iFixit Finds 2019 MacBook Pro Keyboard Has 'Subtle' Changes to Membrane Cover and Switches

[oldmacs]

Your premise and your logic are both flawed.

Premise fail: https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks/

Logic fail: Just because Apple introduces new iPhones every year you cannot conclude that anything is wrong with the earlier designs.

Your logic is flawed also.

Usually when Apple addresses a "small percentage" of devices, they don't undergo multiple tweaks and changes which they do not announce beyond talking about sound dampening. Where were the incremental fixes and redesigns for other notorious MacBook flaws (peeling antireflective layer on retina pros for example). The fact that they keep changing the keyboard without really highlighting this is unprecedented for Apple (in terms of their keyboard design history).

 

[Gutwrench]

Apple surprised us with a MacBook Pro refresh earlier this week.

Did Kuo prediction this?

 

[oldmacs]

Why do CPUs and GPUs keep getting redesigned so that they perform better? Why do we need 5G? Was 4G a design flaw?

Lol there is a difference between feature improvements and tweaks and fixes to fix inherent design flaws.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

I'm probably not the only one who thinks that with the way Apple never likes to go back on their designs they've essentially engineered themselves into a corner here. To fix they problem they'd have to make thicker laptops or have them carry smaller batteries and that's just a choice they don't want to make.

Then again I may be slightly biased in favor of the earlier chiclet type keyboards seeing how I prefer them so much over the newer designs that when I needed to replace my work machine's and then my home machine's keyboard last year I first went with an old stock and then a second hand one. That and buying a second hand Macbook Pro when I could easily afford a brand new one partially because I get the really thin design these fixes have been versions of.

 

[JayJohnPaul]

Dang! Wish they still made 2015 MBPs today with upgraded specs, I’d buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[StuKatz1]

Imagine Tim Cook walking into Apple headquarters, the morning that the 2019 MacBook Pro was announced. Greeted by hundreds of social-corporate climbing Junior Apple employees.

“Incredible model refresh Tim!”
“Absolutely Visionary Mr. Cook”
“8 cores! Who would have seen that coming!”
“You’re a Genius, sir.”

Eight hours later, the junior Apple employee heads home to his 3500$/month studio apartment that he shares with his girlfriend.

“Hey baby, welcome home, dinner is ready for you.” Says the supportive girlfriend.

“Thanks babe, this looks amazing, you know I love your lasagna.” He says.

“So, sweetie, you must have had an exciting day! A new MacBook Pro! Tell me about the new keyboard!”

 

[jweinraub]

The second you realize that Apple is a lifestyle and design company masquerading as a computer company, it all starts to make sense.

The second they dropped Computer from their name that was obvious!

 

[oldmacs]

I vaguely remember the 2008 unibody keyboard design going through some teething problems and complaints from the previous silver keyboard.

I think I do recall some users not liking it as much, but in terms of reliability I don't recall... It had already been in use on the White MacBooks for two years by the point. I could be wrong though.

 

[jezbd1997]

I won't be buying another MacBook until the keyboard is redesigned or changed back to the previous version.
There was nothing wrong with 2015 Air/Pro keyboards they are perfect. My 2015 Air will live out as long as possible and I might have to look at Windows options unless we get a full redesign in the next 2 years

 

[Sasparilla]

I hope these changes fix it, otherwise it gives off the smell that Apple doesn't know what the problem actually is.

 

[Plutonius]

I won't be buying another MacBook until the keyboard is redesigned or changed back to the previous version.
There was nothing wrong with 2015 Air/Pro keyboards they are perfect. My 2015 Air will live out as long as possible and I might have to look at Windows options unless we get a full redesign in the next 2 years

The old keyboard was too thick to fit in the current MacBook Pro case.

The cynical part of me also thinks that the older keyboard was too reliable and not generating enough repair income .

 

[oneMadRssn]

From the best technical analysis I have seen thus far, the 2016-2018 Macbook Pro keyboard issues were related to the metal dome. If Apple did indeed do something to improve the metal domes, this could be a complete fix.

 

[zorinlynx]

The sad thing is Apple could have avoided all this pain had they simply made the keyboard easy to replace.

I miss the days of the Powerbook G4, when you could replace the keyboard WITHOUT TOOLS in literally FIFTEEN SECONDS. Imagine if that were the case today?

"Oh, your keyboard has failed. Here's a new one." (swaps) "Thank you for buying Apple."

No waiting, no expensive disassembly/reassembly, much lower costs for Apple, AND for the customer if it breaks out of warranty.

What the heck happened to Apple?

 

[Zdigital2015]

Remember the days when Apple was producing laptops with reliable keyboard?

View attachment 838811

Sure...as long as the GPU didn't fry itself (both), the screen didn't delaminate (Retina) or it didn't just spontaneously shutdown (Retina) first, yeah, it was a pretty reliable keyboard.

 

[TheHangMan]

Your premise and your logic are both flawed.

Premise fail: https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks/

Logic fail: Just because Apple introduces new iPhones every year you cannot conclude that anything is wrong with the earlier designs.

Really? You are comparing the smartphone market to keyboards?

Jesus

 

[AustinIllini]

I hope these changes fix it, otherwise it gives off the smell that Apple doesn't know what the problem actually is.

Apple knows what the problem is. They're just trying to avoid spending a huge amount of money to revise all the Macs on the market with a new keyboard.

 

[donster28]

My 2018 15" MBP's keyboard seems to be holding up well...then again, I baby my equipment so that could have something to do with it.

My dilemma now is, should I take advantage of having my keyboard replaced now before it conks on me or just keep it going?

 

[orangesauce]

I have a mid-2015 15" MBP 16/512 that I have literally owned longer than any other Apple laptop at this point. It has an escape key that I can find without looking at the keyboard. iPhone is a 6S with 64GB of storage. I'm patiently waiting for a laptop with 32GB RAM and iOS devices that use USB-C. I certainly hope they fix the keyboard before then or it will be even longer before I upgrade.

 

[ksec]

Why cant they just give the butterfly keyboard an extra 0.5mm depth.

 

[Zdigital2015]

I vaguely remember the 2008 unibody keyboard design going through some teething problems and complaints from the previous silver keyboard.

I had a 17-inc PowerBook G4 and a 17-inch MacBook Pro with that keyboard and it was an awful POS. Flat, dull, slower rebound than should be allowed and wobbled if you weren't dead on...plus the keys were incredibly close together, yet crap still got under them and gummed things up. Taking the keycaps off and blowing the thing out made it tolerable, but I used an external keyboard as much as possible.

Just junk...although still not as bad as that Apple Pro Keyboard or the Apple Keyboard that shipped with Power Mac G3, G4s and G5s. The Apple Keyboard came with its own built-in crumb tray that you would never be able to clean out completely unless you removed every key. It was like a disgusting clear plastic Petri dish that somebody let loose from the lab to infect the general public and an absolute crap keyboard with a horrible feel. I hated it so bad I rigged up an ADB to USB adapter so that I could use an old Apple Extended Keyboard instead. Probably the most lifeless keys ever in a mass market keyboard, but it worked, never croaked, so I guess that made it okay.

But the butterfly keyboard is Satan...so, yeah, whatever...

 

[Mark Holmes]

Remember the days when Apple was producing laptops with reliable keyboard?

View attachment 838811

Yep - still using mine - never a problem with the keyboard or anything else. I'll go another 7 years with it I expect, since Apple doesn't care to make laptops with ports and reliable keyboards anymore.

 

[Suttree]

Boy, my stomach is absolutely full. I cannot possibly eat another bite of hyperbole.

 

[Pangalactic]

Yeah, I don't see why they can't switch to a regular keyboard now, provided that all the windows laptops using it (XPS, Spectre 360, etc) are just as thin as the MBP, there is no advantage to the butterfly keys at all.

Anyway, I'm waiting to see what the paying testers of beta 4 will have to say.

 

[tobybrut]

Why cant they just give the butterfly keyboard an extra 0.5mm depth.

My guess is that an additional 0.5mm would suddenly create screen breakage problems. The tolerances for modern electronics are such that minute changes will create more problems. As it is, you see imprints of the keyboard on the screen. Another half millimeter and the added pressure on the screen would break it. Until Apple redesigns the entire laptop, they will stay with the same keyboard with only minor tweaks.

The good news is that Apple uses the same designs for about 4 years, so the next version should be that 16” MBP with micro-LED that Ming-Chi Kuo talked about. Will it have a new keyboard? My guess is yes. They have to in order to avoid four more years of bad press.

 

[Crowbot]

That’s why you don’t trust a repair technician to analyze these things.

An actual engineer could take the components from both keyboards and determine exactly what the differences are, why they were made and what benefits resulted from the changes.

These guys are just guessing because “it looks different”.

Pardon the digression.

In defense of repair technicians. I worked as a medical device service tech in a hospital for many years. I can recall some new whizzo design from a vendor that would quickly fail because they didn't take into consideration real life circumstances. We had a defibrillator vendor who changed the button covers from thick silicone to thin vinyl. Gee, some nurses have long nails and punch right through the thinner buttons. Just as we thought.