MacBook Pro teardown confirms that Apple has taken steps to fix keyboard issues

Last week, Apple quietly rolled out a new range of MacBook Pro laptops, complete with Intel 8th Gen processors. While the highlight of the announcement was the jump to quad-core and six-core CPUs, many were interested in changes to the keyboard. Earlier this year, Apple began catching heat from MacBook Pro owners suffering from failing switches, Apple claimed it did not take measures to fix its keyboards, but teardowns prove otherwise.

When Apple claimed that it did not take measures to prevent dust from affecting its butterfly keyboard switches, we were sceptical. It seemed far more likely that Apple simply didn't want to publicly admit that there was a problem in the first place due to legal concerns. Now, the folks at IFixit have had a chance to teardown the latest MacBook Pro, confirming that dust covers were placed below each butterfly switch.

In 2017, Apple began rolling out its second generation butterfly switches on the MacBook Pro. Things seemed fine for a while, but due to the shallow travel of the keys, a tiny bit of dust can cause keys to fail. Now, there is a rubberised cover over each butterfly switch, which will reduce noise but most importantly, will also improve keyboard reliability.

In Apple's statement last week, the company did admit to taking measures to reduce typing noise on 2018 MacBook Pros. It just so happens that this solution also seems to protect the switches from dust, solving the issues previous generation owners have been up in arms about.

KitGuru Says: Apple doesn't want to get sued over its 2017 keyboard issues, so it is unlikely that the company will admit that there was a fault to begin with. It is a sneaky legal tactic, but it does seem like the issue has been addressed in the latest lineup of MacBook Pros. For those with a 2017 MacBook Pro, then it is worth noting that Apple did begin offering free repairs a few weeks ago. 

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