Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Let me tell you a story about the time Apple launched its revolutionary butterfly keyboard in 2015. The MacBook keyboard was built to seamlessly blend in with the super sleek design and lightweight built. Obviously, the butterfly keyboard got us drooling over it, and obviously, Apple tried fitting the awe-inspiring tech in all its laptops.
Things Started To Go Downhill
Soon the word spread that Apple’s flawless new keyboard is everything but flawless. The design that filled us with wonder was now making us frustrated; the tech that swore to protect us was now haunting us with reliability issues.
And instead of altering its design to something that works, like we begged them to, Apple tried to fix the problem by adding another layer to the issue, literally! And voila! Say hello to the 3rd generation butterfly keyboard with a thin membrane below the keys that did nothing to fix the issues and is worth nothing here.
Anyway, after a series of embarrassing incidents, angry tweets and frustrated letters, Apple decided to reluctantly own up to this screw up in the usual Apple fashion, of course.
Sour Apple’s Take
An Apple spokesperson made a statement “We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third-generation butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry.”
Basically, it’s saying that we’re blowing things out of proportion. Well, you try typing an official email with an S key that stutters or a spacebar that intermittently keeps giving doubles and then tell us that we are being dramatic.
And, as for the “Small number of users”, I call BS on that! Why? Well, David Heinemeier Hansson published an article saying “ Out of the 47 people using MacBooks at the company, a staggering 30% are dealing with keyboard issues right now!! And that’s just the people dealing with current keyboard issues. If you include all the people who used to have issues but went through a repair or replacement process, the number would be even higher.”
But, as always, Apple tried to make up for the SLIGHT inconvenience
Surprise, surprise, the 2018 third-gen keyboard didn’t make the list. Bahot nainsaafi hai! But the good news is it won’t be long until the 2018 model is up for replacement too — no more living that broken keyboard life.
Apple: The Heartbreaker
Calmed yourself down? ???? Not so soon! Here’s the second half of the statement that would get your blood boiling.
“The vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the new keyboard.”
As you can see, Apple is obviously missing the forest for the trees. They failed to realize that some people might just be lazy bums and choose not to contact Apple when their overly sensitive MacBook keyboard
I mean imagine, Apple wants us to applaud their effort for building a keyboard that can be rendered non-functional with just a dust particle.
The keys stop clicking, the commands don’t get registered – it’s basically dead until an Apple genius can either shake loose the dust trapped under it or blow at the upside-down at the thin ass keyboard Nintendo-cartridge style. And all this while, all Apple did was slyly put up a page with instructions that might help people with dead butterfly switch keys, until now.
And trust me fellas, the temptation to slam those delicate little keys outta space until you get what you want is high. But, one look at your bank balance and you are on Google searching for at-home remedies to dislodge whatever dust or crumb is messing up your beloved MacBook keyboard. Who would’ve thought that a single dust particle had the power to render you helpless?
And that my friend is a disaster, a complete, unmitigated disaster! And Apple needs to take full responsibility for its faulty keyboards. It needs to admit that the issue is much larger than what has been led to believe.
The Big Picture
The problem is, Apple is not looking at the full picture. Yes, it acknowledged the problem, but it also tried to give the impression that faulty keyboards are not a big deal. In their defense, Apple is only seeing those users who report the problem, because the rest of us of Apple users have given up on life, we are merely existing with our broken keyboards and broken hearts. And that’s not good enough.
Besides, Apple would never admit to a measly fault and offer a replacement program if it was a ‘small problem’. Therefore, the fact that Cook agreed to compensate the users is proof enough that even Apple knows that it’s time for them to pull up their socks and replace this faulty design with a completely new keyboard mechanism.
