Apple is apparently planning to ditch the controversial butterfly mechanism that we are seeing in MacBooks since 2015 to replace it with a newer keyboard design based on scissor switches for increased durability, as hinted by long-time Apple analyst Ming–Chi Kuo.
For the uninitiated, Apple’s butterfly mechanism for keyboard came under fire when hardware analyzing firms including iFixit claimed that the butterfly keyboard system (which allows for very thin yet stable keys) is inherently fragile and that even the slightest amount of debris can jam the mechanism.
Afterward, Apple apologized for the keyboard’s reliability issues a couple of months ago and admitted that a “small number” of users were experiencing issues with the keyboard. The company had also launched an extended repairs program for previous versions of the keyboard.
As of now, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities with the special ability to predict about Apple’s future plans in every business domain, has recently affirmed that Apple will roll out a new keyboard design based on scissor switches, offering durability and longer key travel, starting with the 2019 MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro is also getting the new scissor switch keyboard, but that is more likely to happen in 2020.
Notably, the new scissor switch keyboard design that Apple is currently working on, will be a whole new design than anything previously seen in a MacBook, claims Kuo. The new design is also apparently featuring glass fiber to reinforce the keys.
Kuo predicts that Apple fans who have expressed discontent over the butterfly keyboard should be optimistic about a return to scissor switches. He believes that Apple’s butterfly design was also quite expensive to manufacture due to low yields. Meanwhile, this new keyboard, however, is expected to cost more than an average laptop keyboard of any other brand, but it will be quite cheaper than the butterfly components.
image — Cnet
