Why are the new Mac keyboards Caps Lock key so bad?

[gardencitynick]

Although I do use it a fair bit for my job, designing reports, graphs and manuals etc, its still the least used key on the keyboard along with Tab and Esc, they all look brand new compared to the worn down shiny look on the rest of the keyboard.

 

[jackoverfull]

I use tab and esc a lot. Caps lock basically only when using a lot of numbers without my external keyboard attached, as numbers are second level characters on the classic Italian keyboard.

 

[Lihp8270]

I think that's exactly the point.

I read it very differently 😂

 

[millerj123]

How does a typical user use a caps lock?

For most people it’s rarely used.

I can't remember the last time I needed to use the caps lock key, but I accidentally hit it at work today, and had to repeatedly un-hit it until it wasn't on anymore.

 

[Hyper-Bio-Ghost]

I figured out immediately how it works. Seems like, I'm an extremely smart person. 🤔

I've been a WinPC user for more than 20 years.

So, when I hit CapsLock on a Macbook Pro and it does not work, I will be like is it broken or something...
Then of course I'd be like oh there has to be a mechanism which I have not yet figured out that.

As, I guess, most people would do, go on Google and look for solutions rather than figure it out by themselves.
It says, long press, followed by a detailed explanation of what is Apple's theory or 'taste'.
I be like, fine, it's just a long press, how would that bother anyone? Right?
Actually, no.

Try writing a deck, that consists of capitalized headlines, capitalized keywords, capitalized blablabla, where the shift key combo is too much of a hassle, where u just wanna turn that CapsLock on and off and get over with all that typing.
Now, imagine that scene, and start: long press on, type capital letters, long-press off, type lowercase letters, long press on, long press off... repeat.

I'm not moaning, I'm just, some people say this has been like it for over a decade.
How? How come you guys be so OK with it? And, why?
Apple is forcing you to change your habit! TYPING habit! With just one key on a keyboard that has over 100 other keys all act differently against this single one!

I would guess, that I'm not the only one who believes this long-press thing could be improved.
And that, given it's on a keyboard, which users will use every day every minute, this should somehow be a quite important thing and that should have high enough priority to be improved.
And yet, it's been like that for over a decade.

For some reason I don't understand, maybe, Apple truly believes, soooooo deeply, that they're making a better world.

 

[Aggedor]

This thread is so wild.

If you press the caps lock key and nothing happens, you'd look down at the keyboard, try it again, probably several times, and then eventually you'd see the light come on. And then you'd know how it works - it requires a slightly longer press than other keys.

Problem solved in about 5 seconds, and no need to waste time on a two-page MacRumors forum thread.

 

[jackoverfull]

Try writing a deck, that consists of capitalized headlines, capitalized keywords, capitalized blablabla, where the shift key combo is too much of a hassle, where u just wanna turn that CapsLock on and off and get over with all that typing.
Now, imagine that scene, and start: long press on, type capital letters, long-press off, type lowercase letters, long press on, long press off... repeat.

I'm not moaning, I'm just, some people say this has been like it for over a decade.
How? How come you guys be so OK with it? And, why?

I’ve been doing exactly this for some 15 years. In fact I was here when apple implemented this behavior. It’s a lot less annoying than pressing caps-lock by error, especially on the cheap keyboard iBooks had, where it was way too easy.

 

[YanniDepp]

It's a deliberate thing Apple do, to stop you activating it by accident. Caps Lock doesn't turn on unless you give it a deliberate press.

They started doing it some time around 2007-2009 and people made a big deal about how it was such a "thoughtful idea".

 

[Hyper-Bio-Ghost]

I’ve been doing exactly this for some 15 years. In fact I was here when apple implemented this behavior. It’s a lot less annoying than pressing caps-lock by error, especially on the cheap keyboard iBooks had, where it was way too easy.

oh, this is new. I only got to the mac when the pro books are everywhere.
So I was like, take it a bit for granted that, the CapsLock key being so easily touched by accident is near irrational =/

Guess this is the kind of thing that the people in the community for a long time would praise it, where people who are newly here find it unable to understand hahahahaha

 

[Hyper-Bio-Ghost]

This thread is so wild.

If you press the caps lock key and nothing happens, you'd look down at the keyboard, try it again, probably several times, and then eventually you'd see the light come on. And then you'd know how it works - it requires a slightly longer press than other keys.

Problem solved in about 5 seconds, and no need to waste time on a two-page MacRumors forum thread.

See, one thing that the Internet has to give is never, ever assume people on the other end of the cable would think exactly the way you'd do.


When I hit the CapsLock, and go on typing, I get lower case letters.
OK, maybe I missed it. Clear the lower case letters, hit CapsLock again, and go on typing. I get lower case letters.

Fine I look at the keyboard, hit it, hit it again, hit it again and again in furious meanwhile cursing Apple to the hell, double hit it, long hit it in desperate for the sake of just trying cause this is definitely not the right way, yet finally the light is on!

But this is absurd to me. One single key out of hundreds is behaving differently. Not acceptable at all.
Google for answers or ways around the long press.
Nada.
It's just another "because Apple-thinks-it's-good so users like it or not just gonna have to suck it" thing.

That's way more than 5 seconds.





I, for one truly hope that, at least, give me a choice, don't just burn it into the chips.
Users don't always think the same way those, god forbid, BRILLIANT Apple engineers do, right?

 

[Aggedor]

People on the internet are indeed not as smart as I would hope they are.

 

[MajorFubar]

I've noticed every forum now and again gets threads that ramble on for ages, started by someone complaining about a complete non-issue. The last one on here was some guy complaining the new 14" and 16" MBPs have ports he doesn't need. It ran for pages and pages and pages...

(I know, I've just contributed to the rambling)

 

[levelworm]

I also registered a new account just for this issue (actually a bit different from what the OP experienced but essentially weird Caps lock behavior).

I must say this is a non-trivial thing because it affects overall experience. And no for anyone who actually wants to customize things in general, this is not a 5-second thing. The mindset is to try to customize everything according to one's comfortable zone, to increase productivity, and more importantly, to avoid those small anxieties which eventually build up into a big hassle.

So anyone with the mindset would definitely Google around and even try to find software/hardware solutions. Why take the time? Because it can potentially remove decades of small hassles.

I think it's just two different mindsets shown in the post, one is the "OK I got it I'll adapt", and the other is "No I need to adjust it, however it takes". I do not think either is wrong or supreme to the other. For the people in the second camp, I'd advise to NOT rambling, but to attack the issue directly. A rambling post usually serves no one, while a "I'm solving" post can provide constructive help.

@Hyper-Bio-Ghost @MajorFubar

 

[Aggedor]

I also registered a new account just for this issue...

Always a good sign.

 

[doobydoooby]

See, one thing that the Internet has to give is never, ever assume people on the other end of the cable would think exactly the way you'd do.


When I hit the CapsLock, and go on typing, I get lower case letters.
OK, maybe I missed it. Clear the lower case letters, hit CapsLock again, and go on typing. I get lower case letters.

Fine I look at the keyboard, hit it, hit it again, hit it again and again in furious meanwhile cursing Apple to the hell, double hit it, long hit it in desperate for the sake of just trying cause this is definitely not the right way, yet finally the light is on!

But this is absurd to me. One single key out of hundreds is behaving differently. Not acceptable at all.
Google for answers or ways around the long press.
Nada.
It's just another "because Apple-thinks-it's-good so users like it or not just gonna have to suck it" thing.

That's way more than 5 seconds.





I, for one truly hope that, at least, give me a choice, don't just burn it into the chips.
Users don't always think the same way those, god forbid, BRILLIANT Apple engineers do, right?

Have to say, I'm the same. Ive been using macs since 2008 and I still completely forget the caps lock delay and carry on typing regardless until I notice, then wonder why it is so unresponsive, then remember the Odd But Golden Rule and lean on it till the light comes on. Pfffft....

 

[MajorFubar]

Actually it was a feature they introduced so you didn't get U/C letters if you accidentally caught it.
It was well-received at the time. Now we have a generation of people who don't remember it being any other way, and they feel frustrated by the inability to disable a feature they didn't ask for.

Seems both camps here could be easily placated if Apple give us a checkbox to enable/disable capslock delay; a logical place would be in keyboard settings, or make it an accessibility-function like sticky keys. But this is Apple. There is the Apple way and there is the wrong way.

(I still think it's a non-issue. During my first half hour of using my first ever Apple Mac in 2011 I noted you had to hold the capslock key down for half a second to engage/disengage it. Big wow. Yet some people are so enraged they join a forum specifically to complain about just this issue. How do they generally cope with life? Serious question.)

 

[kenshex7]

Am I the only one that has issues with this? Never had an issue with Windows keyboards, but first time using Macbook since the M1 I got the Macbook Air and the latest 14" Macbook Pro, and what are the chances both of my keyboards have the same issue? It must be just how all these keyboards are.

Fast tapping the caps lock button for some reason doesn't work, even extremely hard taps.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1455333124691279875

https://twitter.com/x/status/1455349293934530562

I had the same issue, it doesn't seem like a problem, is a feature of the macbook keyboards. (I attached a SS from https://support.apple.com/en-za/guide/mac-help/mchlp1240/mac).

If you ask me, I don't like it. If I press a button I want that button to respond, but it seems like a significant quantity of users may want to prevent "accidental taps" on this specific buttons and apple made this keyboard for them.

Cheers.

Ps: you have tolerated hate comments pretty well, congratulations!

 

[Lexieluelue21]

This is all on you. When you don't use a product the normal way, you should not expect it to operate the normal way. The keyboard isn't meant to be hammered.

Tapping the caps lock key quickly is not abnormal. When you type fast, you do this all the time.

 

[Lexieluelue21]

If the cap lock key isn’t responding naturally as you type, then there is a fault/defect. However, your constantly pounding the key probably isn’t helping the issue. Take it into an Apple store and have them analyze the problem, exchange it, or return it. If you do not have an Apple store near you, return it and initiate a new purchase if you want to continue with the MBP Pro/Max. The keyboard is typically very responsive without having to pound the keys.

This isn't a matter of "pounding" on a key. The issue is how quickly you tap the button. I am an extremely fast typer and run into this problem all the time. My pinky finger quickly reaches up and taps on the caps lock key to capitalize a letter, then I type my letter and quickly reach back to turn the caps off. What ends up happening is I either never actually got the caps-lock on, or even more common than that, I end up not turning it on with the first quick tap (so say the first letter of a sentence doesn't capitalize) and the second tap does work (so I end up typing the following 10 words in all caps before I realize and I have to back up and retype the whole sentence). It seems like a small thing, but the caps lock is used frequently if you are writing long papers. When this happens over and over while typing a ten-page paper, it adds a lot of extra time to the process and it honestly breaks the train of thought while typing.

 

[Lihp8270]

Tapping the caps lock key quickly is not abnormal. When you type fast, you do this all the time.

It is abnormal, and poor technique. Most decent keyboard users will use the shift key. Not use caps lock for capitalising a single character as you describe in your follow up post.

 

[chrfr]

This isn't a matter of "pounding" on a key. The issue is how quickly you tap the button. I am an extremely fast typer and run into this problem all the time. My pinky finger quickly reaches up and taps on the caps lock key to capitalize a letter, then I type my letter and quickly reach back to turn the caps off.

Shift is the appropriate key to use in this instance, not caps lock.

 

[Aggedor]

This isn't a matter of "pounding" on a key. The issue is how quickly you tap the button. I am an extremely fast typer and run into this problem all the time. My pinky finger quickly reaches up and taps on the caps lock key to capitalize a letter, then I type my letter and quickly reach back to turn the caps off. What ends up happening is I either never actually got the caps-lock on, or even more common than that, I end up not turning it on with the first quick tap (so say the first letter of a sentence doesn't capitalize) and the second tap does work (so I end up typing the following 10 words in all caps before I realize and I have to back up and retype the whole sentence). It seems like a small thing, but the caps lock is used frequently if you are writing long papers. When this happens over and over while typing a ten-page paper, it adds a lot of extra time to the process and it honestly breaks the train of thought while typing.

Where/how the heck did you learn to type? What you are describing is the action of the shift key, not caps lock.