Apple’s revolutionary keyboard may have some kinks that has landed the company in another lawsuit. – Apple
Apple's butterfly keyboard mechanism that the company claims is thinner yet more stable has become the subject of a lawsuit by unhappy users that claim it keeps breaking down.
In a class action lawsuit filed in United States' federal court spotted by AppleInsider, several customers claim the company knew about the flawed keyboard deployed in MacBook 2015 and MacBook Pro 2016 models onwards.
The suit claims that the keyboard's design allow small amounts of dust or debris to impede normal switch behavior, causing keystrokes to go unregistered, rendering the machine unusable.
In extreme cases the key fails, requiring the laptop to be sent for servicing to an authorised Apple centre, which could cost hundreds of dollars if the device is out of warranty.
The plaintiffs Zixuan Rao and Kyle Barbaro faced these issues with different MacBook Pro models.
In Barbaro's case, despite repairing the keyboard, it stopped working within weeks and he was told another repair job would cost more than US$700 (RM2,800) as the warranty had lapsed.
The plaintiffs assert breach of express warranty, breach of covenant of good faith, breach of the implied warranty, violation of the Magnuson-Moss and Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Acts, violation of the California Unfair Competition Law, violation of California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act and fraudulent concealment.
The suit also cites numerous complaints users posted online, including Apple's own Community Support forums.
The plaintiffs seek damages, legal fees and demand Apple not only publicly disclose the keyboard design flaw, but pay to remedy or replace defective units.
The latter demand includes reimbursement for the purchase of replacement laptops.
The butterfly mechanism was introduced with Apple's 12in MacBook in 2015 and touted as a more precise and accurate, plus up to four times more stable than the usual scissor mechanism.
AppleInsider also conducted its own investigation into the issue, collecting data from Genius Bar locations and authorised third-party shops, finding that the 2016 MacBook Pro's keyboard failed roughly twice as often in its first year of use as 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pro models with scissor-type switches.
Shortly after, a Change.org petition, that was cited in the suit, called on Apple to recall all MacBooks with butterfly switch keyboards, claiming the hardware design is inherently flawed.
The petition received 17,000 signatures in just over a week.
Apple has indirectly acknowledged the problem, with support documents detailing a method of cleaning the keyboard with a can of compressed air.
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