Butterfly Keyboard Lawsuit Settlement
Apple will pay $50 million to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit over the faulty butterfly keyboards that were used in MacBook machines between 2015 and 2019, reports Reuters.
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The lawsuit covers only customers in the above-mentioned states, and lawyers are expecting maximum payouts of $395 to customers who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 to people who replaced one keyboard, and $50 to people who replaced key caps. The settlement is preliminary and will need to be approved by the judge overseeing the case.
One of the particularly frustrating aspects of this lawsuit is the degree of redaction in documents and transcripts. There are filings where entire pages are effectively eliminated. That is not unusual, of course, but it is irritating for those of us who want to understand what happened with these keyboards. When the components that were changed between different models are treated as a corporate secret, it is unlikely we may ever know when Apple first found problems and why it took so long to fix them.
Previously:
Update (2022-07-25): Joe Rossignol:
The settlement still needs to receive final court approval. In the meantime, here is everything to know about the agreement as currently proposed.
Update (2022-11-30): Nick Heer:
I am writing this in part to once again express my dismay that this suit was settled before substantial information was made public about this keyboard’s development and failure rate.
Update (2022-12-16): Juli Clover:
Back in July, Apple agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the faulty butterfly keyboards that were used in MacBook machines between 2015 and 2019, and now emails about the settlement are going out to MacBook Pro owners eligible for a payment.
Update (2023-01-06): I received my notice of the settlement, which includes:
A Settlement has been reached with Apple Inc. (“Apple”) in a class action lawsuit alleging that the “butterfly” keyboard mechanism in certain MacBook laptops is defective, and can result in characters repeating unexpectedly; letters or characters not appearing; and/or the keys feeling “sticky” or not responding in a consistent manner.
Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit, denies that any MacBooks are defective, and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful. The proposed Settlement is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing of any kind by Apple.
Update (2023-05-29): Nick Heer:
I am still irritated this lawsuit was settled before substantive information was publicly disclosed. Perhaps the similar Canadian class action will help explain how these keyboards were developed and then stayed on the market for so long.
Update (2024-07-03): Juli Clover:
Two years after Apple paid $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over faulty MacBook butterfly keyboards, funds from the settlement will be going out to affected customers.
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MacBook owners who had at least two topcase replacements from Apple within four years of purchase are set to receive a maximum of $395, while customers who had one topcase repair will receive up to $125. Those who had keycap replacements are eligible for up to $50.
The first affected Macs were sold more than 9 years ago.
Update (2024-08-09): Tim Hardwick (Hacker News):
Apple customers who were affected by Apple’s flawed MacBook butterfly keyboard design have begun receiving settlement funds, two years after Apple paid $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit.
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I wish they had filed a lawsuit for finger pain as well. It's a terrible keyboard made by the enemy of humankind. It's so hard, like typing on cement. As a result – repetitive injuries and constant pain in the fingers.
I think it's fairly obvious what happened, Apple decide that thin and light were the tree most important metrics for a gadget.
Then they spent a long time trying to fix the keyboard without having to compromise those metrics.
I bet there's a full torch screen prototype at Apple design HQ Ala the yoga book C930
Does anyone know if It is possible to join this lawsuit or is it too late? I have one fo the affected machines now and it was already repaired once by apple but they refused to repair it again due to the 4 year exit on program expiring.
Those butterfly keyboards (along with fan noise from inadequate heat sinks on too thin laptops) saved me a lot of money on Apple MacBooks. From 2011 to 2021, I only used 17" 2011 MBP (went through two of them, with lots of DIY repairs and upgrades to screens, drives, fans along the way). Certainly beats buying a new $4000 MacBook Pro every year or two.
The MBP line has been so booby-trapped for so long I'll never trust Apple again. Apple Care has also become a bit of a joke. My girlfriend's MBP 13" 2014 never saw water, nor do we live in a wet climate but the little pieces of paper inside had turned colour due to a humid day or age (or something, no trace of real water damage) – Apple fought us for three months not to repair the MBP before finally fixing it. Without a computer for three months, which was Apple's tactic, deny us the computer until we agreed to pay $1000 for repairs (about its value at the time). Fortunately I had some extra 2011 MBP's around so we could outlast them.
This, the stupid placement of charge port on the Magic mouse, and some other things reminds me why I cheered when He left the company.
Still, the smart keyboard for iPad Pro become the new stupid. How could they enforce me not to use my iPad pro in portrait orientation? All my Safari windows on my Mac are displayed in portrait, why I need to change to the other way on iPad?
> Still, the smart keyboard for iPad Pro become the new stupid. How could they enforce me not to use my iPad pro in portrait orientation?
Even on the 12.9-inch, having the smart keyboard in portrait orientation would be way too narrow for a keyboard.
