6 ms·

I have had no problems with the current Macbook Pro keyboard. Am I in the minority? I also love the feel of it. I really like the low travel and the Touchbar he

I have had no problems with the current Macbook Pro keyboard. Am I in the minority? I also love the feel of it. I really like the low travel and the Touchbar helps a bunch with my RSI. I don't use the Trackpad at all unless I really need to. I also use Emacs which gives you an idea of how much I use the keyboard.

analogmemory 9y ago
I've only had problems when I eat food and use my laptop. Some crumbs get under a key and then prevents it from traveling. Usually i get some canned air and try to blow it out. I could see it being a bigger problem for other in places that are extra dusty
tomduncalf 9y ago
I had very few problems (the keyboard sometimes stuck but quickly fixed) until my spacebar went suddenly this weekend. Seems to be a case of when, not if, which won’t be good for resale value of this generation. It’s a nice laptop in many ways though.
ngokevin 9y ago
Had mine for almost a year. There was a couple times the shift key had to press really hard, but just hitting it really hard rapidly usually realigned it. The back of my Macbook screen does make intermittent popping sounds though.
dpkonofa 9y ago
I don't know why you're getting downvoted. I said this in another post somewhere too but I love the new MBP keyboards. I've had my current machine since launch with no issues whatsoever and I'm a web and software dev so I pretty much type all day long. The low travel is amazing and I love both the trackpad and the touch bar. I have no issues with the machine so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :-P
- mgkimsal 9y ago
  returned my mbp 2016 for a number of reasons, and... was mixed on keyboard and trackpad. keyboard - generally liked the feel more than the previous 2015 model, but... it was louder. noticeably louder, even if I tried to type lighter. Definitely created some friction in situations where none existed before. And... MBP2016 trackpad size - just was too large for my liking. I knew of no one demanding a larger trackpad, but know of many people (myself included) who had some issues with the larger trackpad (stray palm issues, etc). The few people I know who liked or wanted a larger trackpad used an external one, which had the bonus (for them) of being movable.
chipotle_coyote 9y ago
It looks like people are voting you down, which seems a little snippy--your experiences are just as valid as the experiences of people who want to throw their laptop through the wall. I have a non-touchbar MBP with the new keyboard (and I've had it for about a year at this point), have a 15" touchbar MBP for work at my new job, and had a 13" touchbar MBP at the job I had in 2017, and none of them have had any problems. However, I usually keep the work laptops closed and use external keyboards, and I find for personal travel I tend to use my iPad with the Magic Keyboard more than the laptop. (I also have an iMac for work that requires heavy lifting.) This is definitionally a man-bites-dog situation. "Keyboard works fine" doesn't make news; "keyboard stops working because someone at neighboring desk ate a cookie" does. I suspect that you and I are not in the minority, and that the new keyboard works fine for most people. But even if that's true, the failure rate is anecdotally orders of magnitude higher than Apple's previous keyboard design, and that makes it a problem that needs to be addressed. Like much of Apple's recent design choices, they have become too willing to compromise function to achieve form. (I know some would say they've done that for decades, but I think they mostly hit the right balance until the last 3–4 years.)
- TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
  Either Apple did no durability testing, or Apple did durability testing, uncovered reliability problems, and decided to launch with this keyboard anyway. My guess is option 2. Neither option is encouraging. The extent to which Genius Bar staff are aware of the problem, and whether or not they’ve received specific instructions about it, is something we can only guess at.
jtbayly 9y ago
I also love it. At least I did until last week when my Command key stopped working. Blowing and shaking got something dislodged I guess, because it started working again. Unfortunately whatever it was got stuck under the space bar. :(
- 9935c101ab17a66 9y ago
  Apple has an article on how to clean these keyboards: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT205662 https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT205662 I've personally found that the steps work pretty well, and also if you have a vacuum with a brushed attachment on a lower setting may help if compressed air doesn't do it. You could also bring it in to the apple store and they could attempt to clean it for you!
- jperras 9y ago
  The keys on the new MBPs are removable with a small amount of effort; I've done it a few times to remove a piece of dust that has lodged itself where it shouldn't without damaging the keyboard at all. From the comments here, you'd think that no one knew they could remove the keys!
  - setr 9y ago
    from the comments I've been seeing, people are well aware you can remove the keys the problem is that they're (really) easy to break, and hard to replace.
outworlder 9y ago
Not saying that you are wrong, but I have a couple of questions: do you touch type? which types of keyboards did you use in the past? Laptop, desktop, chiclets? Mechanical? I think this may have to do with the kinds of keyboards people are used to. Some prefer lighter keys, some prefer a lot of key travel, some like clicky keys, etc. This is why Cherry makes so many kinds of switches...
- brandonmenc 9y ago
  > do you touch type? Whenever I profess my love for the new keyboard here, someone always asks me if I touch type. Yes. The new MBP keyboards actually kick ass for touch typing, and I'm just as shocked when someone doesn't think that, as you are (I'm guessing) when you find out that I touch type. I have used and loved Model M and Thinkpad keyboards, among others. Now I can't use anything else because the new MBP keyboards are so much better, in my opinion.
- zitterbewegung 9y ago
  At home at my Desktop I type in an IBM model M. I used to have a Corsair k70 which I played FPSes and Warframe. I have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard that is a chicklet. I also have a Chicklet keyboard on a Toshiba satellite . I also used the chicklet keyboards on a MacBook Pro 2011 and a MacBook Air 2012. On my k70 I had red Cherry MX switches . When I was in kindergarten I used Apple II keyboards. For mobile devices I used an Motorola droid and a Treo. Also a blackberry . EDIT: Sorry forgot to mention I touch type (I am touch typing on a IBM model M right now).
  - outworlder 9y ago
    And now my heuristics got completely overwhelmed and I cannot fanthom why someone who types in an IBM Model M would like the Macbook Pro keyboard :) Although we have both used the apple bluetooth keyboard and Airs, so that may have contributed for the higher tolerance of the new Macbook Pro keyboard. Right now I'm typing using a Logitech K750 solar keyboard, which feels very similar to Apple's bluetooth keyboard (although I feel that the keys need slightly more pressure to activate). It is dead silent which is great to use around coworkers. At home I want to get a Kinesis Freestyle Edge for the ergonomics, and I'm debating if Cherry MX Browns or Blues would be better.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
AndyNemmity 9y ago
Kills my RSI, but bright spot, I bought a keyboard which helps it a great deal, so... thanks?
pentae 9y ago
Well that depends, how long have you had it for? Most keyboard issues surface after about a year.
lobster_johnson 9y ago
My personal theory is that the people who experience this problem are people who produce or invite an above-average amount of particulate into their work space (whether it's cigarette ash, bread crumbs, skin flakes/dandruff, cat hair or whatever) and into their laptops. Clearly this problem exists, but at the same time, the majority of owners aren't affected. I used to work with a guy who smoked at his desk (back when indoor smoking was less of a faux pas), and his mechanical keyboards were full of ash.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
  My personal theory is that this counts as a normal working environment, and a keyboard that can’t survive most of these isn’t fit for purpose. It’s not as if we’re demanding a keyboard that works at the bottom of the ocean or can handle ingress by lunar dust.
  - eudora 9y ago
    A ThinkPad could probably handle the lunar dust :)
    - magduf 9y ago
      One of the old ones from ~2000 probably could. The new ones, not so much.
api 9y ago
I have one and am a bit indifferent to it. Personally I slightly prefer the older version but it isn't a big deal. I also am kind of indifferent to the touch bar. It looks neat but is not that useful except in one or two apps. Overall I think Apple reached and then slightly overshot the point of no more returns on "thin and light."
peteretep 9y ago
I only notice I don't like the keyboard when I switch to using an external one, and notice how much more I like the external one...

analogmemory 9y ago

I've only had problems when I eat food and use my laptop. Some crumbs get under a key and then prevents it from traveling. Usually i get some canned air and try to blow it out. I could see it being a bigger problem for other in places that are extra dusty

tomduncalf 9y ago

I had very few problems (the keyboard sometimes stuck but quickly fixed) until my spacebar went suddenly this weekend. Seems to be a case of when, not if, which won’t be good for resale value of this generation. It’s a nice laptop in many ways though.

ngokevin 9y ago

Had mine for almost a year. There was a couple times the shift key had to press really hard, but just hitting it really hard rapidly usually realigned it. The back of my Macbook screen does make intermittent popping sounds though.

dpkonofa 9y ago

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. I said this in another post somewhere too but I love the new MBP keyboards. I've had my current machine since launch with no issues whatsoever and I'm a web and software dev so I pretty much type all day long. The low travel is amazing and I love both the trackpad and the touch bar. I have no issues with the machine so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :-P

mgkimsal 9y ago
returned my mbp 2016 for a number of reasons, and... was mixed on keyboard and trackpad. keyboard - generally liked the feel more than the previous 2015 model, but... it was louder. noticeably louder, even if I tried to type lighter. Definitely created some friction in situations where none existed before. And... MBP2016 trackpad size - just was too large for my liking. I knew of no one demanding a larger trackpad, but know of many people (myself included) who had some issues with the larger trackpad (stray palm issues, etc). The few people I know who liked or wanted a larger trackpad used an external one, which had the bonus (for them) of being movable.

chipotle_coyote 9y ago

It looks like people are voting you down, which seems a little snippy--your experiences are just as valid as the experiences of people who want to throw their laptop through the wall. I have a non-touchbar MBP with the new keyboard (and I've had it for about a year at this point), have a 15" touchbar MBP for work at my new job, and had a 13" touchbar MBP at the job I had in 2017, and none of them have had any problems. However, I usually keep the work laptops closed and use external keyboards, and I find for personal travel I tend to use my iPad with the Magic Keyboard more than the laptop. (I also have an iMac for work that requires heavy lifting.) This is definitionally a man-bites-dog situation. "Keyboard works fine" doesn't make news; "keyboard stops working because someone at neighboring desk ate a cookie" does. I suspect that you and I are not in the minority, and that the new keyboard works fine for most people. But even if that's true, the failure rate is anecdotally orders of magnitude higher than Apple's previous keyboard design, and that makes it a problem that needs to be addressed. Like much of Apple's recent design choices, they have become too willing to compromise function to achieve form. (I know some would say they've done that for decades, but I think they mostly hit the right balance until the last 3–4 years.)

TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
Either Apple did no durability testing, or Apple did durability testing, uncovered reliability problems, and decided to launch with this keyboard anyway. My guess is option 2. Neither option is encouraging. The extent to which Genius Bar staff are aware of the problem, and whether or not they’ve received specific instructions about it, is something we can only guess at.

jtbayly 9y ago

I also love it. At least I did until last week when my Command key stopped working. Blowing and shaking got something dislodged I guess, because it started working again. Unfortunately whatever it was got stuck under the space bar. :(

9935c101ab17a66 9y ago
Apple has an article on how to clean these keyboards: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT205662 https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT205662 I've personally found that the steps work pretty well, and also if you have a vacuum with a brushed attachment on a lower setting may help if compressed air doesn't do it. You could also bring it in to the apple store and they could attempt to clean it for you!
jperras 9y ago
The keys on the new MBPs are removable with a small amount of effort; I've done it a few times to remove a piece of dust that has lodged itself where it shouldn't without damaging the keyboard at all. From the comments here, you'd think that no one knew they could remove the keys!
- setr 9y ago
  from the comments I've been seeing, people are well aware you can remove the keys the problem is that they're (really) easy to break, and hard to replace.

outworlder 9y ago

Not saying that you are wrong, but I have a couple of questions: do you touch type? which types of keyboards did you use in the past? Laptop, desktop, chiclets? Mechanical? I think this may have to do with the kinds of keyboards people are used to. Some prefer lighter keys, some prefer a lot of key travel, some like clicky keys, etc. This is why Cherry makes so many kinds of switches...

brandonmenc 9y ago
> do you touch type? Whenever I profess my love for the new keyboard here, someone always asks me if I touch type. Yes. The new MBP keyboards actually kick ass for touch typing, and I'm just as shocked when someone doesn't think that, as you are (I'm guessing) when you find out that I touch type. I have used and loved Model M and Thinkpad keyboards, among others. Now I can't use anything else because the new MBP keyboards are so much better, in my opinion.
zitterbewegung 9y ago
At home at my Desktop I type in an IBM model M. I used to have a Corsair k70 which I played FPSes and Warframe. I have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard that is a chicklet. I also have a Chicklet keyboard on a Toshiba satellite . I also used the chicklet keyboards on a MacBook Pro 2011 and a MacBook Air 2012. On my k70 I had red Cherry MX switches . When I was in kindergarten I used Apple II keyboards. For mobile devices I used an Motorola droid and a Treo. Also a blackberry . EDIT: Sorry forgot to mention I touch type (I am touch typing on a IBM model M right now).
- outworlder 9y ago
  And now my heuristics got completely overwhelmed and I cannot fanthom why someone who types in an IBM Model M would like the Macbook Pro keyboard :) Although we have both used the apple bluetooth keyboard and Airs, so that may have contributed for the higher tolerance of the new Macbook Pro keyboard. Right now I'm typing using a Logitech K750 solar keyboard, which feels very similar to Apple's bluetooth keyboard (although I feel that the keys need slightly more pressure to activate). It is dead silent which is great to use around coworkers. At home I want to get a Kinesis Freestyle Edge for the ergonomics, and I'm debating if Cherry MX Browns or Blues would be better.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

AndyNemmity 9y ago

Kills my RSI, but bright spot, I bought a keyboard which helps it a great deal, so... thanks?

pentae 9y ago

Well that depends, how long have you had it for? Most keyboard issues surface after about a year.

lobster_johnson 9y ago

My personal theory is that the people who experience this problem are people who produce or invite an above-average amount of particulate into their work space (whether it's cigarette ash, bread crumbs, skin flakes/dandruff, cat hair or whatever) and into their laptops. Clearly this problem exists, but at the same time, the majority of owners aren't affected. I used to work with a guy who smoked at his desk (back when indoor smoking was less of a faux pas), and his mechanical keyboards were full of ash.

TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
My personal theory is that this counts as a normal working environment, and a keyboard that can’t survive most of these isn’t fit for purpose. It’s not as if we’re demanding a keyboard that works at the bottom of the ocean or can handle ingress by lunar dust.
- eudora 9y ago
  A ThinkPad could probably handle the lunar dust :)
  - magduf 9y ago
    One of the old ones from ~2000 probably could. The new ones, not so much.

api 9y ago

I have one and am a bit indifferent to it. Personally I slightly prefer the older version but it isn't a big deal. I also am kind of indifferent to the touch bar. It looks neat but is not that useful except in one or two apps. Overall I think Apple reached and then slightly overshot the point of no more returns on "thin and light."

peteretep 9y ago

I only notice I don't like the keyboard when I switch to using an external one, and notice how much more I like the external one...