Thank you for voting Crowdsignal Logo

Are you a fan of Apple's new butterfly keyboard or do you have issues with it?

  •  
     
  •  
     
  •  
     
  •  
     
  •  
     
Total Votes: 26,015
33 Comments

  • Jesse - 6 years ago

    Biggest issues for me (besides the “b”, “u”, and “left shift” keys no longer working reliably), are that the keys are too large (I.e. not enough space between keys) and don’t travel enough. Because of those two things my fingers can’t accurately feel when I’m slightly off key and hence my typing accuracy is way lower on this keyboard.

  • Walker - 6 years ago

    For me, it's more of an issue of the throw of the key and how it feels to press. My old 2013 MBP feels much more like a quality item than the new ones. Very disappointed.

  • Jasty - 6 years ago

    Despise the butterfly keyboard. I love Mac OS but if they don't improve the keyboard in future models it'll be a dealbreaker for me. I would much rather have a thicker laptop than deal with this crappy keyboard. "Fat finger" mistakes are becoming way too commonplace with this thing and I'll be glad to get rid of it. Also, super noisy.

  • R. Richmond - 7 years ago

    For me, the new butterfly keyboard is a deal breaker. I've gone to the Apple store on several occasions to try and get used to it, but its simply uncomfortable. I would much rather have a slightly thicker MacBook Pro than a really crappy keyboard. This version reminds me of the old membrane keyboards that were thankfully replaced long ago. The excellent engineers at Apple can surely do better than this.

  • John Monro - 7 years ago

    My 13 inch MacBook Pro keyboard is appalling. The keys graunch, they have a variable touch, if the computer is in a cold room, e.g. in the bedroom overnight, the keys barely function. I have never used a keyboard in my 30 years of computer use as bad as this one. I should be pleased, I got the newer model MacBook Pro on insurance when I damaged my old one, but as far as I'm concerned, this new Mac is a big leap backwards. The only positive is the brighter screen - otherwise the lack of USB and other inputs and the large touch pad which keeps taking my cursor to another area of the screen when I can't help touching it with my palm or thenar eminence, makes using this computer one of incredible frustration. I am seriously thinking of exchanging it for a second hand earlier model.

  • Charles - 7 years ago

    Trying to replace my 2011 MBP and really really want to like this new 2016 MBP Keyboard. Keep going back to the store to test typing (spent 15 minutes with it) left frustrated. My long fingers keep touching the touch bar and all kinds of error show up in my document. I tried to shut off the touch bar but no luck. Even if I don't stray to the touch bar when typing, I find my words have numerous spelling errors due to missing or extra characters.

    Very frustrated trying to "get used to" a new keyboard. I went am now contemplating a Surface Book with Performance base just because of the keyboard.

  • glugglug - 7 years ago

    Never before has a keyboard screamed "class action" so loudly. The combination of having to really pound the keys hard to get them to register and the fact that they have zero travel so you are basically pounding a metal surface to type is practically begging for the worst case of carpal tunnel, ever.

  • Bananas - 7 years ago

    I love this keyboard on my Late 2016 15" MacBook Pro. Been dreading the keyboard issue before I ordered my mbp. When I first got it, darn it my "i" does not work predictably. That problem popped up the moment I first used it as part of onboarding. Definitely cannot be a dust issue, unless the factory was dusty.

    When I press "i", I either get:
    -an i (80%)
    -an ii (5%)
    -[nothing] (15%)

    Really sucks I ended up being one of the new owners with defective keyboards. If it happened to others on the Internet, it could happen to you.

    If I ended up with all keys working, it would've been perfect.

    I'm using an iPhone to type this, so all the "i" characters show up.

  • Preston - 7 years ago

    It'd be nice if they did a wireless numeric pad, too...

  • Mighty Jabba - 7 years ago

    I am a touch typist, and can type fairly fast. But I find that when I use the butterfly keyboard on my original model MacBook, I will frequently have keys not register unless I type harder than I am accustomed to. Having to hit the keys harder to make sure they register also makes it louder. I think if i was using this keyboard exclusively I would get used to it and it would be less of an issue, but I use an external USB keyboard at my desktop computer most of the time and only use the MacBook as a secondary computer, so it's still a problem for me.

  • Touchtyper - 7 years ago

    When typing fast and lightly I noticed that all my typos were caused by missing characters, I first blamed myself not pressing hard enough or that the keyboard controller was not able to keep up.

    But by researching more I found that this keyboard has a serious flaw and it is not just with mine, you can test it for yourself by comparing a MacBook Air keyboard with this one.

    This MacBook keyboard has tactile feedback (a "bump" the typist can feel on actuation) which is nice, but when typing lightly or fast it is possible that you can overcome the bump without the key being registered. Try it for yourself, open an editor and press softly on the A key till you feel the bump, and let go, you will notice that the "A" is not typed.

    That means the contact has not been made yet when you overcame the bump which makes the tactile feedback useless. A light tactile feedback prevents RSI but with this keyboard you need slam they keys till you hit the bottom at a hard stop to make sure it has been registered which will in the long run cause medical issues. People do that without even realizing, that is why there are complaints that this keyboard is noisy, if you could type lightly it would not be noisy.

    Try this also with a Macbook Air, it will not be possible to feel the bump without the key being registered and the key will also not be registered before passing the bump, it is exactly right, like any good keyboard.

  • Deon - 7 years ago

    It is the best keyboard I've ever used. I am a much better touch typist on this keyboard. I guess the 3 or so years I spent away from Mac keyboards broke my conditioning.

  • rtdunham - 7 years ago

    I visited the apple store numerous times to type on the macbook keyboard, and found it the best i'd ever used. So I got the MBP expecting more of the same. My keyboard's horrible--about every third word contains multiple extra letters/numbers: NOT stuck keys or repeating keys, but keys I didn't hit.

    I went to the apple store today and typed on two different MBPs. Fantastic keyboard experience. So I'm convinced I've got a defective keyboard. I'll take it in in three weeks when I'm back in town. Feeling the great keyboards on the MBPs I typed on today reassures me my MBP will eventually function appropriately.

  • Calle - 7 years ago

    I have the 15" MBP as a work computer.

    I hate that i barely can touch type on this keyboard.
    The keys have no travel and clicks to much.
    Also the touchbar makes it impossible to change screen brightness, volume, launching apps etc, without having to look down. They should have kept the function keys and just add the touchbar above.

  • tolga - 7 years ago

    I have a 15 "touchbar version, from the first time down the arrow button was not working, the apple care device was replaced, the problem was solved, there is no problem with the new device.

  • Jürgen - 7 years ago

    I have tried it in the store. I prefere the keyboard and the touchpad from my late 2013 Pro 13.

    As a developer a touchbar is a nogo for me.

  • Bill - 7 years ago

    I frankly like the old style keyboard better without question. However, the updated keyboard on the Touch Bar Macbook Pros is a decent keyboard. This updated version is much better than the keyboard on the 2015 Retina MacBooks, which feels vague and flimsy.

  • Claire - 7 years ago

    My laptop is no longer my main machine, so it's not as much of an issue as it could be, but I'm not thrilled by the new keyboards (coming from a 2010 MBP). I'm a mechanical keyboard fan, and the tactility of the new keyboards is… not there.

    That said, it's okay. If I needed to do a lot of work on it, I think I'd use an external keyboard, but it's okay for the amount I'm using it.

    One tip: I tend to use a fair amount of force when typing to balance out the springs in my usual keyboards, and if you use the same force on the new MBP keyboards, you get loud clacking. But you can reduce the force you use, and it goes back to normal laptop keyboard levels. It does take a bit of extra effort to remember to type more lightly, but it can be done. Or you can try to pretend you're pounding away on a keyboard with clacky switches so it's all good. (Except for the beating your fingers are taking.)

  • mrlol198 - 7 years ago

    I hate this keyboard because I don't feel button under my fingersi and this cause a slower typing od my text

  • ScooterComputer - 7 years ago

    I have not USED either the MacBook or MacBook Pro butterfly keyboards enough to pass judgement. HOWEVER, and I wish this was being captured by the poll, being a MacBook pro user who will likely, at some point, want to upgrade to a newer model, I have INTEREST in these issues and complaints. One thing that specifically has bristled me is that Apple has failed to update the keyboard in the MacBook. The changes to the keyboard in the MacBook Pro resulted, ostensibly, from complaints from the MacBook… yet Apple hasn't mid-cycle "fixed" it. That's absurd, and flies in the face of the idea that Apple provides its customers with the best product available. (And any argument that Apple worked on the keyboard for the Pro in a vacuum from the MacBook is even more absurd; if they didn't work on being able to retrofit the new keyboard into the MacBook chassis, they're bigger idiots than I wish to believe.) However it could be that the complaints we're hearing now, specifically about noise, might portend for a v3 keyboard coming in a new MacBook next. Iterative approach to resolving problems. (Since I can imagine a classroom of noisy v2-equipped MacBooks would be a non-starter.)

  • Jessica Durden - 7 years ago

    I love this keyboard. In fact I think it #slay 's , but there are occasional problems with the direction arrows

  • Jorjitop - 7 years ago

    Hate it actually. The keys have no cushioning. Feel hard when you hit bottom. When I switch from my MacBook Air or previous generation MacBook Pro, I realise how uncomfortable it feels.
    The Air shows you do not need this design to be thin.

  • Kevin - 7 years ago

    Love it actually, only issue is the direction arrows. There's not enough of a depression to allow my fingers to feel the correct arrow without looking down.,

  • Peter - 7 years ago

    I kind of like the keyboard, except my enter-key has a different "feel" compared to the other keys on the keyboard. It's kind of difficult to discern whether the key is pressed down or not, since it doesn't give the same clicky feedback as the other keys.

  • Ronan - 7 years ago

    Noisy like pc-laptop.

  • Linda - 7 years ago

    My RETURN/ENTER key is many times more pressed down and I have to hit it several times and at the top to get the correct reaction. Support in the store is difficult to arrange, no availability and I don't want to leave it behind. For the rest: I like it.

  • Arthur - 7 years ago

    I'm a fan but they are kind of noisy. People notice it more when i'm typing.
    But overall loving it.

  • Michael Babiuk - 7 years ago

    I have used Apple's Butterfly keyboard design since May of 2015 when I purchased a MacBook 12" retina laptop. Fortunately, I belong to that demographic segment that really likes and has no issues with this keyboard design scheme. I have tried out the second generation of this keyboard design introduced on the latest MBP models and I feel it is an improvement. In fact, when I use any other traditional keyboard design - whether it is Apple's own chiclet current keyboards or not, I find it somewhat hard to adapt quickly to them.

  • Scott - 7 years ago

    Quite like the keyboard but toooo noisey....click click click

  • Lucas - 7 years ago

    Have had my MacBook Pro 13" with touchbar for 3 months now and I find the lack of a physical Escape key to be a tremendous step back. It hampers my work every day. The same goes for the appalling arrow keys. As a developer / designer you should stay far away from this type of laptop. I feel very sad I spent 2799€ on something that has clearly not been made for people in my field.

  • Andy - 7 years ago

    I can mostly type at my regular speed on the butterfly keyboard, but I still fat-finger a lot more often on it than on my 2014 MBP, even though I've had mine since just before Thanksgiving. My biggest issue is the arrow keys. Whoever thought full-height left and right arrow keys were a good idea needs to be publicly flogged in the town square. I can't find the arrow keys by feel without looking. Unacceptable.

    Also, and unrelated to the butterfly keyboard per se, is the Touch Bar. Overall I like it and I like the concept. However, as has been echoed by many others before me, the escape key being a virtual key has screwed me up more times than I can count. I have an admittedly bad habit of resting my left hand in such a way that I crook my index finger in the space between the escape key and the tilde key when my right hand is using the trackpad. When there's no actual key there, I end up triggering the escape key when I don't want to or mean to. I know I should change this habit, but it's so ingrained from so many years of doing it it's very difficult to change.

    I love my Touch Bar MBP 15 for its speed and GPU, but the text input surface leaves much to be desired. IMHO, it's a huge step backward.

  • Dustin - 7 years ago

    Bought a shell cover that came with a silicone keyboard overlay that adds just a slight rise to the keyboard height, which makes it much more comfortable coming from a 2008 MBP. If it were my main machine, I'd have no issues whatsoever, but I haven't been using it often enough to really get used to it.

  • Benjamin - 7 years ago

    Got the problem with the "X" key. Bothersome when trying to copy lines of code and then get nothing back when pasting.

Leave a Comment

0/4000 chars


Submit Comment

Create your own.

Opinions! We all have them. Find out what people really think with polls and surveys from Crowdsignal.