Why is the M3 Air keyboard so cheap feeling?

[DeepSix]

I can't get over how cheap the keyboard feels. The key caps rattling is something I would expect to find on a budget entry level laptop. The inconsistency of the keys and how some keys feel different than others when pressed is again something that shouldn't be an issue on a Air keyboard.

I had to exchange my first Air because the enter and delete keys felt terrible and even though the new Air I got is noticeably better, I'm still not happy with it. But I use mechanicals at home so it's hard to go back to a membrane keyboard. The keycaps rattling makes for a terrible typing experience.

So I'm looking into a mechanical keyboard that will sit directly on top of the Air keyboard without pressing down on any of the keys.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I can't get over how cheap the keyboard feels. The key caps rattling is something I would expect to find on a budget entry level laptop. The inconsistency of the keys and how some keys feel different than others when pressed is again something that shouldn't be an issue on a Air keyboard.

I had to exchange my first Air because the enter and delete keys felt terrible and even though the new Air I got is noticeably better, I'm still not happy with it. But I use mechanicals at home so it's hard to go back to a membrane keyboard. The keycaps rattling makes for a terrible typing experience.

So I'm looking into a mechanical keyboard that will sit directly on top of the Air keyboard without pressing down on any of the keys.

What did you want when buying a unified laptop? Order yourself a custom and exclusive mechanical keyboard, then you will be indignant why it is so expensive ))))))

 

[DeepSix]

What did you want when buying a unified laptop? Order yourself a custom and exclusive mechanical keyboard, then you will be indignant why it is so expensive ))))))

Having a unified body doesn't excuse apple for putting in such a poor keyboard. I did not expect all the keycaps to rattle like a $5 keyboard

 

[Mr.Fox]

Having a unified body doesn't excuse apple for putting in such a poor keyboard. I did not expect all the keycaps to rattle like a $5 keyboard

The answer here is simple. The company saves on everything and tries to make more money. Greed. They have already made it impossible to install RAM memory. The bell has already rung. Now they're going after the keyboard....In iMac 23.5 inches (M1/M3), they thought of using thermal adhesive instead of wire clamps. Cheapening everything. Quality has gone down.

 

[BrianBaughn]

My M3 MBA (16/512), purchased three weeks ago, doesn't have the issues you describe…as of now.

 

[DeepSix]

The answer here is simple. The company saves on everything and tries to make more money. Greed. They have already made it impossible to install RAM memory. The bell has already rung. Now they're going after the keyboard....In iMac 23.5 inches (M1/M3), they thought of using thermal adhesive instead of wire clamps. Cheapening everything. Quality has gone down.

I have a feeling it's a common thing with the Air line. I use a M1 Mac Pro at work and the keys don't rattle on it at all. How does a newer model laptop have a cheaper feeling keyboard on it?

 

[SG-]

i've had my M3 Air for a month now and the keys don't rattle and this keyboard feels amazing after coming from the previous 'legendary' 2015 MacBook Pro keyboards. the only thing that took a while to get used to was the short key press required compared to previously but now I can't go back.

anyways if you recently bought it and still aren't happy you can return it to Apple without any questions within 30 days I believe.

 

[helloapple1]

I know exactly what you're talking about. It's definitely a quality control issue or using cheaper parts. I say this because my 15" M2 MacBook Air's trackpad feels coarse and gives too much friction to use comfortably unlike my previous M1 MBA's trackpad that was perfectly smooth. Also I had a previous 15" M2 before this one that had the exact same keyboard issue you're describing. You'll just have to keep swapping it out until you find one that was built well.

 

[DeepSix]

I know exactly what you're talking about. It's definitely a quality control issue or using cheaper parts. I say this because my 15" M2 MacBook Air's trackpad feels coarse and gives too much friction to use comfortably unlike my previous M1 MBA's trackpad that was perfectly smooth. Also I had a previous 15" M2 before this one that had the exact same keyboard issue you're describing. You'll just have to keep swapping it out until you find one that was built well.

i've had my M3 Air for a month now and the keys don't rattle and this keyboard feels amazing after coming from the previous 'legendary' 2015 MacBook Pro keyboards. the only thing that took a while to get used to was the short key press required compared to previously but now I can't go back.

anyways if you recently bought it and still aren't happy you can return it to Apple without any questions within 30 days I believe.

Im past the 30 days exchange at Best Buy. I have yet to see a M3 Air that has a keyboard that doesn't rattle or have some keys feel different when pressed. I even tested their demo units and they all rattle. The 2nd unit I have now is better than the first one I exchanged but I just accepted the keyboard for what it is. Still completely unacceptable for said device. Cheap $400 laptops at Walmart have equal keyboards to the air. It's sad that a laptop that is seen as best in class, we have to check every key upon opening to make sure all keys have no defects. I was unable to even use the device out of the box. I had to check every key for feedback and consistency.

 

[helloapple1]

Im past the 30 days exchange at Best Buy. I have yet to see a M3 Air that has a keyboard that doesn't rattle or have some keys feel different when pressed. I even tested their demo units and they all rattle. The 2nd unit I have now is better than the first one I exchanged but I just accepted the keyboard for what it is. Still completely unacceptable for said device. Cheap $400 laptops at Walmart have equal keyboards to the air. It's sad that a laptop that is seen as best in class, we have to check every key upon opening to make sure all keys have no defects. I was unable to even use the device out of the box. I had to check every key for feedback and consistency.

It’s not fair at all for how much these devices cost but it looks like they can get away with it because very few people are paying attention or they think it’s a feature lol

 

[helloapple1]

I do notice that the MacBook Pros don’t have as many issues. The trackpads are smooth and keyboards solid. But at the Apple Store I tried many MacBook airs and each varied a lot.

 

[DeepSix]

It’s not fair at all for how much these devices cost but it looks like they can get away with it because very few people are paying attention or they think it’s a feature lol

Most people likely don't even notice it. I looked it up online and others have mentioned the rattly keys on the airs. Here is some videos from someone posting the rattling issue on the airs. He describes it as wobbly keys.

https://imgur.com/a/ZTZ5srs

The Pro that I use at work doesn't have rattly keys. But they have even shallower keyboards and the Airs regarding key press and overall feedback feel better to type on. We use some M1 Air's at work and they all have the rattly keys. The rattly keys unfortunately greatly affect the overall typing experience. It just doesn't feel tight like it should and the fact that you get sound from all the keys just from putting your fingers on any of the keys is laughable.

 

[helloapple1]

Most people likely don't even notice it. I looked it up online and others have mentioned the rattly keys on the airs. Here is some videos from someone posting the rattling issue on the airs. He describes it as wobbly keys.

https://imgur.com/a/ZTZ5srs

The Pro that I use at work doesn't have rattly keys. But they have even shallower keyboards and the Airs regarding key press and overall feedback feel better to type on. We use some M1 Air's at work and they all have the rattly keys. The rattly keys unfortunately greatly affect the overall typing experience. It just doesn't feel tight like it should and the fact that you get sound from all the keys just from putting your fingers on any of the keys is laughable.

I made a similar video between the devices I had. At the moment my 15” MBA keyboard doesn’t wobble and is perfect, but the trackpad feels like sandpaper. The Apple lottery exists

 

[raythompsontn]

The key caps rattling is something I would expect to find on a budget entry level laptop. The inconsistency of the keys and how some keys feel different than others when pressed is again something that shouldn't be an issue on a Air keyboard.

None of my keys rattle on my M2 Air that is over a year old. The keys sound, and feel, about the key on my Microsoft Surface Laptop. Of course neither one sound or feel like the external keyboard attached to my desktop. The keys on my M2 air are fairly quiet and can be barely heard unless I type hard and fast.

 

[helloapple1]

None of my keys rattle on my M2 Air that is over a year old. The keys sound, and feel, about the key on my Microsoft Surface Laptop. Of course neither one sound or feel like the external keyboard attached to my desktop. The keys on my M2 air are fairly quiet and can be barely heard unless I type hard and fast.

Consider yourself lucky

 

[DeepSix]

I made a similar video between the devices I had. At the moment my 15” MBA keyboard doesn’t wobble and is perfect, but the trackpad feels like sandpaper. The Apple lottery exists

You are very fortunate. I'd take a trackpad that is made of sandpaper over rattling keys. My trackpad is smooth as glass, no issues here.

 

[DeepSix]

None of my keys rattle on my M2 Air that is over a year old. The keys sound, and feel, about the key on my Microsoft Surface Laptop. Of course neither one sound or feel like the external keyboard attached to my desktop. The keys on my M2 air are fairly quiet and can be barely heard unless I type hard and fast.

And it was like that out of the box? You just landed the jackpot lottery. Very lucky individual you are.

 

[raythompsontn]

And it was like that out of the box

Yes, straight out of the box.

You just landed the jackpot lottery.

I don't think so. I tried several machines in the Apple Store, none of them rattled. I tried some machines at Best Buy, none of them rattled. I tried a couple of machines at Costco and neither of them rattled.

Maybe it is your fingers that are rattling.

Seriously, it may be the way you are striking the keys. Perhaps using the corners instead of the center of the keys. If I purposely press a key on the edge I can detect a faint sound that might be considered a rattle. I learned to type years ago on a manual typewriter (does that age me?) and striking the keys dead center comes naturally.

 

[helloapple1]

Yes, straight out of the box.

I don't think so. I tried several machines in the Apple Store, none of them rattled. I tried some machines at Best Buy, none of them rattled. I tried a couple of machines at Costco and neither of them rattled.

Maybe it is your fingers that are rattling.

Seriously, it may be the way you are striking the keys. Perhaps using the corners instead of the center of the keys. If I purposely press a key on the edge I can detect a faint sound that might be considered a rattle. I learned to type years ago on a manual typewriter (does that age me?) and striking the keys dead center comes naturally.

You can see in his videos that it is not his fingers rattling lol

 

[DeepSix]

Yes, straight out of the box.

I don't think so. I tried several machines in the Apple Store, none of them rattled. I tried some machines at Best Buy, none of them rattled. I tried a couple of machines at Costco and neither of them rattled.

Maybe it is your fingers that are rattling.

Seriously, it may be the way you are striking the keys. Perhaps using the corners instead of the center of the keys. If I purposely press a key on the edge I can detect a faint sound that might be considered a rattle. I learned to type years ago on a manual typewriter (does that age me?) and striking the keys dead center comes naturally.

It has nothing to do with how we press the keys. The keys rattling is the norm. All demo units I've checked and all my work Airs and mine now and the one I exchanged all rattle like a bag of marbles. Super cheap dollar store feeling keyboard. Heck a $10 Amazon brand keyboard would have a far better quality keyboard. My advice is to pound on the keyboard with your fists as hard as you can to hopefully tighten up the keys.

Can you show us that yours doesn't rattle at all? I find this hard to believe.

 

[1BadManVan]

It has nothing to do with how we press the keys. The keys rattling is the norm. All demo units I've checked and all my work Airs and mine now and the one I exchanged all rattle like a bag of marbles. Super cheap dollar store feeling keyboard. Heck a $10 Amazon brand keyboard would have a far better quality keyboard. My advice is to pound on the keyboard with your fists as hard as you can to hopefully tighten up the keys.

Can you show us that yours doesn't rattle at all? I find this hard to believe.

So they rattle when you lightly are tapping on them... thats the issue? Do they rattle when you move the MacBook around? when you type? or this specific scenario... is there a reason why you're looking for this noise by using the keyboard in a way that makes zero sense?

 

[BrianBaughn]

Yeah. I get it now. You're saying the keyboard is different. My Keychron keyboard make similar noise when I brush my fingers over it. Should I return it?

It's like the rugs in my house. When I brush my foot across one it sounds different than a rug in a different room. Damn! They're different rugs, though…and I'm not sure if the noisier one is the less expensive one.

 

[DeepSix]

So they rattle when you lightly are tapping on them... thats the issue? Do they rattle when you move the MacBook around? when you type? or this specific scenario... is there a reason why you're looking for this noise by using the keyboard in a way that makes zero sense?

Yes they rattle even by putting your fingers on any of the keys without pressing any of them. They rattle every time a key is pressed and it unfortunately ruins the typing experience. Nobody is looking for the noise, it's impossible not to notice it.

 

[DeepSix]

Yeah. I get it now. You're saying the keyboard is different. My Keychron keyboard make similar noise when I brush my fingers over it. Should I return it?

It's like the rugs in my house. When I brush my foot across one it sounds different than a rug in a different room. Damn! They're different rugs, though…and I'm not sure if the noisier one is the less expensive one.

Not quite the same here. A mechanical keyboard is made much differently than a membrane keyboard and will always be far better for overall quality and typing experience.

 

[helloapple1]

Yes they rattle even by putting your fingers on any of the keys without pressing any of them. They rattle every time a key is pressed and it unfortunately ruins the typing experience. Nobody is looking for the noise, it's impossible not to notice it.

People will either get it or not. I get it because I experienced it before. The rattling makes the typing worse than one that doesn’t rattle.