Apple to remove failure-prone butterfly keyboard from future Mac models, starting with new 2019 MacBook Air
According to world-renowned industry analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, Apple plans to discontinue its failure-prone butterfly keyboard from all future MacBook models, starting with a refreshed MacBook Air expected to arrive later this year.
Kuo claims Apple will switch to a new keyboard design based on scissor switches, which will offer more durability compared to the previous butterfly keyboard which has received heaps of bad press for causing keys to become non-functional, and even for the butterfly switches breaking all together, resulting in the affected key becoming detached from the keyboard.
Within his not, Kuo suggests the full MacBook line will receive the scissor switch keyboard, though the MacBook Pro isn’t expected to switch from the butterfly mechanism until 2020.
There have been successful developments in the new scissor keyboard. The new keyboard could improve the typing experience by offering longer key travel and durability by adopting glass fiber to reinforce the keys’ structure. We believe the partially refreshed MacBook Pro models will also adopt a new scissor keyboard in 2020; shipments of MacBook models equipped with a new scissor keyboard will grow 500–700% YoY in 2020. Though the butterfly keyboard is still thinner than the new scissor keyboard, we think most users can’t tell the difference. Furthermore, the new scissor keyboard could offer a better user experience and benefit Apple’s profits; therefore, we predict that the butterfly keyboard may finally disappear in the long term.