Apple will reportedly ditch its butterfly keyboard in favor of something that could prove to be more stable. That’s according to a new report out of Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) which claims the Cupertino company could switch to a scissor-switch design that may be more reliable than current keyboards on devices like the MacBook.
Back in 2015, on the 12-inch MacBook, Apple introduced a new butterfly key mechanism that would allow the keys on a keyboard to offer a bigger strike area, fit in a slimmer laptop, and still offer a comfortable typing experience. Unfortunately, besides being thinner, there isn’t much to praise about the keyboard, especially since it’s extremely faulty and only got worse with time. Apple has tried to improve it in the past to help avoid things like debris from getting underneath keys and wrecking users’ laptops, but nothing, so far, as worked.
That might change with the upcoming MacBook Air update, according to Kuo. Apple might switch over to a more traditional scissor-switch keyboard that could offer more key travel and provide better reliability thanks to the company’s rumored inclusion of glass fiber for reinforcement. This is just a rumor for the time being, but I can already tell people will be anticipating this change once the rumor mill surrounding updated MacBooks kicks into full gear.
Fortunately, users might not have too much of a wait in front of them before Apple adopts the new switch design. Kuo notes the next MacBook Air will come out later this year with the new keyboard. Meanwhile, an updated MacBook Pro will arrive in 2020 that will ditch the butterfly mechanism. Hopefully, today’s report is initial confirmation that Apple plans to ditch its failed keyboard design attempt and switch over to something that’s more comfortable, reliable, and that actually works.
