Apple continues to face trouble with its MacBook Pro keyboard design.
Law firm Girard Gibbs has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company’s “butterfly” keyboards inside its recently released MacBooks and MacBook Pros are “prone to fail,” Apple-tracking MacRumors is reporting after obtaining the court documents. The lawsuit, which was filed in the Northern California District, was filed on behalf of two MacBook Pro owners. It also backs a proposed class that includes anyone who purchased a MacBook in 2015 or later or a MacBook Pro from 2016 or later that has the butterfly keyboard.
“Consumers have reported that Apple’s new keyboard has resulted in sticky and unresponsive keys, which interfere with a user’s ability to type,” the law firm wrote on a page on its website about the alleged defect. “Because of the new keyboard design, consumers report that fixing affected keys requires replacing the whole keyboard, which costs $700.”
When Apple announced the butterfly keyboard design a few years ago, the company argued it would create a more accurate and reliable typing experience. The “butterfly” refers to the way in which the mechanism under each key reacts when you press down on the key. The idea was to create a better keyboard in Macs and something better than what you’d find on a Windows-based PC.
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Soon after it launched, however, users started complaining of its poor performance. They reported that keys would stick and in some cases be rendered useless. Even Apple watchers and reviewers complained of its poor design.
Earlier this month, a petition was posted to Change.org requesting signatures that called on Apple to speak up about the problem. Within two days, it attracted 7,500 signatures. As of this writing, it has more than 22,000—and more signatures are pouring in every few minutes.
According to MacRumors, the class-action lawsuit alleges that Apple has “failed and continues to fail to disclose” problems with its butterfly keyboard. It says Apple’s actions are violating several competition and regulatory laws, including California’s Unfair Competition Law and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The lawsuit is seeking damages for the class, as well as an acknowledgement by Apple that there’s a problem with its keyboard design.
Apple did not respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the lawsuit.
