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Growing Petition Requests Apple Recall MacBook Pro With 'Defective Keyboard' (fortune.com)
Apple might have some explaining to do if a recent petition against its MacBook Pro continues to gain steam. From a report: A petition surfaced this week on Change.org that calls on Apple to recall MacBook Pro units released since late 2016 over what the petition author Matthew Taylor calls a "defective keyboard." The petition seeks 7,500 signatures and as of this writing, it's closing in on 6,200. Judging by the sheer number of signatures coming in each minute, it shouldn't take long for it to hit the goal.
"Apple, it's time: recall every MacBook Pro released since late 2016, and replace the keyboards on all of them with new, redesigned keyboards that just work," the petition reads. It goes on to say that "every one of Apple's current-gen MacBook Pro models, 13-inch and 15-inch, is sold with a keyboard that can become defective at any moment due to a design failure."
"Apple, it's time: recall every MacBook Pro released since late 2016, and replace the keyboards on all of them with new, redesigned keyboards that just work," the petition reads. It goes on to say that "every one of Apple's current-gen MacBook Pro models, 13-inch and 15-inch, is sold with a keyboard that can become defective at any moment due to a design failure."
I use a MBP at work and it staggers me that something that costs over two thousand pounds has such a shit keyboard. My aging ASUS laptop I have at home admittedly doesn't have a very good keyboard (for that I'd use the other half's ancient Dell Latitude) but it's like a breath of fresh air and a joy to use in comparison. Plus it has a hardware ESC key...
"Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
In all seriousness, I've been buying their laptops for over a decade, and I have to tell you that they are now, suddenly, crap. If you've never tried typing on a new Macbook Pro keyboard (the ones in question) I encourage to try one out at an Apple store. It is *literally* like typing on a package of chicklets. They do this big sell job on you about how revolutionary the keys are now, but they don't move at all (well, not much anyway). If you think that the feeling of touch typing on your smartphone's screen is revolutionary, then you'll probably love them. If you still prefer buckling springs on your desktop keyboard then this is about as far away as you could possibly get from that.
I just had a go on a new Thinkpad and Lenovo seems to be going in the other direction - trying to get more travel in their keys. I don't know what Apple is smoking but they're about to throw away a very nice business. It used to be that the best Windows laptop you could buy was an Apple, now there is no way that would be true.
You realize, of course, that the farther the key-travel, the more TIME and EFFORT is required to type on it.
Now of course it isn't like hauling a stone up a hill; but it all adds up. That's why the people who take a week or so and get used to the new keyboard design almost universally say "I can type much faster and more accurately on this keyboard..."