After years of criticism and class-action lawsuits, Apple may finally be getting set to ditch the controversial Butterfly keyboards found in its MacBooks.
According to a July 4 report from reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (as noted by 9to5Mac), Apple will debut a new "scissor switch" design with deeper key travel and better durability for its upcoming laptops. The new switches will reportedly debut on the 2019 MacBook Air, and come to the MacBook Pro in 2020.
Since their debut in 2015, Apple's Butterfly keyboards have proved polarizing due to their shallow key travel, and have displayed numerous reliability issues including key presses failing to register properly. Apple publicly apologized for the keyboards earlier this year and expanded its Keyboard Service Program to cover all MacBooks with Butterfly keyboards, regardless of whether or not the product is under warranty.
The latest iteration of Apple's Butterfly switches debuted on the recent 2019 MacBook Pros, featuring a new polyamide (nylon) material underneath. We didn't have major issues with the new models, but it's not quite clear what benefits this new construction is meant to offer.
If Apple does indeed ditch the Butterfly keyboards, it'll be one of the most significant shifts to the company's product line in years. And hey, now that design lead Jony Ive is departing, maybe now's the time to shake things up.
