My new M5 Air has a worse (noisy) keyboard than the M1

[Johnny907]

.... yeah, it's called "Key Travel Distance."
The M5 has lots, the M1 didn't. Try typing out a multipage report on both and you will FEEL the difference after awhile.

 

[Johnny907]

Get TopNotch, free app to make menubar solid black.

it is nice, but with Tahoe, its kinda cool that you can see the wallpaper unblurred so sort of a toss up.

Second this. I've been running TopNotch since the M2 Air and it's a world of difference.

 

[ignatius345]

I went from the M1 Air to the M4 Air, and I didn’t find the quality of the key feedback terribly different. Felt like approximately the same amount of travel and similar responsiveness, to me. Both feel pretty similar to the standalone Magic Keyboard that comes with the iMac. I like them all, and I’m also just relieved that the failed Butterfly keyboard has been abandoned. The short key travel of that thing was just appalling.

OP: if you’re convinced you got a “bad one” or whatever, go down to an Apple Store or other retailer and try out some others to see what they feel like.

 

[WalsallSaddler]

Get TopNotch, free app to make menubar solid black.

it is nice, but with Tahoe, its kinda cool that you can see the wallpaper unblurred so sort of a toss up.

Yeah, really good app. Without this notch looks ugly in multiple windows mode.

 

[ignatius345]

Get TopNotch, free app to make menubar solid black.

it is nice, but with Tahoe, its kinda cool that you can see the wallpaper unblurred so sort of a toss up.

Neat, but to me it just highlights the core frustration of the notch: a chunk of space in the middle that breaks up menus and takes away space from menu bar items. I'm using Bartender to conserve space, but I'm also looking forward to the day they figure out a way to make this unnecessary.

The other hack you can use, if you want to just revert to an M1 Air situation and shave off the top of the screen, is to pick 1470 × 918 from the resolutions list so you truly have the full width of menu bar.

 

[osplo]

.... yeah, it's called "Key Travel Distance."
The M5 has lots, the M1 didn't. Try typing out a multipage report on both and you will FEEL the difference after awhile.

Then it is not a problem with my M5, it is a problem with all M5s, compared to the M1s. Grrrrrr

 

[The Clark]

If you posted a video of you clicking the keys we would be able to help you a little more effectively.

I have an M3 and the keyboard feels great, no complaints. I came from a 2020 MBA (intel). I also had a 2021 MBP which to this day had the best keyboard I've ever used on a laptop, but the MBA is a close second.

 

[Royksöpp]

.... yeah, it's called "Key Travel Distance."
The M5 has lots, the M1 didn't. Try typing out a multipage report on both and you will FEEL the difference after awhile.

That is not true. If anything, the M1 had a better feeling keyboard. Are you sure you're not confused with the butterfly keyboard on the 2018 Air?

 

[osplo]

If you posted a video of you clicking the keys we would be able to help you a little more effectively.

OK, here it is. Annoying, in my view.

 

[jaredpencer]

I just bought a new MacBook Air M5, though I loved my old MBA M1. Bad move. The new one has a terrible keyboard. While the M1 was practically silent and the keys had very short travel this one is like playing a (terrible) musical instrument when I type fast (or not that fast).

Is it just my unit? Do you guys experience anything like that? Taking it to the Apple Store for revision would be of any help? I cannot return it now.

Mac users: My keyboard needs to be as quiet as possible.

PC users: With a Knick knack paddy whack, gimme that clickety clack. 😆😆😆

 

[Johnny907]

That is not true. If anything, the M1 had a better feeling keyboard. Are you sure you're not confused with the butterfly keyboard on the 2018 Air?

… no, no I’m not. Thanks. The M2 revision and later models of the MBA have much more key travel than the stopgap M1 version. Both are a far cry from the butterfly keyboard era MBP.

 

[platinumaqua]

You can remove the notch and go to a more compact menu bar by changing the resolution. Option clicking the resolutions in System Settings -> Displays and choose 1470x918

 

[jchap]

OK, here it is. Annoying, in my view.

For me (as an owner of a MacBook Air M1 and an M2), the sound you recorded seems to be within tolerance for the model. Nothing about that sound seems particularly odd to me.

That said, I have noted that the key travel and feel between the M1 (13-inch) and the M2 (15-inch) vary considerably. I don't know about the M5, but I wonder if they have really made any changes to the keyboard at all from M2 to M5. The only differences I expect you would find are within manufacturer tolerances. I think it's also plausible that keyboards assembled in Vietnam as opposed to China might possibly be sourced by different manufacturing vendors, and there may be some very minor differences in parts used, but it doesn't seem very Apple-like to allow for wide tolerances in keyboard sound and feel within the same model 😏

Also, the chassis (M1 vs. M5) may make a fair degree of difference. I've noted that the M1 keyboard feels more "springy" compared to the keyboard on my 15-inch MBA M2 model, which feels more mushy. I haven't tried the M5 keyboards yet, but I expect they will be very similar if not the same as those used on the M2 models, since Apple has apparently not announced any changes to the keyboard (except for some minor changes to the text/icons on a few of the key caps).

 

[thadoggfather]

OK, here it is. Annoying, in my view.

View attachment 2650131

Hard to tell / truly compare but it sounds OK to me overall?

Maybe the recording is adding a thump to it, mine has less landing sound than this video, and yours sound like a bit of flaky /light feeling keys possibly (something I also don't like when I've come across it, personally. Makes it harder to feel confident hitting keys) less solid sounding but again, hard to tell.

I'd say try other units in store, maybe even a Best Buy or some B&M not as noisy as Apple to tell.

Probably will be a different feel across a couple units as well.

 

[Populus]

.... yeah, it's called "Key Travel Distance."
The M5 has lots, the M1 didn't. Try typing out a multipage report on both and you will FEEL the difference after awhile.

Honestly, I don’t mind it having a bigger key travel distance. What I’m worried about are the keys potentially touching MacBook Air’s screen and damaging the anti reflective coating (staingate)

 

[osplo]

Honestly, I don’t mind it having a bigger key travel distance. What I’m worried about are the keys potentially touching MacBook Air’s screen and damaging the anti reflective coating (staingate)

The keys in my unit do not touch the screen at all. And I don't mind the travel distance either, but the noise.

 

[neuralengine]

My M1 Air had the best keyboard of any Mac I’ve ever had.

I replaced it with a 14" M4 Pro, which has a similar issue to yours. The 14" M4 Pro keyboard, by the way, is also worse than the 14" M1 Pro keyboard, despite the two being technically the same industrial design.

More key travel (this might just be perceptual, and not a real difference with the two 14"s, but pretty sure it's real between the M1 Air and the 14" M4 Pro), flimsier, clicky, and more variation between the different keys.

 

[Timpetus]

I don't own an M1 Air, but I have used them a fair amount. My FIL has an M3(?) Air that I've also used a bit. I have a 14" M1Max MBP and came from a 2016 15" MBP (the dreaded butterfly keyboard!). I actually really liked the butterfly keyboard, but that may be because I got lucky and the only sticky key issues I had with it were solved by a battery/top case replacement under AC+. I find most of Apple's keyboards to be pretty similar, but considering I use a crappy Dell keyboard at work more than any others, my tastes probably aren't all that refined in that area.

The video you posted seems pretty normal to me, and sounds only slightly more clicky than my own 14" MBP. I'm sure there's some variation and Apple does sometimes tweak things with new generations (the butterfly keyboard was revised at least twice) that might have some small, but noticeable effects.

 

[thadoggfather]

What is really irritating is when a keyboard has keys that do not feel the same as the rest. I have come across that when I trialed M4 MacBook Air and it pissed me off / instant return.

Shouldn't feel like a portion of the keyboard feels like it doesnt belong within the context of the rest. Also had a loose feeling command key which blew because I use the right one all the time to minimize windows (command+M)

 

[osplo]

What is really irritating is when a keyboard has keys that do not feel the same as the rest.

Shouldn't feel like a portion of the keyboard feels like it doesnt belong within the context of the rest.

Sure, that's even worse.

But the noise on the M5 is really distracting, I try to write, not to emulate Ringo Starr.

 

[JPack]

… no, no I’m not. Thanks. The M2 revision and later models of the MBA have much more key travel than the stopgap M1 version. Both are a far cry from the butterfly keyboard era MBP.

Both M1 and M2 have 1mm key travel distance. This is confirmed by reviews back in 2022.

What differs is dome tuning, or the rubber/silicone dome "spring" under each key. This affects how each key feels and responds.

 

[robfoll]

M2 Air to M5 Air keyboard feels exactly the same. Performance in another league though, even for every element of everyday usage, things just snap into action so quickly and apps open so fast.

 

[Populus]

M2 Air to M5 Air keyboard feels exactly the same. Performance in another league though, even for every element of everyday usage, things just snap into action so quickly and apps open so fast

By another league, you mean M5 compared to M2? Yeah, the M2 was a solid improvement over the M1 but from the M2 to the M5 there have been a couple of substantial jumps, from the M2 to the M3 thanks to the new process node and the introduction of Ray Tracing, and from the M3 to the M4 regarding CPU and Machine Learning capabilities.

Then the M5 is a moderate improvement across the board, with a big boost (30%) on the GPU.

The general gains on the M5 are achieved with a clock increase thanks to the refined process N3P, bigger cache (like on the M2), and better ML/AI capabilities thanks to the Neural Accelerators on the GPU. But I still consider the M3 to M4 jump bigger overall, maybe because I’m biased towards CPU performance…

But yes, on the path from M2 to M5 every step has carried significant gains in one or another direction, making the M5 a whole other league compared to the M2.

I expect the M6 to be similar to the M3 evolution, using the node shrink to achieve higher clockspeeds, and using a higher memory bandwidth for improved on-device AI. And then, the M7 will be heavily focused, according to leaks and rumors, in bringing the AI stuff to a whole new level, probably accompanied by another big GPU improvement. But that’s pure speculation in my part.

 

[G5isAlive]

Thanks for the video… I had to turn my sound to max to really hear it and on that volume definitely irritating. My m5 mba does not sound like that. If I focus on listening while typing I can hear something sometimes but I actually find that soothing.

 

[mercedx]

From my experience what I have tested many MBA M2-M5 is that chassis is kind of hollow sounding when hitting keys and makes it quite different (worse) from the MBA M1. This is not an issue with the older MBA M1 style chassis or any MBP 14" and 16" models or older MBP for that matter. (I have the MBP 14" M1 Pro myself and upgraded from the MBA M1 to it instead of going with the new MBA model).

I second this feedback. I own both an M4 Air and M5 MPB and the Air's keyboard is a bit more hollow feeling. Sucks to pay more just for a keyboard but may be worth trying the Pro's keyboard in store as well.