Dear MacBook Users,
A few additional notes on the MacBook Pro 4th Generation Butterfly Keyboard…
• The chances that this revised keyboard will resolve the problems appear vanishingly small. Check out iFixit’s teardown analysis and video, which are linked below.
• Only MacBook machines equipped with the 3rd Generation Butterfly Keyboard are eligible to receive a 4th Generation keyboard under the Keyboard Service Program. Thus, owners of MacBook Pros made in 2016 and 2017, as well as MacBooks from 2015 through 2017, will continue to be subjected to the already-proven-to-fail-repeatedly 2nd generation butterfly keyboard.
• Why on earth does Apple continue to sell MacBooks with keyboards it knows will fail, without disclosing this to consumers prior to purchase? This applies not only to the 2019 MacBook models, but also to older models. You can go on the Apple website right now and pay $1299 for the MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, which is equipped with a 2nd generation butterfly, and you’ll get no up-front warning of any kind from Apple about the keyboard problems. Isn’t that deceptive marketing?
• This petition continues to advocate for a comprehensive recall of all MacBook/Pro/Air machines equipped with butterfly keyboards, and for Apple to either replace those machines with MacBooks that have a redesigned, reliable keyboard OR for Apple to offer a full refund to purchasers.
• If I am right that the 2019 models will fail, then all 2019 MacBook Pros are now part of this petition’s advocacy. If Apple can add the 2019 models with likely-doomed-to-fail keyboards to its Keyboard Service Program before they even go on sale, we can call for those same machines to be recalled before they’re even sold!
LINKS
iFixit Teardown of 2019 MacBook Pro with 4th Gen Butterfly Keyboard
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Touch+Bar+2019+Teardown/123653
Video: iFixit Finds the New ‘Material’ in Apple's Fourth Butterfly Keyboard
https://youtu.be/cJJQPY3g8zQ
Why Apple Still Has No Faith In Its New Fix Of The Flawed MacBook 'Butterfly' Keyboard (by Jean Baptiste Su, Forbes)
• Apple should get rid of the butterfly keyboard on the MacBook Pro line and bring back the tradition scissor mechanism
• Apple should rethink the design of the MacBook Pro to make the keyboard easier to repair and replace
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2019/05/24/why-apple-still-has-no-faith-in-its-new-fix-of-the-macbooks-keyboard/
New MacBook Pro Keyboard Doesn’t Solve Main Problem by Rami Tabari (Laptop Mag)
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/macbook-pro-2019-keyboard-ifixit-tear-down
Apple’s MacBook Pro Keyboard Fix Comes Down to Tiny Tweaks
by Lauren Goode / Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/apple-macbook-keyboard-ifixit/
John Gruber’s commentary on the 4th gen keyboards at Daring Fireball:
https://daringfireball.net/2019/05/good_old_fashioned_macbook_pro_speed_bumps