Macbook Pro 13 20202 Half Arrow Keys

[adnan645]

Scissor keyboard is fine but why did Apple cut the side arrow keys into half? What are we supposed to do the space saved??

Are we expecting Apple to switch back to full side arrow keys, may be next year? May be this is the catch for next year as an upgrade. Please share your thoughts

 

[oreganoinferno]

The left half key is much easier to distinguish from the option button next to it. Much more intuitive than full key. Love to have it back after three years without. Guess they did it "for better stability" on the butterfly KB.

 

[Christopher Kim]

Yes, this is commonly referred to as the "inverted-T" arrow format. Most people prefer it because it's easier to quickly get your fingers to the left-right arrows by feel without looking, given the smaller space.

 

[sub150]

I'm sitting here looking at my full size keyboard and the space above the L/R arrow keys has existed for decades with no problems. Apple should never go back to full height arrow keys. Thinkpad sticks page up and page down there which works fine (particularly with Excel where those keys dominate). Page up/down isn't really a thing on MacOS for the programs I use.

 

[sixtydashone]

I much prefer the half keys, or "inverted T" as they call it. My wireless Magic Keyboard has the full size left and right arrow keys and I absolutely hate them compared to the inverted T layout. I've had that keyboard for nearly a year and still have trouble finding the left and right keys. The inverted T's left and right arrows keys are just much easier to find by feel than the full size left and right keys for me.

 

[cardsdoc]

Impressive that we still have MacBook Pros in the year 20202. 😃

 

[Madhatter32]

For those of us who do not need to look at the keyboard to type, the inverted T arrow keys are far easier to use. I think apple did the right thing returning to this format.

 

[ignatius345]

Scissor keyboard is fine but why did Apple cut the side arrow keys into half? What are we supposed to do the space saved??

Orient your fingers by touch without looking down when you move them from the home row to the arrow cluster. That inverted T arrow arrangement has been used on keyboards for decades now, for this exact reason.

Are we expecting Apple to switch back to full side arrow keys, may be next year? May be this is the catch for next year as an upgrade. Please share your thoughts

Jony Ive is gone, and with him left that obsession with bull---- symmetry without regard to ergonomics (see also: the zero-travel butterfly keyboard). So... never, hopefully?

And if you look, Apple calls out the corrected key layout specifically in the marketing copy:

MacBook Air now features the new Magic Keyboard, first seen on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The refined scissor mechanism with 1 mm of travel delivers a responsive, comfortable, and quiet typing experience. The inverted-T arrow keys help you fly through lines of code, spreadsheets, or game environments. And the backlit keys with ambient light sensor help you type in low-light settings.

[automerge]1591663266[/automerge]

I much prefer the half keys, or "inverted T" as they call it. My wireless Magic Keyboard has the full size left and right arrow keys and I absolutely hate them compared to the inverted T layout. I've had that keyboard for nearly a year and still have trouble finding the left and right keys. The inverted T's left and right arrows keys are just much easier to find by feel than the full size left and right keys for me.

Same here. It's kind of maddening. I thought about putting epoxy or something on the left and right arrows for some kind of tactile cue (like the nubs on the F and J keys), but I never got around to it.

Now that they've rolled out the Magic Keyboard to the MacBooks, I'm hoping for an update to the bluetooth version with corrected arrow keys and backlighting.

 

[sixtydashone]

Now that they've rolled out the Magic Keyboard to the MacBooks, I'm hoping for an update to the bluetooth version with corrected arrow keys and backlighting.

I'm really hoping they'll release it with the inverted T and in space grey, without the numpad. I will for sure buy that if they do.

 

[simonmet]

Inverted T is far superior and easier to use by feel.

 

[iMacDragon]

Yeah, you're definitely in the minority preferring the full height keys, they're easier to locate on.

 

[ignatius345]

I'm really hoping they'll release it with the inverted T and in space grey, without the numpad. I will for sure buy that if they do.

I hope this too, but my credit card doesn't :/

 

[edubfromktown]

Inverted T on the Apple keyboards works for me. Dell's implementation is crap (had to use their gear at my last two jobs). One was a touch screen which I could not stand and wanted to throw on the ground.

If I were doing data entry or heavy spreadsheet maneuvers all day long, my old school brain would probably still prefer 4 big keys in the traditional "+" pattern.