Apple is seriously considering laying aside the controversial butterfly keyboard that it has been putting in its MacBooks since the year 2015 following the report about this from analyst, Ming Chi Kuo. Our sources also informed us that Apple will as confirmed by reports shift to a scissor-switch design of keyboard which will employ the use of glass fibre to reinforce its keys. The report from Ming Chi Kuo states that the first laptop that will get the new keyboard is a new MacBook Air model that is due for release later this year and that will be followed by a new MacBook Pro in the year 2020. Kuo went on to say, “We predict that the butterfly keyboard may finally disappear in the long term”.
Regardless of the fact that Apple has been modifying the design of its butterfly keyboards with every MacBook it releases, the company has continually battled with the keyboards problems which are that, the keys tend to act in an unpredictable way or even stop functioning totally whenever dust or any such particles enter the keyboard system. Apple already apologized for the issues relating to the reliability of the keyboard early this year when it said that a “small number” of users were having problems with the keyboard. An extended repairs program has been launched by Apple for earlier versions of this keyboard.
Ming Chi Kuo gave a few whys and wherefores regarding the decision of Apple to change keyboard designs. Our sources mentioned that he said that the glass fiber reinforcement makes it more durable, plus, the new keyboard “could improve the typing experience by offering longer key travel”. Kuo added that the butterfly switch design is costly for the company to manufacture because of its low returns from sales as of late, the new scissor switch design on the other hand will according to reports be cheaper, although not as cheap as an average laptop keyboard.
Despite the many problems it has, the butterfly keyboard has an advantage over other keyboards which is that it is thin, and this is significant because space is not what modern laptops are known to occupy. Kuo acknowledges that the scissor-switch design manufactured by Taiwan-based manufacturer Sunrex may well be thicker, however he says that “most users can’t tell the difference”.
It is a shame that the new keyboard won’t be used in the 16-inch MacBook Pro of this year whose announcement is due in September and neither will it make it to the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, reports say.