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The MBr keyboard is just rubbish... until it's not.

Kajje

Kajje

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 6, 2012
722
958
Asia
I have been using my MBr for a couple of months now. I do like the machine, it has a great screen, has better speakers than most other (big and small) laptops around, fantastic touchpa, it's light and just a beautiful appearance overall.

The cpu sometimes could use a bit extra umph and the battery life reminds me of my pre-mac era. And the keyboard... The keyboard is just a plain pain to use.

The keyboard again... I do a lot of typing and after many years of using the MBP I've switched to the MBA a couple years ago. While many users don't feel a difference I definitely felt the MBA had a bit less key travel, but not enough to bother me more than a couple of days. The MBr keyboard was something else. I hated it from day one, I just couldn't get used to it. I'm writing this thread after many months of usage, and still I hit a lot more typos than ever before. It is rubbish and I was already making plans to switch back and buy a new MPBr.

But then a friend bought a new MBPr 15 and asked me to assist him with his first steps in the world of Mac. I do support people finally seeing 'the light' and soon after I found myself behind his fresh smelling MBPr.

What happened next baffled me. The old keyboard felt... old. Key spacing was way too wide, key travel felt unnatural and typos entered the fresh new display at a rate never seen before.

Switching back to my MBr keyboard I still produce typos. The real, unprecedented mother-child love relation with my keyboard is not there yet. But I do not, never, ever want to go back to the old style keyboard.

If the new MBPr 13 comes with the new style keyboard, I'll be the first in line to get myself one.
 
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I hate normal keyboards now I've had this 2016 MBr for 3 weeks, I've even had to order a magic keyboard for when the MBr is docked in my office.

Once your used to it, at least for me, the typing speed is improved immensely and even my error rate has dropped.

To me it feels like typing on an iPad but with a bit of feedback :)
 
I never hated it, just gave it a shot. And love the new keyboard after some adjustment period.
But what I now hate about it is that it fails rather easy. Keys get stuck, etc.
 
Kajje said:
...What happened next baffled me. The old keyboard felt... old. Key spacing was way too wide, key travel felt unnatural and typos entered the fresh new display at a rate never seen before....
Click to expand...

Triumph, the EXACT same thing happened to me!
 
I use mechanical keyboards with my iMac. Tactile feedback is wonderful, and I've grown to dislike the membrane-based scissor keyboards that Apple is going with for both laptops and external keyboards. But my MacBook - used primarily at work, and representing an extreme variation of the scissor keyboard - isn't as slow or painful to use as I had thought it would be, when my previous experience with the keyboard was based off of playing around at the Apple Store. I wouldn't buy an external keyboard with the MacBook-style keys, but it's very usable and I don't dislike typing on it.
 
Nice thread.
I guess i am in the minority here, to say that one of the reasons i pulled the plug on the new Macbook was the keyboard!

Is the new external Apple keyboard with the same butterfly structure?
 
Me too. Once I started getting used to the MB, the rMBP keyboard seems just way to spaced out. And designed felt old. I also updated to the new bluetooth keyboard which seems to be the middle of the 2.
 
Originally I liked the rMB keyboard but then after months of use, i tried the original magic keyboard and now dislike the rMB keyboard. not sure why. Something with the short keys not feeling the pressure in them. Also my enter key is stuck in place so it doesn't press down but does function.
 
dilinger said:
Nice thread.
I guess i am in the minority here, to say that one of the reasons i pulled the plug on the new Macbook was the keyboard!

Is the new external Apple keyboard with the same butterfly structure?
Click to expand...
I think so. My new MB is on its way. I´m using a Magic Keyboard with my MP, and after a few weeks of "getting used to", I love it.
 
I just gave it a real chance, and actually quite like it. I did experience the same "wow those keyboards are old to look at", although I do think I type slightly faster and error less on the older Mac keyboards.
 
Funny...I am 100% in agreement with the OP.

I wanted to bail on this machine, telling myself I made a mistake and will just wait for new MBPr to come out in the fall. But now, after 3 weeks with the device, I am so used to this and type so fast on it now, I'm actually worried about going back.
 
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Each to their own with keyboard's. I love the RMB keyboard and its lack of travel.
 
Nicely written piece, but I totally disagree regarding the keyboard. I have both a 2015 rMB and a new rMBP 13". And the keyboard on the latter is so far superior than that on the rmb, and I write professionally and have been VERY selective about keyboards going back to the first computers I used in the 80s. The best thing about the rMB is its small size since there's a lot packed into it. But the more I used it the more I came to hate the keyboard, found the screen too much of an eye strain because of the small size, and didn't like the new-fangled touchpad. Oddly, on the rMBP the trackpad seems to be easier to deal with.

Kajje said:
I have been using my MBr for a couple of months now. I do like the machine, it has a great screen, has better speakers than most other (big and small) laptops around, fantastic touchpa, it's light and just a beautiful appearance overall.

The cpu sometimes could use a bit extra umph and the battery life reminds me of my pre-mac era. And the keyboard... The keyboard is just a plain pain to use.

The keyboard again... I do a lot of typing and after many years of using the MBP I've switched to the MBA a couple years ago. While many users don't feel a difference I definitely felt the MBA had a bit less key travel, but not enough to bother me more than a couple of days. The MBr keyboard was something else. I hated it from day one, I just couldn't get used to it. I'm writing this thread after many months of usage, and still I hit a lot more typos than ever before. It is rubbish and I was already making plans to switch back and buy a new MPBr.

But then a friend bought a new MBPr 15 and asked me to assist him with his first steps in the world of Mac. I do support people finally seeing 'the light' and soon after I found myself behind his fresh smelling MBPr.

What happened next baffled me. The old keyboard felt... old. Key spacing was way too wide, key travel felt unnatural and typos entered the fresh new display at a rate never seen before.

Switching back to my MBr keyboard I still produce typos. The real, unprecedented mother-child love relation with my keyboard is not there yet. But I do not, never, ever want to go back to the old style keyboard.

If the new MBPr 13 comes with the new style keyboard, I'll be the first in line to get myself one.
Click to expand...
 
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I had the rMB last year and after a few weeks also began to love the keyboard. I also have a 15" rMBP hooked up to my monitor used as a desktop so is rarely opened. When it is opened I still have the same reaction I did when I used it in conjunction with the rMB which is 'what the hell are these antiquated spongy keys doing'. It feels awful to me now and can't wait to see what the new pro machines are like [and I am hanging out for, resisting the 2016 rMB at every turn although resistance is wearing thin.........].
 
At first I thought I would hate it, but withing 24 hours I have actually come to enjoy typing on it. Sometimes I will wonder if I hit a key or not, but so far I haven't had any major problems.
 
Took a few days to get used to it, but I love the keyboard and like the poster said, when I work on customers older Macs and the "old-style" keyboard, I really don't like it anymore.
 
I just got my rMB today and so far I haven't had any real issues with the keyboard. For some odd reason it felt wonky when I tried it out in stores, but now that I actually own one and have used it for all my everyday things it feels just fine now.
 
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JD2015 said:
Each to their own with keyboard's. I love the RMB keyboard and its lack of travel.
Click to expand...
Yeah, me too. Was quite surprised, the keyboard never really stood out to me when using at the store, but as soon as I started typing my password for setup while I was laying in bed the keyboard just seemed so much better than my MBA
 
ApolloBoy said:
I just got my rMB today and so far I haven't had any real issues with the keyboard. For some odd reason it felt wonky when I tried it out in stores, but now that I actually own one and have used it for all my everyday things it feels just fine now.
Click to expand...

I had the exact same experience.
 
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