Apple rumored to introduce MacBook with scissor switch keyboard in mid 2020
A noted Apple analyst in a research note released on Tuesday presented a more definitive timeline of the company's MacBook plans, saying a new laptop model featuring a traditional scissor switch keyboard will debut in the middle of 2020.
Without citing sources, Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities says Apple manufacturing partner Wistron has been tapped as the primary supplier of parts for MacBook's scissor switch keyboards in 2020.
An unidentified MacBook with scissor mechanism technology is set to arrive late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2020. The report fails to specify MacBook variant or screen size, but Kuo is likely referencing updated 2020 MacBook Air or 2020 MacBook Pro models. Alternatively, Apple could be plotting a return of the affordable 12-inch MacBook which was axed from its laptop range this summer.
Apple last updated its MacBook offerings in July with a cheaper Retina display-toting MacBook Air and speed-bumped 13-inch MacBook Pro. The July refresh also nixed function key MacBook Pros in favor of Touch Bar-equipped versions with Touch ID.
Kuo first relayed predictions of Apple's expected move away from the four-year-old butterfly switch to more robust scissor switch keyboards in late July, saying a new 16-inch MacBook Pro would be the first to benefit from the transition. That report noted all MacBook Pros -- 13-, 15- and 16-inch models -- and the 13-inch MacBook Air would eventually adopt scissor switch keys in 2020, a design to be carried forward into 2021.
Subsequent rumors pegged an October release for the 16-inch device, with some analysts guessing Apple will ultimately phase out the current 15-inch variant in favor of a larger-screened option. A report in October claimed mass production of the 16-inch laptop had commenced at manufacturing partner Quanta.
Kuo's note does not appear to suggest a delay in Apple's launch plans for the hotly anticipated top-tier MacBook Pro, as the analyst previously reported manufacturer Sunrex -- not Wistron -- would supply scissor switch mechanisms for the rumored machine. Still, with the end of month just a day away, the chances of an October launch are becoming increasingly slim.
Without citing sources, Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities says Apple manufacturing partner Wistron has been tapped as the primary supplier of parts for MacBook's scissor switch keyboards in 2020.
An unidentified MacBook with scissor mechanism technology is set to arrive late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2020. The report fails to specify MacBook variant or screen size, but Kuo is likely referencing updated 2020 MacBook Air or 2020 MacBook Pro models. Alternatively, Apple could be plotting a return of the affordable 12-inch MacBook which was axed from its laptop range this summer.
Apple last updated its MacBook offerings in July with a cheaper Retina display-toting MacBook Air and speed-bumped 13-inch MacBook Pro. The July refresh also nixed function key MacBook Pros in favor of Touch Bar-equipped versions with Touch ID.
Kuo first relayed predictions of Apple's expected move away from the four-year-old butterfly switch to more robust scissor switch keyboards in late July, saying a new 16-inch MacBook Pro would be the first to benefit from the transition. That report noted all MacBook Pros -- 13-, 15- and 16-inch models -- and the 13-inch MacBook Air would eventually adopt scissor switch keys in 2020, a design to be carried forward into 2021.
Subsequent rumors pegged an October release for the 16-inch device, with some analysts guessing Apple will ultimately phase out the current 15-inch variant in favor of a larger-screened option. A report in October claimed mass production of the 16-inch laptop had commenced at manufacturing partner Quanta.
Kuo's note does not appear to suggest a delay in Apple's launch plans for the hotly anticipated top-tier MacBook Pro, as the analyst previously reported manufacturer Sunrex -- not Wistron -- would supply scissor switch mechanisms for the rumored machine. Still, with the end of month just a day away, the chances of an October launch are becoming increasingly slim.
Comments
I have a 2019 iMac and I love the keyboard on that. Its shorter travel than the 2015 Macbooks, though it’s apparently not butterfly. Maybe that’s what the 16 inch MacBook is going to have.
Did you state years ago that it's removal is "an admission that the scissor mechanism is inherently flawed." Often companies will change things once there's an overwhelming negative stigma that affects sales, regardless of anything else. We've seen product names and even company names change to get away from it. They may have decided that there is a stigma and that the scissor mechanism is better or that their new scissor mechanism is better, but that doesn't mean that keyboard I"m typing on right now is "inherently flawed" or, as another comment I saw on AI recently, "totally useless."
Look at the wording of Apple's keyboard repair extension programme:
"Apple has determined that a small percentage of the keyboards in certain MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors:"
The keyword here is 'percentage' instead of 'number'.
Clearly, this isn't a component or manufacturing issue. If that were the case you would be able to pump your serial number into the system and see if you are potentially affected.
This issue applies to all machines in the affected series and most of them are butterfly keyboards. Apple will only cover you for four years from the purchase date but, due to the design of recent MB/MBPs, the repair itself (if needed) can be quite expensive. Far more expensive than a what a keyboard issue should cost.
My conclusion is that buying one of these machines gets you a free entry to Apple's special lottery because that's basically what it is.
You can be fine today and borked tomorrow and the underlying reason isn't manufacturing or component failure in the classic sense - it is the design.
In late 2016 I decided not to touch anything with a butterfly keyboard (among other things) and I am still using older generation MBPs and an Air.
You've waxed poetic about Huawei devices including laptops, phones, and even recently tablets, and foldable, not to mention all of Huawei's non consumer technology, and given that you have stated explicitly that you loathe iOS, you are in fact a poseur here at AI, not a potential buyer of any Apple products.