RIP Butterfly Keyboard: Apple Finally Completes Transition to Magic Keyboard

[dguisinger]

Again, I'm not saying there aren't issues, I'm just saying I think they're overblown. If you look at these forums you'd think every single butterfly keyboard is bad, yet at work there are 0 failures out of 65 laptops we have issued. For me personally it's 0 out of 3 laptops. The failure rate is likely far lower than this forum would have people believe.
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Please read what I wrote, carefully this time, instead of trying to be snarky.

So which is it? We don't exist? Or we don't know how to read?

 

[jweinraub]

Why did Apple ever think this was good? It seems ever since iPhone 4 their 'real world' testing is garbage. Their level of secrecy vs testing the product is awful. And whomever actually approved this mechanism should be demoted to iPhone cases or emojis or something not that important.

 

[citysnaps]

Now let us never speak of it again.

And waist a huge barrel of chum sitting on the deck? I don't think that's gonna be happening!

 

[chrfr]

The keyboard on my 2018 13" is still working fine after nearly 2 years, and I actually don't mind the feel of it, but I can't stand thinking that the keyboard is inevitably going to fail. Good riddance to the butterfly keyboard.

 

[shurcooL]

It’s a shame we’ll never see a 12-inch Retina MacBook with a scissor keyboard... It was such a nice little secondary computer, completely ruined by the keyboard.

 

[sofila]

Please read what I wrote carefully. I never said issues didn't exist, I said I believe it's massively overblown.

I see Apple changing mind. It doesn't happen for an overblown negative approach of some forum users that didn't actually own one. I am happy for you as for everyone enjoying their products with no issues. I just can see that maybe some other's don't and I stand by their right to express their problems without being laughed at or diminished just for the sake of doing it.

 

[CrazyForCashews]

I for one liked the Butterfly Keyboard.

 

[thadoggfather]

The only butterfly I ever enjoyed typing on is my iPad (Pre-“Magic”) keyboard. Works perfectly (as no dust can get under the keys). Feels good to type on too unlike my Macbook Pro which I sold because it pissed me off so much. New 16” MBP is okay but not as good as the iPad butterfly.

I always thought the butterfly Smart Keyboard felt better than my 2016 no touch bar keyboard. More springy and maybe ever so slightly more travel

A cloth overlay like surface and the iPad keyboard might’ve saved butterfly and some dang key travel. But oh well

 

[chrono1081]

So which is it? We don't exist? Or we don't know how to read?

I'll leave it as an exercise for you. Hint: No where did I say that the issues "didn't exist".
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I see Apple changing mind. It doesn't happen for an overblown negative approach of some forum users that didn't actually own one. I am happy for you as for everyone enjoying their products with no issues. I just can see that maybe some other's don't and I stand by their right to express their problems without being laughed at or diminished just for the sake of doing it.

You and many other posters seemed to have completely missed the last part of what I wrote so I went back and bolded, underlined, and italicized it I stated, and I quote: "I’m not saying issues didn’t exist, but like most issues reported in this forum, I highly suspect they’re massively overblown."

I stated in another post out of the 65 machines we have at work with the butterfly keyboard zero have issues. Zero. Out of the ones I've owned (3) zero had issues.

In my experience this backs up the claim that the issues are overblown. If you read these forums you'd think every keyboard is affected but that isn't the case. This happens with every single apple product in these forums.

 

[RayLancer]

You think there's a chance they can retrofit the base model late 2019 13" models?

 

[icanhazmac]

Again, I'm not saying there aren't issues, I'm just saying I think they're overblown. If you look at these forums you'd think every single butterfly keyboard is bad, yet at work there are 0 failures out of 65 laptops we have issued. For me personally it's 0 out of 3 laptops. The failure rate is likely far lower than this forum would have people believe.

I think the very existence of the keyboard replacement program that encompasses every single iteration of the butterfly keyboard speaks for itself, not claiming 100% failure rate but it is not massively overblown as you state.

 

[citysnaps]

I just can see that maybe some other's don't and I stand by their right to express their problems without being laughed at or diminished just for the sake of doing it.

Who's being laughed at?

And did someone suggest people with keyboard issues should not have the right to express them?

 

[Isamilis]

Will be interesting to see the prices on the butterfly keyboard models now.

Yeah, and many new to Apple will be likely to be victims of this product.

 

[Tekguy0]

Will be interesting to see the prices on the butterfly keyboard models now.

They'll probably crash. I look forward to seeing them on Ebay soon.

 

[sofila]

Who's being laughed at?

That is my poor English. I am sure there's a better way to express that. But you get the message anyway. Or at least some do.

 

[Riviera122]

The Butterfly keyboard was flawed, but I did like the ideas it brought. A slimmer profile for more portable laptops, more stable keys, and less backlight bleed were all commendable goals. It's a shame the execution was as poor as it was. For what it's worth, I absolutely love typing on my Butterfly keyboard.

I hope Apple don't stop trying new ways of doing things - but maybe test them in the real world a little more first...

Agree with this post entirely. My BK is wonderful to type on. Hope Apple keeps on toying with the line.

 

[sofila]

I stated in another post out of the 65 machines we have at work with the butterfly keyboard zero have issues. Zero. Out of the ones I've owned (3) zero had issues.

In my experience this backs up the claim that the issues are overblown. If you read these forums you'd think every keyboard is affected but that isn't the case. This happens with every single apple product in these forums.

Ok. Based on your experience: no issues, no replacement program or change of layout is needed. Then there's the rest of the world. Maybe not all of your 68 machines with no issues, but enough to convince Apple to change direction. (Apple, you know, that company that lives on the perception of quality and reliability of its products)
But you're probably right, it is probably about my (I'll put an "ours" too) reading comprehension skills

 

[Ruben Aparicio]

I just recall a long list of forum members explaining us why this keyboard was incredible and any issue mentioned was just a form of unjustified hatred. "Mine works perfectly" attitude.

Now I wonder, what weight should I give to them from now on?
All this arrogance, all these irrefutable certainties thrown into the toilet.

I totally agree. I attribute that to Apple payed trolls. I literally spoke with none happy with the keyboard. Like none after asking dozens of users.

 

[IIGS User]

Can we call it the "Murder Hornet" keyboard now?

I have one, and like the last 3 Apple laptops I bought, waiting for the repair bill of doom.

And don't have problems if you don't buy Applecare. It's all about the Benajmins. Not about making a reliable premium product anymore.

Enjoy that bankroll, APPL. See how that worked out for Sears, J Crew, and Lehman.

Sooner or later, people get tired of buying things at a premium price that break and are overly expensive to fix......

 

[loby]

Something like this going across multiple products isn’t the result of one person. Even if it was dreamt up by one person getting it signed off on and put into multiple products is the result of many different teams across the company.

The butterfly keyboard first appeared in the 12” MacBook. One would assume it was designed to fit that product (selling feature was ultra thin and light with no fans). So why did the company decide to push it into their pro products? What was the decision making behind that? How did these keyboard issues never surface in QA? And if they did how was the keyboard ever signed off on for production? And once the company realized there was an issue why did it take so long to fix? I’d love to know the real backstory on this.

Easy...his name is Ive..Jony Ive.

Actually, I like the butterfly keyboard. Bought for a friend the Macbook Air 2020. Tried the keyboard out for fun...felt mushy. I guess I got use to the butterfly keyboard on my MacBook pro 2018. I like the Touch Bar too (great for Logic Pro X)...I like the longer touch bar without the physical ESC key... I might fall in the "few" category, but some do like the butterfly keyboard, touch bar...and the virtual ESC key.

 

[69Mustang]

Both data sets are anecdotal. Your 65 machine data set pales in comparison to @Blackstick 2200 machine data set. So...

You and many other posters seemed to have completely missed the last part of what I wrote so I went back and bolded, underlined, and italicized it I stated, and I quote: "I’m not saying issues didn’t exist, but like most issues reported in this forum, I highly suspect they’re massively overblown."

I stated in another post out of the 65 machines we have at work with the butterfly keyboard zero have issues. Zero. Out of the ones I've owned (3) zero had issues.

In my experience this backs up the claim that the issues are overblown. If you read these forums you'd think every keyboard is affected but that isn't the case. This happens with every single apple product in these forums.

... saying it exists but it's overblown seems like an extreme underselling of the significance of the issue. Add in the repair program and "overblown" seems to be an even more unlikely conclusion. Repair programs aren't usually the first choice of remedy for companies. Also this doesn't happen with every single apple product. Hyperbole doesn't help an already poor argument. Any product, Apple or otherwise, with a repair program has issues that can't be classified as overblown.

I manage a small IT department, on a population of 2200 Macs, we had 378 keyboard (top case) repairs logged through GSX in 2019. Don't buy butterfly keyboard Macs, folks. On a population of 6300 Dell Latitudes, we submitted 41 keyboard repairs for 2019, respectively.

Hoping these Magic Keyboards take us back to 2015, 12 MacBook top case repairs out of ~900 Macs - for the year.

Agreed. It was an experiment that didn't work as well as they hoped. Lesson learned. They should still keep exploring though. Failure isn't a reason to stop. We got the upgraded scissor switch as a result of the b-fly failure. [knocks on wood] Hopefully these keyboards will be even more reliable than the original scissor switch models.

 

[joeswamp]

It was a good experiment, but should have been ended after a year or so (like the hockey puck mouse). This kind of disaster is what happens when ego gets in the way of product design, someone really didn't want to admit they were wrong.

This was something Jobs was good at -- he would champion a new idea vigorously but quickly and quietly end the experiment if it didn't work.

 

[FelicityW]

After years of complaints over sticky or unresponsive keys, Apple has finally finished transitioning its notebook lineup away from its issue-prone butterfly keyboard.

I can only imagine how much in dollars and customer goodwill that keyboard cost Apple. I can only speculate if an in-line running change would have been less costly.

 

[Rogifan]

Easy...his name is Ive..Jony Ive.

Actually, I like the butterfly keyboard. Bought for a friend the Macbook Air 2020. Tried the keyboard out for fun...felt mushy. I guess I got use to the butterfly keyboard on my MacBook pro 2018. I like the Touch Bar too (great for Logic Pro X)...I like the longer touch bar without the physical ESC key... I might fall in the "few" category, but some do like the butterfly keyboard, touch bar...and the virtual ESC key.

No. One person does not make a decision like that. Designers at Apple don’t birth products all on their own. There’s thousands of product and manufacturing engineers that help bring products to life. And product marketing which is involved in what products to make and what feature set they should have. One person alone did not design and build the butterfly keyboard and decide to put it in all of Apple’s laptops.

It was a good experiment, but should have been ended after a year or so (like the hockey puck mouse). This kind of disaster is what happens when ego gets in the way of product design, someone really didn't want to admit they were wrong.

This was something Jobs was good at -- he would champion a new idea vigorously but quickly and quietly end the experiment if it didn't work.

i don’t think the company continued to manufacture and sell a defective product because of someone’s ego. Tim Cook doesn‘t care about egos. More likely they were wedded to specific product schedules/roadmaps and chose not to disrupt them when they probably should have. It’s not like there was a huge drop off in Mac sales over the last 4-5 years. If anything Macs are selling better than ever. For all we know the data Apple had didn’t show the intense dislike for the keyboard that certain parts of the internet did.

 

[Digital Dude]

Good news, but too little - too late. I purchased the first-gen 12" MacBook, and the keyboard failed twice. On the first occasion, I took it to the Apple Store in Scottsdale, AZ, and this arrogant Apple worker said that Apple is not responsible for product abuse. I explained it had never been abused, but she contended otherwise. When Apple finally admitted to the real problem, I was reimbursed for the first repair, and the second repair was made without being accused.

In early 2018, I purchased a 2017 MacBook Pro, thinking the keyboard design was resolved, but I was wrong. I won't be buying another MacBook/Pro and will opt for a Windows-based alternative.