I don't even really care about butterfly vs scissor keys. It's the key travel distance that really matters to me: having some tactile feedback. The new MacBooks feel like typing against a solid board.
And it's never true (or hasn't been for awhile at least). It's clear they're engineering for thinness above all else, usability be damned.
I'm typing on a 2014-era Macbook Pro right now and I doubt any new scissor keys are gonna feel better than this. All of the newer Macbook Pros I've typed on have been terrible.
I cannot deal with the action on the "new" Apple keyboards. It's like typing on a pane of glass, it hurts like hell because you have to press the key to nearly its fullest extension to actuate it, and then your finger comes to an abrupt halt. They could be the very best scissor type keyboards ever made and I still couldn't use them for long without getting shooting pains.
It has so little travel (like < 1mm) that it feels like typing on an iPad, and there are shitstorms of complaints on the Internet that tiny particles of dust get under the keys and then either a key doesn't work or it enters 2 characters when hit just once.
I agree and I far prefer the previous generation of MBP keyboard, but a.) it is actually just chiclet shit too, you have to go back many years (maybe to the PowerBook machines?) to find an Apple laptop with a truly great keyboard, and b.) it sucks enough that if I have to use this machine at home or work, I always plug in an external mechanical keyboard so... uh, problem solved? :-/
The new Macbook keyboards have such low travel that they feel like a step in that direction. I like the laptop overall but I make a lot more typos than I did on my old one.
Haven't typed since the 70s, just since the early 90s, but my experience is different.
I use a MacBook Pro 2018 15 inch for daily work. I recently briefly used my MacBook Pro 2013 which has the older scissor switch keyboard. I never want to go back to that keyboard again. The newer design feels much better and allows me to type quicker.
The touch bar, yeah not very useful for me either, except for logging in with the fingerprint reader which is superb.
I've known those who preferred keyboards with much less travel. Personally, I type too hard for that to work. When I type on a mac book keyboard, I bottom out and then some every keystroke.
The new keyboard has less key travel, not more. From the Macbook page:
> So we designed a unique butterfly mechanism, which is wider than the scissor mechanism and has a single assembly made from a stiffer material — allowing for a more stable, responsive key that takes up less vertical space.
The Magic Keyboard and Retina MacBook Pro Keyboards are the sweet spot for my fingers. I tried the MacBook keyboard and I can't get used to it for the life of me.
I NEED a little bit of travel under my fingertips, it's an important feedback that speeds up the typing. The butterfly mechanism is way too similar to typing on a screen.
My older generation MBP keyboard (2015?) Is really good, best laptop keyboard I've touched. The newer one is just painful. I don't even know what I don't like about it, it just feels terrible, maybe because of how short the travel is. The key bottoms out immediately and it feels like I'm just tapping my fingers on a solid surface.
A scissor keyboard fixes half of their keyboard problem. Next question: will the new MBP be available without the touchbar and with a conventional row of Esc and Fn keys?
I completely disagree. I think the current MBP keyboard is one of the most satisfying laptop keyboards I've ever typed on. The minimal travel takes some time to get used to but I love how tactile it is. This is coming from someone that spends most of their time typing on Cherry MX green or clear switches.
As a developer the new keyboards have ruined macbooks for me - I find my macbook pro quite comfortable to type on for longer periods when I am away from my desk. I feel like the new keyboards are not practical for real use and it doesn't sound like the new models will greatly improve that which is a shame because I would love an upgrade.
I think those keyboards are great on the smaller more portable macbooks but I don't understand why the 'pro' models are favouring a couple of mm in size over a more practical keyboard designed for 'pro' use.
> Featuring a new Magic Keyboard with a redesigned scissor mechanism and 1mm travel for a more satisfying key feel, the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers the best typing experience ever in a Mac notebook.
Feels like they claim "best typing experience" every time they release a new laptop.
The loss of travel is the sticking point. The only reason to lose it on the Pro would be to standardize the feel across product lines and improve manufacturing efficiency.
I use an HHKB2 Pro and the IBM Model M on desktop computers, which are lightyears different in travel compared to scissor switches. But I've also become pretty comfortable touch typing on a full size iPad, and the new MacBook keyboard feels somewhere in between typing on an Apple scissor switch keyboard and an iPad.
Without some decent amount of travel distance, a keyboard lacks feel. I type 130WPM and can not develop a rhythm on the new MacBook pros. To the day, I love the MacBook Air and previous MacBook Pros circa 2015. In fact, I may buy one on eBay. Apple, give us back travel distance.
I too had to go back to an older MBP, but not because the keyboard was cramped. My complaints:
1. Not enough tactile feedback from keys. I have to carefully calibrate the amount of muscle power I use to hit the keys, which paradoxically increases the pain in the joints of my fingers.
2. Lack of a physical ESC key. I touch type, and this makes writing code rather difficult.
3. Lack of USB port. Lack of HDMI port. Lack of magnetic charging port (which is very convenient)
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