remember him trashing plastic phones then when the 5c came out somehow it was 'better'.
I actually forgot about the keyboard fiasco, and was torn between a 13" DC i7 new MBP, or a 2013 15" QC i7.
I went for the 15", saved over half my money, got more power, more screen, and a keyboard that won't break. I feel like I definitely made the right choice. I would be mega annoyed if I payed for a new one and the keyboard broke out of warranty.
I went for the 15", saved over half my money, got more power, more screen, and a keyboard that won't break. I feel like I definitely made the right choice. I would be mega annoyed if I payed for a new one and the keyboard broke out of warranty.
I agree, I listened to it and it was a refreshing change from Rene; he spoils what otherwise in an excellent podcast. He previously described the keyboards as a "perception issue"....not sure it's only perception when his colleague Lory Gil states that around 40% of her friends with MBP's have had keyboard issues.
While I have not had keyboard issues (yet), I had the 2016 15 inch and the thing that worries me are the USB-C ports also become loose. If I move the computer at all, the secondary monitor will disconnect. I have read that this is yet ANOTHER issue with this model. I have also had the sleep/wake issues, the random crashes, etc. Just general crap that never used to be prevalent on macOS. People saying oh well Dells have the same issues, etc forget that these cost many times more than your average Dell, Lenovo, etc. I still have a MacBook Pro 2008 with all user-upgraded (me) RAM and HD and it still runs very well for a decade old machine. This 2016 model? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it did not make it out of THIS DECADE. But alas I do love it when it is working well!
This was my experience also with some of the later versions of macOS (crashes, random issues including Wi-Fi acting funny). Not sure why everyone calls Windows the unstable OS - I had more productivity issues with macOS in the last couple of years.
I’ll be honest. I see macs as a premium product and take better care of them than I would a much cheaper Windows machine. I believe anything over $2k is too expensive to neglect but others might feel differently. Many of my friends always had cds and vinyls all over the place outside of their cases and sleeves. That’s something I never did and rarely damaged a disc.
It depends what kind of watch it is and what bracelet is on the watch. An Oyster (3pc link) style bracelet will be much more rugged than a jubilee (5pc links) or president (smaller 3pc links). A year is not enough to damage it but over the long run, if oil and dirt accumulate between the links, the pins will wear down and the bracelet which become stretched and loose. They would still be wearable but would not be considered to be in great condition and their actual market value would take a substantial hit compared to the same watch with a tight bracelet. Depending on how collectible a certain watch or vintage is, the difference can be several thousands.
Laptops offer the advantage of portability but I am nervous about taking my 2017 MBP into the garden so that I can sit in the sun while I use it. So, I want to take care of mine but where do you stop ?