Bye Butterfly
The Butterfly mechanism was introduced when Apple announced the MacBook in 2015.
As of yesterday's announcement of the updated 13.3" MacBook Pro, Apple finally cleansed its laptop line of the infamous butterfly keyboard.
The Apple butterfly keyboard design was unveiled with the release of the MacBook back in 2015. The MacBook was a new breed of Apple laptops, featured Apple's introduction of USB-C into their product lineup, a fanless architecture, an all-aluminum housing, and a new keyboard mechanism.
Here's how Apple described the new butterfly - from Apple.com as of April 15, 2015:
"Traditional keyboards use a scissor mechanism, which tends to wobble around the edges. This creates a lack of precision when you strike anywhere except the center of the key. We needed to reduce key wobbling for a keyboard this thin; otherwise, striking a key off-center could result in the keycap hitting bottom before a keystroke registers. So we designed an entirely new butterfly mechanism, which is wider than the scissor mechanism and has a single assembly made from a stiffer material — allowing for a more stable, responsive key that takes up less vertical space. This innovative design improves stability, uniformity, and control — no matter where you press on the key."
The main advantages of the new mechanism were its improved stability and thinner profile, the latter becoming critical in a product as thin as the MacBook, which measured in at only 13.1mm thick. Following the MacBook, this mechanism was later introduced into the redesigned MacBook Pros (in 2016), and then to the redesigned MacBook Air (in 2018).
It's never been clear how many people experienced this issue, but as the butterfly mechanism migrated into more of Apple's product lineup, journalists & users began reporting problems with the new mechanism. In the original MacBook, the keyboards were criticized for being far too shallow, having virtually zero key-travel, which made it difficult to know if you'd pressed a key or not. Apple addressed this when the butterfly mechanism was later introduced into the 2016 MacBook Pros by increasing the amount of key travel, but issues remained.
Your preferences on key travel aside, the significant flaw with the butterfly keys was the threat dirt and debris pose when lodged under the keys. Unlike the scissor-switch, when dirt becomes lodged under the butterfly switch, it becomes virtually impossible to remove. When this occurred, keys would either stop responding or erratically register unintended presses. In response, Apple released the third revision to the keyboard in 2018 with a silicone membrane to prevent dust from getting under the key. Issues persisted, and worse, users' faith in Apple's butterfly switch (and by extension, Apple's reputation) had been shaken.
Finally, in late 2019, Apple did an about-face and introduced the 16" MacBook Pro with a new "Magic Keyboard," reverting to an old-new scissor mechanism that carried over some of the benefits initially touted by the butterfly switch - namely its stability and noise. Reviewers have universally lauded the new Magic Keyboard as a far superior typing experience, and as a testament to Apple doubling down on choosing design over usability.
Starting with the 16" MacBook Pro's release, Apple completed the transition to the scissor-switch when it introduced it into the new MacBook Air (March 2020) and the 13" MacBook Pro (May 2020). This year, Apple also brought the new Magic Keyboard to the iPad with its release of the iPad Pro's Magic Keyboard. Only the iPad Smart Keyboard & Smart Keyboard Folios retain the butterfly switch. Still, these keys are covered by fabric, and as such, have been less susceptible to dust and malfunctioning.
External Links:
The Verge: The saga of Apple’s bad butterfly MacBook keyboards is finally over.
The Outline: The New MacBook Keyboard is Ruining My Life.
Wall Street Journal: Appl Still Hasn’t Fixd Its MacBook Kyboad Problm.
