Just wondering if this new material that is being used in the butterfly keyboards for the 2019 MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs has actually decreased the failure rate of the keyboards. How long will it be before we know? I can't find any reports about how these new keyboards are performing in the wild.
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Is the 2019 MacBook Pro keyboard an improvement ?
- Thread starter brilliantthings
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How can a question like this be [realistically] answered until enough have been sold and are in the hands of users for a while (say, 6 months or so)...?
Unfortunately there were many reports fairly immediately on the 2016/2017 models. There were only some reports of failures on the 2018 fairly quick. I haven’t found much of anything on the 2019, I have it, and have seen no issues myself.
It didnt take more than a week or two in prior years. So far nothing about the 2019 models.
I'd say the improvements have been incremental and the 2019 model seems to be the best of the lot. Time will tell of course but so far feedback has been quite positive.
My current keyboard is over 10 years old and as good as new. The only improvement I care about is a reasonable expectation for long term reliability and it’s too soon to know. Not feel. Not thinness. Durability. Give it to me, Apple!
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It's kind of an improvement, but it's still prone to failures. My R key recently started duplicating enough for me to contact Apple about this 2019 keyboard in my 2018 MacBook Pro. Keyboard #7 overall (6 were 2018 keyboards, 7th is a 2019 keyboard).
Compared to 2016 model the 2019 keyboard feels much quieter and more concrete to type on.
I actually really like it... And i love my Lenovo T480 keyboard also...
Ask me again after a year, how the reliability is lol
am on the phone with a senior advisor trying to get another replacement, maybe a 2019 upgrade because of this BS. This will be replacement #5 if i do get another replacement.
I'm typing on my 2019 base 13" MacBook Pro right now. The keyboard is still clicky but definitely feels softer and firmer than my 2018 Air's keyboard. This keyboard is a joy to type on, IMO, but I'm sure I'm in the minority. Just got the computer today so we'll see how it goes for the next 13 days. Seems like a nice machine so far.
Thanks for all your replies. I'm sure iFixit did a dust test on the first butterfly keyboards. Anyway, this new keyboard is sounding better. Apple weren't confident enough to leave it off the replacement warranty list though.
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I take it that you’re referring to Apple. I suspect that they kept the 2019 on the warranty list in order to allay concerns. After all, it’s still the butterfly keyboard. My hope is that they’ve got the thing figured out.
I’m a college student who recently upgraded from a 2016 13 inch pro to a 2019 15 inch pro, and I love the keyboard! Other than wanting a bigger screen, I really couldn’t stand the 2016 keyboards. I never had an issue with the 2016 keyboard in terms of needing a replacement or repeating keys but I absolutely detested to feel of the keys. I avoided using it and would grab my iPad instead. I’m glad I upgraded and hopefully they finally fixed the issues!
An update on that: I am getting the CRU to a 2019 model. Hopefully it won't get so hot, so maybe the keyboard will last a tiny bit longer than in a 2018 MBP.
So in summary- so far so good. I guess can I go ahead and order a 2019 MBP. The other option is a Lenovo.
I have the 2019 15 inch MacBook Pro, my biggest concern was the thermal throttling. I'm fortunate to have 3 apple stores within 30 miles. The keyboard so far has been a joy to use. I had the original retina MacBook and for whatever reason the keyboard in this is much better. I was beyond irritated with the original MacBook and the lackluster performance. This thing is an amazing beast.
I believe that apple has improved macbook pro 2019 model with its keypad issues. It has introduced
Touch Bar plus has also updated some of the materials used. These change should help improve the durability of the keyboard design and prevent key failures which were a user concern earlier.
Touch Bar plus has also updated some of the materials used. These change should help improve the durability of the keyboard design and prevent key failures which were a user concern earlier.
Frankly, we will probably never know. There were some anecdotal stats on failures of 2016/2017 models, but I’ve seen zero data on later models. The only one with sufficient data is Apple themselves, and they would be stupid for making it public.