Apple's MacBooks are mostly fantastic, but the failure-prone "butterfly" style switches in their keyboards have become a major point of concern when it comes to reliability. Finally, after 4 years, Apple seems to be ready to move onto a new keyboard design, but only in the oft-rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro we still haven't seen yet.
Funny thing is, Apple will reportedly revert away from the key switch it created, and move back to the old, scissors-style switch that nearly every laptop uses. This news originates in a report from Ming-Chi Kuo (published by MacRumors), a highly-regarded Apple Analyst.
Kuo's report reads: "We have revised our prediction that the keyboard of the 16-inch MacBook Pro that will launch in 4Q19 will feature the scissor mechanism instead of the butterfly mechanism. The refresh versions of other MacBook models in 2020 will change to adopt the scissor mechanism keyboard, too. We estimate that shipments of MacBook models that choose scissor mechanism keyboards will reach 400k, 10mn, and 16mn units, respectively."
A report published earlier this week claimed that this 16-inch MacBook Pro will start at around $3000 and arrive this October. That report also alleged that Apple would be releasing new 13-inch versions of its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, which we at Laptop were hoping would also include this new keyboard.
MORE: Which MacBook Should You Buy? MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro
It would be highly irregular for Apple to release two versions of the same laptop in the same year, and a hotly-demanded keyboard refresh could have been a reason to necessitate such a change for Apple. Alas, Kuo's chart specifically notes that Apple will use Butterfly switches in its 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch laptops.
If Apple does indeed restrict a reliable keyboard to only its new, super-premium MacBook, those on tighter budgets may feel shafted that they need to wait until 2020.
