Apple revealed a powerful refresh to its MacBook Pro devices earlier this week. The company updated the MacBook Pro with new True Tone displays, updated processors, more RAM on the higher-end variants, and third-generation butterfly keyboards.
Those new keyboards on the refreshed MacBook Pros provide a slightly quieter typing experience, but they retain the same short key travel from the previous generation. But Apple claimed the update doesn’t specifically fix the main problem with previous generation MacBook Pros, which is that the keys can get become inoperable because of dust. This issue was so serious that Apple got into legal trouble, and it later promised to replace the keyboards of the “small number of users” affected.
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But as it turns out, Apple did, secretly, included somewhat of a fix for that keyboard issue on the new MacBook Pros.
According to iFixit, the new MacBook Pros come with a silicone cover over the butterfly switches that are supposed to stop dust from intervening with the key mechanism. The silicon cover also makes the keyboard quieter, but that clearly isn’t its entire purpose. The fix is still quite poor, though — there’s a good chance dust will still be able to get in, rendering your keys useless. Apple confirmed the new keyboard isn’t designed to fix the dust issue, so things are still up in the air for now.
As a long-time 2015 MacBook Pro user, I have been patiently waiting for a new MacBook Pro upgrade. This year’s updates look promising, but the keyboard continues to present a bit of a question. It’s quieter, but does it actually fix the main problem? There’s literally no way of telling right now. But here’s to hoping that the next generation of keyboards will completely fix the problem.
m_p_w_84
<p>I think many people have always considered the MacBook the perfect laptop (hardware wise), it’s a shame this one little issue has ruined that for Apple. Surprised they haven’t reacted to fix it more aggressively. </p><p><br></p><p>My dream would be a Surface Book with some MacBook DNA</p>
wocowboy
Premium Member<blockquote><a href="#292103"><em>In reply to Angusmatheson: </em></a></blockquote><blockquote><em>The problem is that the author called something "lousy" that he has never seen or used or had any experience with at all. It is his personal opinion that it is lousy, not based on actual use or experience, that is the problem. And it is a very valid problem. We don't know that he has used an Apple laptop that did experience a problem with the keyboard either, so that he might have some actual experiential basis to make such a comment, which makes the lousy comment even more egregious. </em></blockquote><p><br></p>
wocowboy
Premium Member<p>Has the author USED this new keyboard? Has the author had any experience with the new keyboard design? Has the author read or seen any test reports on the effects of this new keyboard design? I would imagine the answer to these and every other question that involves actual use of this new design would be no, since no one except a very few people have even touched it, and that was only for a very few minutes at a press event. Therefore, to call the design "lousy" is just a personal opinion with no basis in fact at all, and should have been labeled as such, or commentary. This is totally inappropriate from a tech site that does publish reviews based on actual use. </p>
dontbe evil
<blockquote><a href="#292615"><em>In reply to Winner:</em></a></blockquote><p>no surprise, but apple fans like to be milked from their beloved company, so why apple should change business?</p>
dontbe evil
<p>ROTFL … apple quality and customer care <3</p>