But why has the membrane reduced the failures if it has nothing to do with dust, which the membrane actually addresses?
Did they change something about the heat situation?
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Has anyone had any keyboard issues with the MacBook Air 2018?
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But why has the membrane reduced the failures if it has nothing to do with dust, which the membrane actually addresses?
Did they change something about the heat situation?
I think anecdotes are relevant, but it’s only one piece of the picture. And yes, people are definitely making it seem like ALL the keyboards are faulty and that MacBooks aren’t worth buying. Why else are people buying up 2015 MacBooks? Because they knew it’s a rare case of key failure?
And don’t you think apple’s employees using these very laptops would encounter these same issues?
All I’m saying is it’s hard to tell based on some anecdotes how big of an issue this is. That’s all. We’re in an echo chamber here. And even then, the last big thread about key failures a lot of the responses were “I don’t have the same issue. My keys are fine”. So who knows? I don’t know how you could disagree with “it’s hard to grasp the size of this issue”
But we also don’t need a new thread every single time someone has this issue as if they have something new and fresh to add. If all you’re posting is another “hey my keys are stuck! Stupid apple. Boycott apple” then you’re not adding anything. Add it to an existing thread
I agree
But I would say that the anecdotes mean something is up...
The degree of it is always up for debate.
If someone wants to make a new thread and talk about their angle on it all, I personally have no problem with it.
And what an echo chamber it is. I think it really skews toward the negative because those of us who aren't having any problems get tired of the abuse and just get tired to answering the same questions all the time. I peek in at the keyboard conversations every few weeks and engage once in a while and I'm amazed at how many of the posters' names are the same while it seems that those of us who are apologists and deniers are not all that motivated to keep apologizing and denying.
I've posted in the past that my 2016 unit is fine, but I definitely believe people who are having problems and repeated failures. I just don't think it's on the scale that people think it's at and I also don't think dust is really the issue (except in rare cases).
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Anecdotes? We were forced to replace all mobile workstations with Thinkpad P series laptops because the 2016ff Macbook Pros failed so much more often than their predecessors. The downtime generated dealing with Apple support and increased repair times and crazy additional costs made us finally switch.
The quality of their Macbooks is abysmal compared to the the prices they call and - this is the big chance - maintaining them. We roughly spend half of the purchase price in repair costs. We never experienced this before. That's unacceptable when you advertise quality and reliability, but don't deliver it.
Basically any Macbook now is a two component model: You either pay full price for the screen or the body to repair any minor failure whatsoever. Apple Care got expensive, but without it you basically can throw the machines away. I suspect they refurbish the components with cheap labour and it costs them max around 20% of the labelled price for the customer.
This is simply a corporate decision to generate profit, plain and simple. It seems they want turn their mac os hardware into a service model, generating revenue streams with calculatable repair costs. The T2 is just the ouverture for the lockdown of hardware upcoming with the planned switch to ARM only, and I suspect it is for the profit only, not for performance and quality.
I am still around in mac forums because the community helped me tremendously fixing hardware so I don't have to throw it away. Privately we still have two old macbooks. Phones, we already switched because of insane pricing and declining stability and quality. Professionally... no more. It just doesn't work.
The quality of their Macbooks is abysmal compared to the the prices they call and - this is the big chance - maintaining them. We roughly spend half of the purchase price in repair costs. We never experienced this before. That's unacceptable when you advertise quality and reliability, but don't deliver it.
Basically any Macbook now is a two component model: You either pay full price for the screen or the body to repair any minor failure whatsoever. Apple Care got expensive, but without it you basically can throw the machines away. I suspect they refurbish the components with cheap labour and it costs them max around 20% of the labelled price for the customer.
This is simply a corporate decision to generate profit, plain and simple. It seems they want turn their mac os hardware into a service model, generating revenue streams with calculatable repair costs. The T2 is just the ouverture for the lockdown of hardware upcoming with the planned switch to ARM only, and I suspect it is for the profit only, not for performance and quality.
I am still around in mac forums because the community helped me tremendously fixing hardware so I don't have to throw it away. Privately we still have two old macbooks. Phones, we already switched because of insane pricing and declining stability and quality. Professionally... no more. It just doesn't work.
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I feel ya but on the other side. It’s all reversed so take my anecdotes for all it’s worth. My work had widespread issues with the dell xps line of laptops that were so severe their deal with dell was scrapped and they switched back to MacBooks. All issues including speakers crackling and blowing out, batteries not holding charge, dead pixels, etc. and it was such an issue it was affecting a majority of our department even with replacements. They’d get a replacement and swap one issue with another.
We switched over to MacBooks and have had zero widespread issues and cost for support has been dramatically reduced to the point we are saving thousands of dollars. We have hundreds of the newer model 2016 and up MacBooks and haven’t had a single keyboard complaint. No keys sticking. Nothing going out. Nothing. And we have a pretty decent sample size spanning across multiple departments.
I feel for those that experience the keyboard issue, but I haven’t experienced this in my day to day life. I communicate with developers and not a one has complained. And they spend their lives typing all day wearing these things out.
Perhaps in the case of your Dell XPSes and some people's MBPs there were bad batches that went only to a specific region or through a specific distributor. There are ways you could end up with a whole crate of rotten lemons without coming to the conclusion that because all of my lemons are rotten, all lemons must then be rotten.
Yes, while I don't have financial limits on what I buy, I do care about my TIME. I suspect most people care about time AND money. They all deserved to be fairly warned. I've owned a LOT of Apple laptops. The butterfly keyboard units ALL failed. So did the ones used my clients and friends.
So yeah...keep the threads coming. My reasoning for this is that I absolutely do want new MBA units that are functional and reliable. I want to give apple my business, but I don't want my time wasted.
RB
Nah. We don’t need new threads everyday. At some points it’s like “we get it. Your keyboard has an issue”. Sure new posts from users experiencing the issue, but we don’t need a new thread for each individual one cluttering up the feed
It's hard to argue with this. Once upon a time, the laptop makers with premium keyboards were IBM/Lenovo and Apple. Lenovo's ThinkPad keyboards are still as great as ever -- go to one of their forums and absolutely everyone raves about their keyboards. But Apple has given up its once-ThinkPad-level keyboard in favor of something that is less reliable and liked by seemingly half of its users.
Yep!
Just played with one the other day again - man - so so good..
Wish Apple would get its ego out of its own way and just put a great reliable keyboard in the laptops.
I got my 2018 MBA on launch day and I have the double entry problem with the spacebar. I'm not sure when it started but it was the number of . that kept appearing in my text that made me think I was going mad. I disabled the double space for a . setting and then found lots of double spaces in my text. I thought maybe I'm just typing badly so I spent some time typing very slowly and could see the double spaces appear with only one key press.
I'm going to book a genius appointment and hope the repair process isn't too painful as it's the machine I use all day every day for work.
As a family we've been using apple kit for nearly 35 years and I can think of only a handful of issues in that time, the only item I ever had to take back was an iPhone 5 with a faulty screen. It does annoy me that a £1,200 laptop seems to have a fundamental issue with the thing on it you use the most.
Apart from that I love it as a daily machine and I actually really like typing on the keyboard.
I'm going to book a genius appointment and hope the repair process isn't too painful as it's the machine I use all day every day for work.
As a family we've been using apple kit for nearly 35 years and I can think of only a handful of issues in that time, the only item I ever had to take back was an iPhone 5 with a faulty screen. It does annoy me that a £1,200 laptop seems to have a fundamental issue with the thing on it you use the most.
Apart from that I love it as a daily machine and I actually really like typing on the keyboard.
Well im warming back up to apple after my 2018 hate mac tirade.
I crept into the local Apple store and saw the MacBook air 13”.
WOW! TO my astrological astonishment, the price was only 999.99! I thought that model was 1200 something.... and there was a camera card slot next to the usb thingee, which i need! The screen was beautiful and just out-shown the macbook pro big time!
The squarenees of the screen seemed more professional that the pro, the fn keys are full sized too. My concern is the keyboard problems. I need some to type alot and concerned about these issues, which i never would have in 2012 over anything apple related. So any advice comments would help!
Weird not being greeted by anyone there tho, the storecwas not busy, kinda idle tho.
I crept into the local Apple store and saw the MacBook air 13”.
WOW! TO my astrological astonishment, the price was only 999.99! I thought that model was 1200 something.... and there was a camera card slot next to the usb thingee, which i need! The screen was beautiful and just out-shown the macbook pro big time!
The squarenees of the screen seemed more professional that the pro, the fn keys are full sized too. My concern is the keyboard problems. I need some to type alot and concerned about these issues, which i never would have in 2012 over anything apple related. So any advice comments would help!
Weird not being greeted by anyone there tho, the storecwas not busy, kinda idle tho.
A 2018 MacBook Air for $999 at an Apple store? I've never seen discounted MacBooks at any Apple store I've ever set foot in. Best Buy, Micro Center, Amazon, B&H, they all discount them, of course, but an actual Apple store. What Apple store was this, can I ask? Something tells me you're getting this year's all new Air mixed up with last year's Air.
The macbook air at the store that i felt in love with was the 2017.
Best Buy is currently selling the new MBA 2018 for $999.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-...VB7nACh1rxQ41EAQYASABEgJq1PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-...VB7nACh1rxQ41EAQYASABEgJq1PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
That sale ends today. Still debating if I want to get a MBA with the issues they’re having.
Get it. If all of the issues with the 2018 MBA haven't turned you definitely "off" then there's no reason not to get one if you like the price.
For me, I chose a new 2017 i7 MBA for $799 over that 2018 MBA for $999.
This just in.
Not the MacBook Air, but the keyboard mechanism is same.
His whole crew is having KB issues.
Not the MacBook Air, but the keyboard mechanism is same.
His whole crew is having KB issues.
I don’t understand these video reviews, but probably just me. What is the point of focusing purely(?) on hardware, and disregarding software? Or did he touch on using Windows OS, and I missed it?
Surely if you are OS-agnostic, then “yes”, the switch can be made, no problems. But if one is heavily invested in macOS, and what it allows one to do from a usability/productivity/efficiency perspective - well then the switch is far less simple...
It’s like the old story of only comparing the hardware specs on iPhones vs all the others. On paper, the iPhone was nowhere - but the software/hardware integration more than made up for that [oh and my, how things have changed on that front!]. But the point remains that all iPhone users knew that the hardware question was just _one_ of the considerations in the bigger question...
And yet, all these reviews seem to do exactly the same thing? Yes, hardware - particularly keyboard reliability - is a *significant* part of using a laptop/computer! But I am sorry, I fail to understand how this individual can so blithely switch between OS’s, with seemingly nary a mention of the pros/cons of either... Causes me to not place much stock in anything else he is saying...
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I’m leaning toward the air but if I get one I definitely will get applecare
What good is the software if the hardware is unreliable? And you're paying a premium for that hardware? And depending upon what specific software is being used, switching OSes isn't a hardship. What software do you use that is a must have that doesn't exist for Windows?
1 key travel: having owned several MacBook Airs in the past, i was die hard anti-new keyboard.
when i walked into the apple store, and tried the 1st generation and 2nd generation new keyboards on the MacBook and MacBook Pro, i could never even imagine buying a laptop with these keyboards.
fast forward to Dec 2018, when my last Air really needed replacement, what to do?
i took a chance on the new MacBook Air 2018 with the improved 3rd gen keyboard.
as far as key travel is concerned, it turned out it was never an issue.
the 3rd gen keyboards are smooth, fast, and definitely enough travel to feel a "mechanical" touch. a very satisfying feeling in fact.
when i go back to an apple store now, after using my MacBook Air 2018, and try the older MacBook, (still with only the 2nd gen keyboard) it feels totally different.
2 keys not working correctly.
sorry, but i only bought my new MacBook Air 2018 in December 2018, so i have not had it long enough (only 3 months) to know if it will develop a problem. but i can say that i have not any problem with it at all so far. none.
of course, i don't eat donuts (usually...) when im in front of USD 2,000+ device that i depend on.
the reports of keys not working correctly seem to be of 2 varieties: (1) key strokes being repeated etc (2) keys stopping working.
buy apple care+ and be done with it.
it IS about the combination of software + iCloud services + Continuity / Handoff + hardware + privacy.
that's precisely why i do buy apple and only apple.
what the Unbox Therapy guy says is also true. Windows is still an option. a viable option for many (most?) people.
btw: i love his Unbox Therapy videos!
when i walked into the apple store, and tried the 1st generation and 2nd generation new keyboards on the MacBook and MacBook Pro, i could never even imagine buying a laptop with these keyboards.
fast forward to Dec 2018, when my last Air really needed replacement, what to do?
i took a chance on the new MacBook Air 2018 with the improved 3rd gen keyboard.
as far as key travel is concerned, it turned out it was never an issue.
the 3rd gen keyboards are smooth, fast, and definitely enough travel to feel a "mechanical" touch. a very satisfying feeling in fact.
when i go back to an apple store now, after using my MacBook Air 2018, and try the older MacBook, (still with only the 2nd gen keyboard) it feels totally different.
2 keys not working correctly.
sorry, but i only bought my new MacBook Air 2018 in December 2018, so i have not had it long enough (only 3 months) to know if it will develop a problem. but i can say that i have not any problem with it at all so far. none.
of course, i don't eat donuts (usually...) when im in front of USD 2,000+ device that i depend on.
the reports of keys not working correctly seem to be of 2 varieties: (1) key strokes being repeated etc (2) keys stopping working.
buy apple care+ and be done with it.
it IS about the combination of software + iCloud services + Continuity / Handoff + hardware + privacy.
that's precisely why i do buy apple and only apple.
what the Unbox Therapy guy says is also true. Windows is still an option. a viable option for many (most?) people.
btw: i love his Unbox Therapy videos!
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Just coming back to say I officially retract every positive thing I said about this keyboard. You guys told me so, and here I am with a little egg on my face.... 
Spacebar and shift keys are getting wonky. Sometimes they double press in response, sometimes they don't respond. And my local AASP just shut down their entire Apple service department because of untenable terms. Not terribly thrilled rn... if Apple is going to dump off in quality like this (while screwing independent AASPs) and Windows is still going to be Windows underneath, I'm not real sure where to go other than ChromeOS or Linux. Today it's the keyboard that sucks; what will it be tomorrow?
Spacebar and shift keys are getting wonky. Sometimes they double press in response, sometimes they don't respond. And my local AASP just shut down their entire Apple service department because of untenable terms. Not terribly thrilled rn... if Apple is going to dump off in quality like this (while screwing independent AASPs) and Windows is still going to be Windows underneath, I'm not real sure where to go other than ChromeOS or Linux. Today it's the keyboard that sucks; what will it be tomorrow?
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