Keyboardgate? Apple faces legal action for “butterfly” keyboard

New isn’t always better. That’s probably what users of the recent MacBooks will tell you. The MacBook Pro 2016 feature a “butterfly” keyboard mechanism that allowed Apple to make the keyboard 40% thinner and a whopping four times more stable than the “scissor” mechanism you see in most other laptops. It is also reportedly twice as likely to fail in the first year of use.

Repairs don’t come cheap either, supposedly costing between $400 to $700 (~RM1580 – RM2765) once you are out of the warranty period. This is probably the main grouse of MacBook users as they don’t come cheap, and having to spend so much on repairs is just downright ridiculous. The complaint filed at the Northern District Court of California claims that Apple routinely offers short-term remedies that circumvent the problem temporarily before it returns. Even when repairs are done, the serviced keyboard is claimed to fail again in short order.

The issue is reportedly due to dust and debris getting into the mechanism causing failure. Check any keyboard and you will see that there will be dust under the keys. Apple can’t claim that “oh you live in a dusty environment. It isn’t our fault” when other laptops often see their keyboards survive long past the laptops’ usable lifespan. But Apple is reportedly not admitting that their design is at fault, for now.

Source: TechCrunch

Pokdepinion: If repairs still result in the keyboard failing yet again, I believe Apple is far from perfecting the design for long term use. Will they consider reverting to the tried-and-true “scissor” mechanism anytime soon?