Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Faulty MacBook Butterfly Keyboards Cost Apple $50 Million in Lawsuit Settlement
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I got seven years out of a 2014 MBP with zero keyboard failures; and I ate and drank around that computer too. I expect zero issues with the keyboard on my new 16" MBP.
I bought the Retina MacBook and immediately loathed the keyboard, even before they started failing. I passed it on to my wife, who didn't mind it and continued to use it for several years. It never did fail at all, as it turns out.
But I hated typing on those so much I waited out like 4-5 years of Mac laptops. POUNCED on the 2020 MacBook Air when it came out. Compared to its M1 successor, that last Intel Air was overall not a great machine, but at least you could type on it!
But I hated typing on those so much I waited out like 4-5 years of Mac laptops. POUNCED on the 2020 MacBook Air when it came out. Compared to its M1 successor, that last Intel Air was overall not a great machine, but at least you could type on it!
In late 2017, when it seemed like the 2016 laptops were disastrous on every front, I bought the last model of the pre-2016 MacBook Pro 15" on offer, because I thought it might be half a decade before Apple made another laptop worth buying, so I should get one while I still could. So I missed the entire butterfly keyboard fiasco, MagSafe-less laptops, the port drought, and the TouchBar.
Dear Apple: don't do that again.
Unfortunately the MacBook Pro my office issued me half a year ago has a butterfly keyboard, but both at home and the office I plug a real keyboard into it.
Dear Apple: don't do that again.
Unfortunately the MacBook Pro my office issued me half a year ago has a butterfly keyboard, but both at home and the office I plug a real keyboard into it.
I wonder. Would this lawsuit cover the value of lost time for those who rely on a keyboard for their income?
No, I already know the answer: no it does not… maybe those folks opted out of the class action and would be able to sue individually.
No, I already know the answer: no it does not… maybe those folks opted out of the class action and would be able to sue individually.
Good luck. I’m still waiting for several $25 battery gate payouts.
I skipped over a whole generation of MacBooks because of this issue. Am so happy with the keyboards on all the new AS Macs. Hopefully they learned their lesson and don't change it again.
"The lawsuit covers only customers in the above-mentioned states, and lawyers are expecting maximum payouts of $395 to customers who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 to people who replaced one keyboard, and $50 to people who replaced key caps. The settlement is preliminary and will need to be approved by the judge overseeing the case."
And tens of millions of dollars for the class action attorneys.
And tens of millions of dollars for the class action attorneys.
yeah Reuters said 15 mil will go to legal fees. Leaves 35 mil for us peons to split up
I have a MacBook Pro 2018 and each time I’ve had my keyboard replaced, the laptop has been returned to me in worse condition, dents, scratches on the aluminium and screen, figure prints all over the screen too, probably so I wouldn’t notice the scratched screen when picking it up. I complained to Apple but nothing was done about it. I sent photos etc but they didn’t seem to care. You need to fully examine your device when you pick it up. The repairs always took over a week to complete too.
I wonder if the issue they are now seemingly ignoring regarding the fan noise emanating from some of the new Mac Studio’s will go down this same lengthy litigious path? I wish Apple would just take the high road and stop following what the parasitical Wall Street element within Apple dictates. I have put off a purchasing decision due to there not being a visible action plan coming from Apple on that problem, and i am afraid, just as happened with this they are turning warranty repair work (for those who don’t make the full refund deadline) around using the same defective parts; and therefore not actually remedying the actual issue.
Apple’s Quality Control has taken a significant turn for the worse in the last few years with what seems little regard for their reputation.
Apple wants to be viewed as a good corporate citizen and are and have been acting as anything but that. They spend more on PR trying to maintain that image than just doing what it would take to naturally build and maintain that persona.
Apple’s Quality Control has taken a significant turn for the worse in the last few years with what seems little regard for their reputation.
Apple wants to be viewed as a good corporate citizen and are and have been acting as anything but that. They spend more on PR trying to maintain that image than just doing what it would take to naturally build and maintain that persona.
I'm one of the ones you quoted. I think Jony has been a very innovative designer. I do not have any feelings towards him as an individual.
But it was under his design leadership that these keyboards happened and it was under his leadership we got the touch bar and impossibly thin laptops that overheated way too easily.
So I feel the blame really has to go on him and also to people who enabled him and didn't put an end to these poor design choices sooner. I don't think he had to leave the company over it, but he clearly needed to be reigned in.
I didnt mind typing on my pizza box. I loved my 12 inch Mac
Classic case of 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'.
I still laugh at the original Keynote where they claimed their reasons for developing were to improve typing accuracy, followed by a slow-mo video of someone typing 🤦♂️
I still laugh at the original Keynote where they claimed their reasons for developing were to improve typing accuracy, followed by a slow-mo video of someone typing 🤦♂️
It wasn't just the failures. Even if those keyboards were solid and reliable, the tactile feedback was piss poor. It was like typing on a piece of solid plastic. I tried to "get used to it" for a month or two and then went back to the old 11" Air I'd been hoping to replace with the Retina MacBook.
And you'll notice when they brought scissor-switch keyboards back, the amount of key travel was one of the "features" they touted (even though it was just a return to normal, pre-butterfly key feel).
Last edited: