Apple's Butterfly Keyboards vs. Scissor Switch Keyboards

 

To see if the app triggers the problem, listen to audio from a separate app.

Many individuals are aware of the butterfly keyboard issues that resulted in a massive recall campaign and many disappointed clients, but might still be puzzled about what exactly a butterfly keyboard is, how it varies from a scissor switch keyboard, and why Apple decided to ignore the butterfly key mechanism to revert to the tried and true scissor switch mechanism. The differences between the two styles of keyboard are explained in this guide.

How a Scissor Switch Keyboard Works

With a scissor switch keyboard, using two plastic pieces that interlock together in an X shape like a pair of scissors, the keys are connected to the keyboard, hence the name.

The two pieces clip onto the keyboard and the key, and the two pieces close together like scissors when you press down. There is not as much travel as some other key types with scissor switch keys, but there is more travel than a butterfly keyboard because when the scissor mechanism compresses, there is more room.

How to Operate a Butterfly Switch Keyboard

There is a scissor-like operating mechanism for the scissor switch keyboards, while the butterfly keyboards use a mechanism that features components that operate together rather than overlap, like the wings on a butterfly.

In the centre, the two halves of the butterfly switch connect to a hinge and the two sides compress down in more of a V or U shape when pushed.

For a thinner keyboard, Apple moved to a butterfly design that allowed thinner devices, but also marketed the butterfly keys as more stable because of the way a butterfly mechanism distributes applied pressure more uniformly from a finger press.

Butterfly keys normally have less travel than scissor switch keys, and there is less squish and less movement, plus there is more room to collect dirt, which is what led to problems with Apple.

Butterfly Keyboard Problems

The butterfly keyboard design, which is attached to a middle hinge by the two halves of each keyboard switch, makes a lot of space where dust , dirt, and other particles can collect, gunning up the mechanism and preventing it from functioning properly.

When dust and debris get into the butterfly keyboard mechanism on a Mac, the keys get stuck, start repeating or fail to work entirely, all of which are undesirable outcomes.

Over the course of several years, Apple attempted to develop the butterfly keyboard by numerous changes, such as the inclusion of membranes to block particles, but no method of improvement was successful.

So many users ended up running into issues with the butterfly keyboard that a recall campaign was introduced by Apple.

Mac Notebooks that had keyboards for Butterfly

In 2015, the first Mac was released with a butterfly keyboard, and in 2019, the last Mac with a butterfly keyboard was released. Below is a complete list of Mac models with butterfly keyboards, and all of these Macs are eligible for the butterfly keyboard repair programme by Apple.

• MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, Early 2015)
• MacBook (Retina, 12­-inch, Early 2016)
• MacBook (Retina, 12-­inch, 2017)
• ‌MacBook Air‌ (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
• ‌MacBook Air‌ (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13­-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-­inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-­inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-­inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (15-­inch, 2016)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (15-­inch, 2017)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (15-­inch, 2018)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• ‌MacBook Pro‌ (15-­inch, 2019)

The repair program covers Macs for four years after the first retail sale of the machine.

Why Apple Ditched Butterfly Keyboards

Apple faced a tremendous amount of criticism for its decision to continue using the butterfly keyboard for four years after people first began having design problems, and frustration had risen to such an extent that Apple had no choice but to implement a new design.

Apple also had to initiate a maintenance programme that was inevitably costly for the butterfly keyboard, another aspect that needed a switch to the more reliable scissor switch mechanism

The New Scissor Switch Keyboards

Apple released a new 'Magic Keyboard' in the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the 2020 13-inch MacBook Air, which uses a scissor switch mechanism instead of a butterfly mechanism.

"Apple notes that with 1 mm of key travel and a secure key feel, the new Magic Keyboard offers the" best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook. The keys were built with an Apple-crafted rubber dome, according to Apple, which stores more potential energy for a more sensitive key click.