I initially read "Indian pale ale" when glancing through this thread and did a double-take
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Preventing "shiny keys" on MacBook Pro
- Thread starter mswengel
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I know exactly what you mean. My 2009 15" MBP also shows hardly any discernible wear on its keys.
Apple clearly cracked this one over a decade ago. The keys polishing up on far newer Mac's does tend to lean towards cheaper materials being used...
Q-6
I've found that Clorox or Lysol type wipes work really well for cleaning keyboards. They are not too wet and they cut through finger grime very well.
This is kind of annoying. It just looks cheap, especially for a 4 month old "high end" 16 in. MBP, that has not seen all that much keyboard use. The completely clean spacebar shows the worst.
Compared to our 2009 MBP which has been used to type many books' worth of writing.
Compared to our 2009 MBP which has been used to type many books' worth of writing.
Agreed. It is a business tool I will keep for a year or 2 and then replace it.
I wish it took months for mine to get shiny. I was shiny in two weeks (but I use my computer HEAVILY).
I don't mind though it's just part of normal wear and tear.
Better yet, I’ll look at every MacBook I see in my house. The one that’s been here for 13 years has no smooth spots where the person types a lot. The one that’s been here for 4 months, however, already has smooth spots worn into the keys. (See pics above)
The “beast” that this is the nature of is the use of an inferior material for the keys. Not entirely cynically, I’d add that use of inferior material is due to a corporate philosophy that will sacrifice (existing) quality for any scrap of additional profit… or incomplete quality assurance / testing.
Or both.
Modern MacBooks keys seem much less resilient to this wear. It’s obviously a material difference
Since you have board with replacable keys, you could if you wanted switch your key caps out for PBT key caps. I have a set on my mechanical keyboard -- they don't pick up shine as you use them.
Just Apple being cheap simple as that, there's sub $300 notebooks with better wear & tear resistance to KB use. I bought the cheapest 2in1 so I could to learn W10, 6 years on the KB still looks like new as does a heavily used Acer Switch 5 which was $600. The far more expensive Apple notebooks past 2012 keys have all polished up in a matter of months. M1 MBP I'll see but it's not used much.
My 11-year-old MBP proves Apple solved this issue over a decade back as that's been absolutely hammered both professionally & privately (engineering & gaming). Apple now either uses cheaper materials to save cost or to tip the users to update more frequently. Either ways not a good look from a so-called premium provider.
Really poor show in my book, premium is supposed to be a better product. Jobs was many things and not all good but he understood the value of the customer. Apple today just wants easy money...
I used to buy highest spec, these days I buy the lowest spec I can get by with as Apple is far too much about itself these days...
Q-6
This happened under Jobs too. So did Antennagate, MobileMe, etc. Rose colored glasses and so forth…..Just Apple being cheap simple as that, there's sub $300 notebooks with better wear & tear resistance to KB use. I bought the cheapest 2in1 so I could to learn W10, 6 years on the KB still looks like new as does a heavily used Acer Switch 5 which was $600. The far more expensive Apple notebooks past 2012 keys have all polished up in a matter of months. M1 MBP I'll see but it's not used much.
My 11-year-old MBP proves Apple solved this issue over a decade back as that's been absolutely hammered both professionally & privately (engineering & gaming). Apple now either uses cheaper materials to save cost or to tip the users to update more frequently. Either ways not a good look from a so-called premium provider.
Really poor show in my book, premium is supposed to be a better product. Jobs was many things and not all good but he understood the value of the customer. Apple today just wants easy money...
I used to buy highest spec, these days I buy the lowest spec I can get by with as Apple is far too much about itself these days...
Q-6
Fair enough, but think the quality was far better. I used the 2011 for work purpose in an engineering role, my daughter used it as a PlayStation for years. Its KB remains to be matte, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 keycaps all polished up in a matter of months.
No magic with the 2011 the KB it was just manufactured to a higher standard with better materials. The evidence is obvious and physically the new KB's simply wear faster as said is just Apple being cheap...
Q-6
Thanks for that. I just watched a video discussing ABS versus PBT. If the letters start showing any wear, I'll certainly consider replacing them with PBT keycaps.
I'm happy to say that being bothered by the shine on the keycaps has never occurred to me. I'm happy because I don't want to spend the money replacing them.
Yeah same. Would never have occurred to be to be bothered by it. Thick PBT key caps do tend to have a nice sound to them, if you’re into that kind of thing. (The mechanical keyboard thing is such a massive rabbit hole if you’re not careful…)Thanks for that. I just watched a video discussing ABS versus PBT. If the letters start showing any wear, I'll certainly consider replacing them with PBT keycaps.
I'm happy to say that being bothered by the shine on the keycaps has never occurred to me. I'm happy because I don't want to spend the money replacing them.
Yeah, I use to have money. Right now, that rabbit hole is off limits.
I like keeping my Mac in as good as shape as I reasonably can so I don't use it while eating finger foods and I make sure my hands are clean before typing. However, that's as far as I go. I'm not going to wash the keyboard after every use or use an ugly cover just to keep it pristine -- and for what? The next buyer? A future museum?
As long as I can keep scratches and dents to a minimum I'm good.
As long as I can keep scratches and dents to a minimum I'm good.
Agreed. The shine will show up no matter what, from friction, so it's not really worth getting too worked up about, IMO.
The problem is they are at the same time great risk to the display glass. You don't know whats left on the glass can do to its coating over time.
They also slightly change the feel / texture of the keys which people won't like, or takes time to find the right stickers.
To me stickers are only needed when you want macro / alternate printing, which helps your productivity or efficiency, in exchange for potential hardware issues.