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Is there any way to increase the travel distance of the Butterfly Keyboard?

A

arminvanbuuren

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 17, 2014
5
1
Hi guys,
I m really love the 15-inch MacBook Pro Touch Bar (2016-2019). I m even prefer it more than the new come out 16 inch for reason that it is smaller and lighter. ( Well, yeah, price is also another factor)
The only one thing it really let me down, is the keyboard.
I really hate the typing feel on that ridiculous shallow 0.5mm travel distance keyboard. I really miss the typing feel of the old keyboard. I wish there is any way that I could still stick to this gorgeous slim and light generation but somehow having a type feeling of a ordinary keyboard, or at least increase a bit the travel distance of that keyboard.
Any guys could give me a suggestion? Also, anyone ever get used to this Butterfly keyboard? It take you how long to get used to it?
 
No offense, but Apple themselves literally couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem you are posing, so I wouldn’t expect an answer here. But you could always use an external keyboard. A smallish mechanical keyboard will give you way more travel and better typing feel than even the 16” could.
 
If you're an adept typist, you should be able to adjust to the travel distance of the butterfly keyboard in due time. It took me two weeks to get the hang of it and after a couple of months, I came to prefer the feel of the butterfly keyboard. It's just a very different kind of keyboard and you really need to learn how to tap a little more lightly than you might with a scissor switch or other type of keyboard.

It's a more "lazy" motion than the classical typing mechanics that you'd learn if you were taught to type properly. You don't move your palms much. You just plant your palms and let your fingers do the reaching instead of shifting your hands to bring your fingers closer to the keys you're striking.

A lot of people never manage to adjust though. Everyone's different.

In the past year I mostly type on my 15" MBP directly or I use an ultra light 35g mechanical keyboard. The ultralight mechanical pairs very well with the butterfly keyboard because you also have to plant your palms and be a "lazy typist" to type on 35g switches.
 
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I much preferred the 2018 & 2019 butterfly keyboards as they seemed much better from a tactile perspective. So while the travel was the same, the feel (and noise) changed thanks to the changes made underneath.

If you want a real shock, go from a 2019 model to a 12" Macbook - complete lack of travel!
 
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There's no way to alter the physical attributes of the keyboard. You're only option is to get an external wireless keyboard or buy a different laptop
 
ascender said:
I much preferred the 2018 & 2019 butterfly keyboards as they seemed much better from a tactile perspective. So while the travel was the same, the feel (and noise) changed thanks to the changes made underneath.

If you want a real shock, go from a 2019 model to a 12" Macbook - complete lack of travel!
Click to expand...

Hi buddy, I know that from 2018 they added a thin silicon layer under the keyboard so it could be a little bit better, but what about the 2019 one? Does they have any attempt to continues improve the typing feel compare to the 2018? Or both keyboard (2018 and 2019) are the same?
 
Plutonius said:
Get a wireless bluetooth keyboard to use when you are not mobile.
Click to expand...

You can pick up a previous generation Apple Bluetooth Keyboard that has scissor switches in it and lay it on top of the MBP keyboard. It works quite well like this. It sits quite comfortably and the rubber feet on the bottom actually catch slightly on the keys so the keyboard won't slide around. The current generation of Magic Keyboard won't work because the underside is flat and solid.
 
smirking said:
You can pick up a previous generation Apple Bluetooth Keyboard that has scissor switches in it and lay it on top of the MBP keyboard. It works quite well like this. It sits quite comfortably and the rubber feet on the bottom actually catch slightly on the keys so the keyboard won't slide around. The current generation of Magic Keyboard won't work because the underside is flat and solid.
Click to expand...

Can you specify which generation/year you talking about this Keyboard? A photo will much help.
 
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arminvanbuuren said:
Hi buddy, I know that from 2018 they added a thin silicon layer under the keyboard so it could be a little bit better, but what about the 2019 one? Does they have any attempt to continues improve the typing feel compare to the 2018? Or both keyboard (2018 and 2019) are the same?
Click to expand...

Personally I thought 2018 and 2019 felt & sounded different to each other, albeit the difference was much less pronounced compared to 2016 & 2017 models.
 
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arminvanbuuren said:
Can you specify which generation/year you talking about this Keyboard? A photo will much help.
Click to expand...

The link that @Donnation posted is actually to the wrong keyboard, but the info is correct. That's a link to the Magic Keyboard 2. The Apple Bluetooth Keyboard is no longer sold, but there are plenty of good copies on eBay. They look like this: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4XMAAOSw9iNd2C7t/s-l1600.jpg

I've posted numerous times about how I'm not a fan of scissor keyboards in general, but that's not the case with the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard. I actually used this on top of my 2012 Unibody for several years. They may both be scissors, but these feel better to me.

I also started my first 6 months of tbMBP ownership with this laid on top of the butterfly keyboard until I got used to the butterfly keyboard and then I shifted to only using the built in butterfly keyboard and stopped carrying around my own external keyboard. This sits better on the ultra flat butterfly keyboard than it did on the old MBP scissor board.
 
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Hey guys, I’m just wondering if there’s any way to increase the size of this laptop while still keeping the same footprint. I’d like bigger but not bigger.
 
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