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Keyboard on MBPro a bit worse than MBAir?

rebelo

rebelo

macrumors member
Original poster
Hi there,

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone out there also feel the keyboard from Macbook Air is better than the Macbook Pro's? I own both machines and I write for a living. It's funny how the MBAir's keyboard feels better to type and for long sessions of writing. For me it's a shame, because the screen is so much worse than MBPro's. Does anyone have the same feeling? I really wish to get a new M5 MBpro, but when I think about the keyboard difference...

Thanks for any shared opinion.
 
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Interesting. I can't compare since I don't have the MBA, but now I am curious to try it out. The next time I am at the Apple Store, I will give it a shot.

That said, coming from a ThinkPad (X1C6) with its classic ALPS keyboard, I have been spoilt. I do find the MBP KB quite different in feel but I attribute that to what I am used to. I don't seem to be making mistakes while typing, and I think while the sound of the MBP KB is different as compared to the ThinkPad, it is also a bit more silent.

Cheers!
 
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Agreed, I don't think you're imagining it. I prefer the keyboard feel of the MBA and also the thinner body of the MBA for typing.

But that screen and those speakers...

Ultimately you'll get used to whatever one you have and will forget about the other.
 
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kristalsoldier said:
Interesting. I can't compare since I don't have the MBA, but now I am curious to try it out. The next time I am at the Apple Store, I will give it a shot.

That said, coming from a ThinkPad (X1C6) with its classic ALPS keyboard, I have been spoilt. I do find the MBP KB quite different in feel but I attribute that to what I am used to. I don't seem to be making mistakes while typing, and I think while the sound of the MBP KB is different as compared to the ThinkPad, it is also a bit more silent.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
@kristalsoldier You are spoiled indeed. ThinkPads historically have had the best keyboards known to human when it comes to laptops. This is true since the good old IBM times and fortunately Lenovo kept the ergonomics, but unfortunately only on the ThinkPad line. The other lines/series of Lenovo laptops have only average and subpar keyboards, which is a shame. I once had an old ThinkPad only for long sessions of writing and a Dell XPS for everything else. This was 15-16 years ago, before I "transitioned" to the Apple's ecosystem. The Intel's Macbook Pros had an almost perfect keyboard as well, pretty close to ThinkPads, almost there. But Apple gave up on keyboard ergonomics since the disaster called 'butterfly keyboard' and even after that their current keyboards are only average. Macbook Air's keyboard is good indeed, Macbook Pro's keyboard is really average. You should keep your ThinkPad! Cheers.
 
I spend a lot of time writing on each of my laptops. An M3 13” MacBook Air and my 16” M4 MacBook Pro. I find the keyboards feel identical.

Perhaps there could be a slight difference on some due to normal manufacturing tolerances but I would expect it to be minimal.

On mine I just don’t notice any difference.
 
I have an M4 MBP and have some limited experience with the Air's keyboard (M3) but I didn't notice a major difference between them.
 
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rebelo said:
@kristalsoldier You are spoiled indeed. ThinkPads historically have had the best keyboards known to human when it comes to laptops. This is true since the good old IBM times and fortunately Lenovo kept the ergonomics, but unfortunately only on the ThinkPad line. The other lines/series of Lenovo laptops have only average and subpar keyboards, which is a shame. I once had an old ThinkPad only for long sessions of writing and a Dell XPS for everything else. This was 15-16 years ago, before I "transitioned" to the Apple's ecosystem. The Intel's Macbook Pros had an almost perfect keyboard as well, pretty close to ThinkPads, almost there. But Apple gave up on keyboard ergonomics since the disaster called 'butterfly keyboard' and even after that their current keyboards are only average. Macbook Air's keyboard is good indeed, Macbook Pro's keyboard is really average. You should keep your ThinkPad! Cheers.
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Thanks! And, you bet! I really like the X1C6. It is just the 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD were showing their age. And, having never used an MBP before, I thought - why not! So, here I am! But that ThinkPad is staying with me!

PS: I have to read up about this "butterfly keyboard" thing that you referred to. I have have see this referenced previously, but don't know anything about it.
 
rebelo said:
@kristalsoldier You are spoiled indeed. ThinkPads historically have had the best keyboards known to human when it comes to laptops. This is true since the good old IBM times and fortunately Lenovo kept the ergonomics, but unfortunately only on the ThinkPad line. The other lines/series of Lenovo laptops have only average and subpar keyboards, which is a shame. I once had an old ThinkPad only for long sessions of writing and a Dell XPS for everything else. This was 15-16 years ago, before I "transitioned" to the Apple's ecosystem. The Intel's Macbook Pros had an almost perfect keyboard as well, pretty close to ThinkPads, almost there. But Apple gave up on keyboard ergonomics since the disaster called 'butterfly keyboard' and even after that their current keyboards are only average. Macbook Air's keyboard is good indeed, Macbook Pro's keyboard is really average. You should keep your ThinkPad! Cheers.
Click to expand...

Sorry to reopen this discussion, but just to clarify you think the MBP 2015 and earlier is most like the Thinkpad?
 
rebelo said:
Hi there,

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone out there also feel the keyboard from Macbook Air is better than the Macbook Pro's? I own both machines and I write for a living. It's funny how the MBAir's keyboard feels better to type and for long sessions of writing. For me it's a shame, because the screen is so much worse than MBPro's. Does anyone have the same feeling? I really wish to get a new M5 MBpro, but when I think about the keyboard difference...

Thanks for any shared opinion.
Click to expand...
I agree 110%!!! I'm almost 2 years into an acute arthritis episode (only in my 40s) and have found a significant difference in typo comfort. The air is soft and shallow and pro requires too much pressure is too clicky. I maxed out a 15 inch m4 air to compensate but I do miss the sharper and brighter screen of the pro. My rate of typos go way up when using the pro too. The situation sucks.
 
from the machines i own/have owned i would rate it like this

apple standalone magic keyboard usb-c = absolutely perfect
apple mbp 2016-2020 = decent
lenovo yoga 2025 (similar to thinkpad) = decent
apple mbp 2020 M1 = decent
apple mbp 2013-2015 = ok
apple macbook air M4 = awful

interestingly lenovo's approach is completely different to apple's. need some effort to press the keys but overall experience is comfortable.
 
I have an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and a Lenovo Yoga. I think that the M1 Pro MacBook Pro keyboard is pretty good. It was clicky and had good tactile feedback but it has softened with time. They Yoga keyboard has more travel and better feedback and I think that it's a better keyboard. My Yoga is a mid-range model. I've heard that Thinkpads generally have great and maybe even the best keyboards.

I've never used their cheaper models.

My favorite keyboard style is Cherry MX Blues which are loud, have long key travel, require good finger effort and have a nice, solid click feel. You're just not going to get that into a thin laptop.

So I think that the MacBook Pros have good keyboards. And I play around with the newer models at Costco from time to time. I have not played around with the newer Air models (we have an M1 but different case and I think a different keyboard).
 
At one point, I had and used both machines. One poster earlier on remarked that he felt the MBA keyboard felt better to use than the MBP. I agree with him. The travel and pressure needed for the MBA is different than the MBP. I found myself making more mistakes or having to press the key(s) twice with the MBP, because I had been so used to the feel and travel of the MBA over the years.
 
I actually agree with this too. I had a launch day 14" M1 Pro MBP for 4 years, before getting the 15" M4 MBA about a year ago. Now that I've had the MBA for enough time (~9 months), while not 100% scientific, I feel like I like the MBA keyboard more than I remember liking the M1 Pro MBP kb.

It also might be a bit to do with size of the computer difference. Especially on the 15" MBA, the extra size and thinness make the overall laptop base feel a bit more sturdy. And that translates into the feeling of the keyboard to me.

Not a huge difference. But yeah, I feel like the 15" MBA kb is firmer (along with where you rest your wrists), which I prefer.
 
rebelo said:
@kristalsoldier You are spoiled indeed. ThinkPads historically have had the best keyboards known to human when it comes to laptops. This is true since the good old IBM times and fortunately Lenovo kept the ergonomics, but unfortunately only on the ThinkPad line. The other lines/series of Lenovo laptops have only average and subpar keyboards, which is a shame. I once had an old ThinkPad only for long sessions of writing and a Dell XPS for everything else. This was 15-16 years ago, before I "transitioned" to the Apple's ecosystem. The Intel's Macbook Pros had an almost perfect keyboard as well, pretty close to ThinkPads, almost there. But Apple gave up on keyboard ergonomics since the disaster called 'butterfly keyboard' and even after that their current keyboards are only average. Macbook Air's keyboard is good indeed, Macbook Pro's keyboard is really average. You should keep your ThinkPad! Cheers.
Click to expand...
To this day, I still think the early ThinkPad 770 I had from the late 90s had the best laptop keyboard I’ve ever owned. So satisfying.
 
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