Why is Apple's Butterfly keyboard so bad?

The lawsuit about the Butterfly keyboard on MacBook Pro has moved into a new phase, after the move to abandon this terrible keyboard of Apple. There are rumors that Apple will return to the old scissor-style switches (scissor), not having the same reliability issues. So what makes the Butterfly keyboard so terrible, and why is the rumored bug fix helping to solve those problems?

Why is Apple's Butterfly keyboard so bad?

There are a number of properties that make Apple's Butterfly keyboard difficult to use. Remember that these are just community thoughts. Apple did not acknowledge the failure of these keyboards directly or state why they have such frequent problems.

1. Low key travel : The keys barely move when you press them, as opposed to the tactile feedback you want on the keyboard. In addition to a poor user experience, this low displacement also makes it difficult for any particles to accidentally get inside.
2. Excessive sophistication : The key itself is much more refined than the standard scissor key or membrane-type key. However, it is these delicate switches that make the keyboard vulnerable.
3. Poor dust handling : On many keyboards, including Apple's Butterfly keyboard, the keys act like a pump, actively sucking in air and any nearby dirt inside. Usually, this is not a big deal, but thanks to the small and delicate scroll key system, even a small piece of debris can get stuck in the key permanently. Although the silicon dust cover has been equipped on the new models, it does not solve the problem completely.

All of this leads to a problem that current MacBook owners are already familiar with: The keys are stuck. As a result, nothing happens when you press a key or generate too much output after a single key press. For example, pressing the E key will not make the text appear on the screen or display 3 letters E at a time.

This annoying thing can happen on any key, but happens most often on 1p-sized keys, used for letters, numbers and punctuation. The largest keys are also the most durable ones, as they have the greatest distance between the edges of the keys, allowing dust to enter the keys without over-blocking switches.

How can scissor switch fix Apple keyboard?

Not much is known about Apple's planned design for scissor-style keys. However, one can look at Apple's previous keyboard. The keyboard available on the MacBook Pro before 2016 is reliable and functional, with scissor-style switches built with quality components. Just going back to that design and making no changes would be a major upgrade over Apple's current laptop keyboard. But why?

This change affects physical design. Scissor-style keys require more scroll keys to operate. That's a big plus for haptic feedback, as well as for increased reliability. A larger key shift makes it easier for particles to leave the key if they accidentally fall inside.

Wide displacement also creates a higher actuation point recognition, which means you can perform keystrokes without touching the bottom of the switch. Even if some small food gets inside, a scissor-style key can still work, since it doesn't need to be lowered to the bottom to move.

The scissor switches are also not easily broken and help easily crush or push particles blocking the scroll key. Plus, users like them. All of these plus points make the scissor switch the industry standard choice for most laptop manufacturers.

The downside of the scissor switch is a higher height. Because of this, Apple has switched to designing its own keyboard. But with the choice between a slim keyboard and a reliable keyboard, most users will prefer the more reliable one.

We can speculate why Apple created its own proprietary Butterfly keyboard, but the test results are extremely disappointing. Apple needs to seriously consider removing this Butterfly keyboard. With the right design, Apple can go back to old-style scissor switches and laptop users will be delighted with that.