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Some 2016 MacBook Pro Owners Experiencing Keyboard Problems
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Kaw! Kaw! Surface Pro!
What's the solution to everything? Surface Pro! Surface Pro! Kaw!
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This comment is the winna!
Hmm... Yeah, I suppose I'm speaking more from the days when I used to do tech support at a Mac shop. Often times, when people complained of strange system problems, there was either a Software Update or a run of the Migration Assistant in the recent past. In the former case, the "combo updater" would often fix the problem, and the latter was usually fixed by a clean install. Mind you, we had no way of knowing when the problem really showed up, and whether Migration Assistant was genuinely a factor. I just avoided it based on that experience... Until recently! ;-)
(Also, I think Migration Assistant has probably become smarter at detecting incompatible, or borderline compatible, software.)
Hehe. Emoji. Yeah. TouchBar.
Isn't anyone getting tired of this? Mac laptop reliability surveys show recent model laptops (not incl. 2016) yet have the best reliability in the industry. Despite that, we have "Kaw! Surface Pro! Kaw!" and "Tim Cook era" and "Hehe. Emoji. Hehe." dominating these comments. I suspect the vast majority of Mac users have abandoned Mac Rumors and 9to5 Mac comment sections. It's insufferable.
I know Apple is far from perfect. But, Microsoft? Don't get me started. I owned an Xbox 360. We'll, FOUR of them before I literally gave up and bought a PS3. I know their hardware is much better now. But none of you mentions the mediocre battery life of the SP4 and Surface Book (esp. without keyboard). The SB in tablet mode gets 4 big hours of battery life! Ick!
Seriously, this is a weird place to be commenting for Apple haters unless the intent is to troll.
/rant
Well they both are computers, one seems to have better design (Billet Magnesium CNC'd) and no kludgy expensive emoji bar, magnetic surface connector, touch , way better keyboard...otherwise each to there own I suspect.
Well, I disagree. My 15" 2016 is an extremely nice machine. Fast, extremely well built, and beautiful to work on (except for the up/dn the arrow keys, which f*** with my fingers every time, for some reason). Now, I will say the this machine did feel like a compromise. I had a Mid-2012 non-retina anti-glare MacBook Pro, which was the one machine I've felt was in no way a compromise. It was brilliant... until the GPU failed! :-D
But, the way I see it, this is admittedly a stop-gap machine. I desperately needed something to work on after the mid-2012 died, so I bought the base 512 GB, thinking it would probably hold its resale value much better than the 256 GB option. As soon as a better spec is released (ideally 32/1TB ), I'll sell mine and upgrade. Since this is likely to happen within the year, I'd imagine I'll still get $2500-ish (CAD) for mine. That's a very nice thing about Macs; as long as you don't hold onto them too long, they retain their value very well.
Apl opened themselves up to criticism from everyone from those who barely use them to 20-30 years fanbois, so of course their products will be compared and contrasted. Android is easy to sluff off, due to inherent "jank" , top tier from Microsoft not so much ask Mac users who switched finally back to Windows realize that.
Apple stops sales of LG 5K Display over quality issues, and the quality issues with its own 2016 MBP keep coming out. I'd like to offer my public thanks to ADORAMA for having refused to give me a shipping date on my 2016 MBP order last year, for more than 1 month, resulting in me cancelling the order and buying a maxed out 2015 MBP 15" instead. The 2015 model is not only a sheer joy to use in terms of its keyboard, but the USB-A ports and SD card slot seal the deal as the last of the best 15" MBP's from Apple. Jobs needs to resurrect and give Cook-and-Co a fanny kicking!
You know, the TouchBar is pretty nice... I like it. It's not life changing, but it's a good addition, and I certainly don't miss having hardware function keys. Yes, the non-haptic esc key takes getting used to, but muscle memory nails it every time, so it's really a minor issue. But, with regard to this comment, the main thing I'd say is that I've only even noticed the emojis in the TouchBar about twice... They're not a major feature at all. I'm not sure why Apple marketing decided they were a big selling point, but they are in no way conspicuous, and demand virtually no attention for professional use—at least not in my work... (My main apps are Logic Pro, Dorico, Melodyne, Max, Xcode, Sublime Text, Tower, in addition to Safari, Mail, Slack, WhatsApp....)
iPad can't do what I need it to do. So if your suggestion were true, my next laptop would not be an Apple.
My iPhone 6 Plus continues to work just fine. That's true of the vast majority of the millions of phones. 6 owners loved their phones in general.
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He prefers the feel of the keyboard.
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It's become an inane joke. The trolls imply that the only thing the Touch Bar can do is show emojis. That obviously ignores the fact that Apple has the major productivity software makers on board to support the Touch Bar (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.)
I understand that people like to make jokes at the expense of their machine's hardware maker (Apple). But here it has devolved into inane joke after inane comment about Surface and emoji and Tim Cook era. I suspect, too, that all this trolling noise has chased a lot of Mac owners away.
Note that I understand there's a difference betweeen fair criticism and trolling. Fair criticism is okay.
Maybe it's because I'm such a hard-hitting typer but I much prefer the pre-retina MBP keyboard on my 2011 15" to my 13" MBP from 2015. It's like the difference between standing in the grass and standing on concrete all day. I just wish they could make a keyboard that nice in a laptop as thin as the 2015.
Here's a hint. KEEP YOUR 2015 MBP. YOU DON'T "NEED" 2016's. They're completely flawed and backwards thinking.
Apple's latest line of notebooks introduced an entirely revamped keyboard featuring flatter keys built using a second-generation butterfly mechanism, designed to optimize for stability while also maximizing travel. The butterfly mechanism was originally introduced in the ultra thin MacBook, but a newer version was implemented in the MacBook Pro.
There have been mixed opinions about the keyboard of the 2016 MacBook Pro due to its vastly different feel compared to previous-generation MacBook Pro models, and it appears the new butterfly mechanism may also be less reliable compared to older construction techniques.
A growing number of customers who have purchased a 2016 MacBook Pro are running into issues with the keyboard, including non-functional keys, strange high-pitched sounds on some keys, and keys with a non-uniform feel. There are dozens of threads both on MacRumors and on the Apple Support site.
One of the most significant issues appears to be keys that make different higher-pitched sounds than other keys in some cases, a problem that was caught on video by MacRumors user monstermac77. As is demonstrated, when the caps lock key is pressed, it makes a sound that's much different than the other keys on the keyboard.
According to monstermac77, the issue is only reproducible when the Mac is warm, a complaint that has been echoed by several other MacBook owners in the thread, suggesting heat plays a role in activating the problem. Some users are experiencing the overly-clicky sound without heat, though.The high-pitched clicking sound is irritating, but it isn't as serious as some of the other issues MacBook Pro owners have been having with the keyboard. In some cases, certain keys on the MacBook Pro miss clicks, enter double letters, or refuse to respond at all, a problem that we here at MacRumors have also experienced. MacRumors reader rroch describes the problem:It's not clear what's causing the issue with the keys that suddenly become non-functional, but the butterfly mechanism is sensitive and can be interrupted by something as simple as a bit of dust. In our case, with the machine we had that was experiencing issues with a specific key, the problem cleared up on its own, but other MacBook owners have not been so lucky.
One other minor keyboard complaint is an inconsistent feel across keys, with some keys that feel spongier than others or that don't press down consistently. This seems to be related to a problem with the butterfly mechanism which some users report having fixed with a needle or other thin tool, but most people should not try that sort of repair at home.
While many of the complaints seem to be focused on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, some users have also had problems with both the 13-inch model with a Touch Bar and the 13-inch model with no Touch Bar.
Customers who are experiencing keyboard problems should visit an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. In most cases, Apple is offering repairs and replacements for affected users, especially those who have verifiable hardware problems related to skipping keys, but some MacRumors readers have needed to go through several replacement machines to find a keyboard that doesn't experience issues.
Keyboard replacements are also not a simple matter on a machine as complex as the MacBook Pro, and users should expect repairs or replacements to take multiple days. According to reports from customers who have sought repairs, Apple is outright replacing most Touch Bar models while sending non-Touch Bar models out for repairs.
Article Link: Some 2016 MacBook Pro Owners Experiencing Keyboard Problems
Tim cooks apple has not addressed Rev A quality comcerns , if anything penny pinching has contributed to it, the price is ridiculous for the amount of issues this machine has had.
It's a £4000+ machine here on the topend....
So true. I've also replaced a few words from your post, and the result was scary, because it seems that it is as true as the original sentence:
Soon no one will even remember a thing called mac computers. It's a dying concept all around us. Think about it...
I'm not sure I completely understand your reply. Apple has been the subject of criticism both fair and unfair for decades. Their hardware generally tends to be top notch. I tried out these new MacBook Pros at an Apple Store. They look good. The only thing I'm concerned about is the keyboard. I think I'll be able to get used to it.
I'm not sure it's possible to determine just how reliable the new models are. I don't tend to buy revision A hardware, but I'll likely buy one of the future models. Regardless, the new models don't deserve most of the criticism.
People are complaining about how thin they are, but can you imagine the response of the tech press if Apple didn't make them thinner? They'd be merciless. Remember the tiPB? It was only about 1.5 inches thick when PC laptops were 2 inches or thicker.
People complain about dongles, but Apple users have had to use dongles for years and years. And Tbolt 3 is crazy powerful. So is USB 3.1 gen 2.
I'd encourage Apple users who use the comments section here and who actually like Apple products overall to post a comment.
Too much "awk! Surface Pro! Lenovo ThinkPad! Emoji! Cook Era!" b.s.
If not for my utter impatience to get a 5K (and a friend really wanting to buy my old machine) I would have waited.
With that said, working all day on a 5K has done a lot to get me to forget the stability and quirk issues I've had with mine.
On my first 2016 MacBook Pro 15", I was having issues with the "e" key repeating twice when hitting it. It went away after about a week of usage. Then I had to have the MacBook replaced because a fan broke down.
Now I'm on my second MBP, and the A-S-D-F keys make a much noisier, high-pitched "click" than the other keys. I honestly don't care.
Please note: both these issues were present *right out of the box* - no snacks, cookies, crumbs or anything being eaten over the keyboard, and not enough time for dust to get under the keys (as it started literally seconds after unboxing).
Also, I went to a local Apple Store, and all display models had the clicking issue on the A-S-D-F keys.
Now I'm on my second MBP, and the A-S-D-F keys make a much noisier, high-pitched "click" than the other keys. I honestly don't care.
Please note: both these issues were present *right out of the box* - no snacks, cookies, crumbs or anything being eaten over the keyboard, and not enough time for dust to get under the keys (as it started literally seconds after unboxing).
Also, I went to a local Apple Store, and all display models had the clicking issue on the A-S-D-F keys.
You know what? They actually made the Surface Book physically THICKER and added more battery (30%more) and a TOP GPU.... where there cries over it being slightly thicker...not a one. Rather they received from the press praises for upping battery life to 16 hours when CR was crucifying the MBP Late 2016 and oohing and awing over the GPU performance , and guess what it did not seem thicker because the recessed the keys and closed the gap. Reconfigured the entire cooling system too.The had courage to do so and go thicker to get better.
Surface Book came out as a stellar gen 1 product (ultimate laptop with pop off top) ... a few software kinks but hardware was solid. They expounded on it with the new power base.... and fixed the software.
Not sure why Apl has to go thinner seems its full of bad compromises "must like talk yourself into it" keyboard... The reason you hear more criticism again is back to Apl's design decisions.. You want less then encourage Apl not to make bad decision over and over with your wallet choices. Its not just like people like me that have several Apl products, its also raving fanbois disappointed. Apl should listen to the criticism and offer better. Do thicker to get better...thinness has a limit. The press gets that even if Apl does not seem to.
You want raving fanbois speaking out, fine let Apl give them something to defend. Not this stuff. Pretty sad MacBook pro release after nothing for so long.
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My two cents: I had my delete key get "stuck" too. It still worked, but had no travel. This sorted itself out again, and it "popped back up". I bought a 12" MacBook for my wife but personally didn't like the keyboard on that one; the keys on my MBP are slightly better but I still feel like I'm typing directly on my desk (and that's how it sounds, too). I really wish they hadn't made it this thin.
Well, in that case Apple has done a terrible job since I'm quite fond of this new keyboard, and I'm not a teenager since 1890....
Our thoughts exactly. Especially when it can't be an instant fix for the customer and they have to leave it with us for a few days.
Couldn't agree more. The whole "Apple did bad/good" seems to be a bit polarized in this discussies. It's true that Apple get criticized no matter what the company does. That doesn't mean one could criticize the company since no company is perfect and people have the right for giving their opinion on any product on any company out there. But I agree with you that the criticism on the new MacBook Pro is often highly execrated.
I read a lot of complaints about making the MacBook Pro thinner. Well, I travel a lot and to carry around a more lighter laptop which is still very solidly made and it's extremely fast. Sure, it hasn't the "best" hardware build inside, no baby lake for instance, but you can edit 4K video's on it with no issues at all, unless you're bound to edit a full feature film on it on location. And no, it's also not a dedicated game machine. But the build quality is superb i.m.h.o. Of course there will always be devices not working properly and for you have something called warranty. But general speaking one can simply state that the new MacBook Pro are very solid good working build laptops. So far I've none of the mentioned issues with the devise and although some people do have issues with their devices, which I don't deny, the majority of MacBook Pro owners are very content with their MacBook Pro.
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"Jobs needs to resurrect and give Cook-and-Co a fanny kicking!"
And you need to get your facts straight. The LG 5K display is on sale, you can order it and everyone ordering the new LG5K display can be assured to get a fixed device. Apple has therefor 'not' stopped selling the LG 5K Displays.