Apple Accedes To $50 Million Settlement Over Defective Butterfly Keyboards

Users of MacBooks and MacBook Pro models created after 2015 have often complained of the keyboards’ ‘butterfly mechanism’, which often came stuck and rendered the feature “unusable.” 

Now, following a class-action lawsuit filed by customers alleging the technology giant knew and concealed that the keyboards were “prone to failure,” Apple has agreed to fork out a US$50 million settlement. 

According to Reuters, the proposed payout was filed earlier this week at a federal court in San Jose, California, and is awaiting the green light from a judge.

The settlement covers consumers who purchased a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro from 2015 to 2019 in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. 

While customers noted that the company did often provide replacement keyboards when met with complaints about the keyboards being unresponsive, the new parts often succumbed to the same problems, adding to the frustration of users. 

As AppleInsider points out, the mechanism itself was to blame, and would become easily clogged with small amounts of dust and debris, resulting in “sticky” keys that were difficult to type on. 

Plus, anecdotal data collected by the site in the MacBook Pro’s first year of release found that the butterfly keyboard had “failed twice as often” as previous models of the laptop. 

Those entitled to the settlement can expect to receive up to US$395 for those who had to replace multiple keyboards, US$125 for users who only replaced one keyboard, and US$50 for consumers that replaced key caps. 

[via Reuters and AppleInsider, cover image via Evgeniy Grishchenko | Dreamstime.com]