Apple used butterfly keyboards between 2015 and 2019 even though they were much more susceptible than their predecessors.
Apple has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit by customers affected by its famous butterfly keyboards.
These keyboards were present in the MacBook , MacBook Air , and MacBook Pro produced between 2015 and 2019.
Apple ‘s butterfly keyboards could easily fail, in some cases being degraded by small accumulations of dust .
The design of the butterfly keyboards was in line with Apple ‘s vision of an ultra-slim device, but it sacrificed the durability of the keyboards.
Did Apple Know About Butterfly Keyboard Problems?
It is estimated that butterfly keyboards failed twice as often in the first year as other keyboards implemented on MacBook Pros .
Butterfly keyboards were discontinued from MacBooks in late 2019 with the introduction of the Magic Keyboard .
The $50 million payment will only be available to customers who purchased MacBooks with butterfly keyboards in seven US states: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Washington. It is pending approval by a judge.
Customers claimed that Apple provided inadequate service, knowing about the problems with butterfly keyboards and keeping them in its laptop lineup for years.
Worse yet, Apple replaced users’ ill-fated butterfly keyboards with other butterfly keyboards that were prone to failure.
Apple denied acting in bad faith in reaching the settlement.
How much will customers who bought MacBooks with butterfly keyboards receive?
According to Reuters , only customers who had problems with the butterfly keyboard on MacBooks will be eligible for the payment.
In principle, users who had to replace a key will be able to receive US$50. Those who changed the keyboard once will be able to demand up to US$125 and those who change the keyboard several times will be rewarded with up to US$395.
In addition, customers will be able to get four years of free keyboard repairs after the purchase of the mentioned models.
It is expected that some US$15 million to be paid by Apple will go to pay the lawyers.