Apple may not use mechanical switches in a future MacBook keyboard at all

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 54
    Come on. The keyboard replacement program is a public relations move that Apple can afford to carry. Let’s face it, people have not learned how to eat and type.

    Think about keyboards for a minute. What if for whatever reason a person buys a Steinway Grand piano, discovers that spilling a soft drink and recklessly spewing secondhand crumbs from their mouth and into the keyboard interferes with their musicianship. Only an idiot would consider it to be a Steinway fault.

    So let’s face it. If Apple changes the keyboard mechanism, it is part of making their products idiot proof.
    Rayz2016FileMakerFellerradarthekat
  • Reply 22 of 54
    sergiozsergioz Posts: 338member
    I really like this idea, hopefully something similar is in the works. 
  • Reply 23 of 54
    MisterKit said:
    So let’s face it. If Apple changes the keyboard mechanism, it is part of making their products idiot proof.
    So the entire fields of industrial design and product design, in other words
    FileMakerFellerradarthekat
  • Reply 24 of 54
    Just fix what you f****** have already on a $4,000 computer, Apple.

    Thank you.
    edited August 2019 chemengin1MplsPdocno42
  • Reply 25 of 54
    While it may not be the same technology, Apple succeeding with a non-mechanical keyboard the way they've succeeded with a non-mechanical trackpad would be revolutionary. If they can accomplish that, it will be the new keyboard standard.


  • Reply 26 of 54
    longfanglongfang Posts: 452member
    The way Apple has nailed the trackpad by way of force touch is nothing short of magical when you use it, and absolutely earns it’s name as the Magic Trackpad. 

    Basic idea here is that Apple would have the same kind of success with a keyboard, which would be an unbelievable outstanding achievement.
    Just make the keyboard a gigantic trackpad, with the haptic engine used to register key presses. I’ll be in line to buy one on release day.
    JWSCfastasleep
  • Reply 27 of 54
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    elfig2012 said:
    seems to me that HP and other PC giants don’t have these keyboard issues....
    ALL electronics have issues. Only Apple gets front-page articles though.

    I once read a post by an iKnockoff moron that stated "Android doesn't have problems but Apple has problems every time they release an iPhone!!!!"
    Well no shi*, if all you do is read tech articles.

    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is utterly brilliant.

    All that talk about the 16" MBP going back to scissor keys… since when has Apple ever gone backward on anything? Maybe they'll re-introduce SCSI ports on the new Mac Pro while they're at it. No, whatever sort of key mechanism the next Apple laptop has, it won't be "the old one."


    And yet we still get dumb rumors stating "Apple is abandoning 3D touch for the old way" and "Apple may re-introduce the headphone jack due to demand".

    Yeah and Apple will add a floppy disk drive to the next iPhone. /s

    People criticize Apple for not being "innovative" yet hypocritically hold on to the past.
    edited August 2019 Rayz2016StrangeDays
  • Reply 28 of 54
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    Reminds me of those optical switches used in some keyboards, this concept may be possible to go mass-production.


    https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.wooting.nl%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F02%2Fflaretechillustration.jpg&f=1
    Eric_WVGGcornchipdysamoria
  • Reply 29 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Just make a damn decent keyboard, again. Stick your light where the sun don’t shine.
    anantksundaramMplsP
  • Reply 30 of 54
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    Just fix what you f****** have already on a $4,000 computer, Apple.

    Thank you.
    And how they're going to do that?
  • Reply 31 of 54
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    lkrupp said:
    The real problem is the Mavis Beacon touch typists who will never be satisfied with any keyboard other than the traditional typewriter key look and feel. Andy Ihnatko on MacBreak Weekly is always bitching about keyboards on laptops and tablets.
    Those are mechanical die-hards, which can be ignored in this topic.
  • Reply 32 of 54
    MisterKit said:

    So let’s face it. If Apple changes the keyboard mechanism, it is part of making their products idiot proof.

    “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools”

    - Douglas Adams-
    cornchipviclauyycFileMakerFellerdocno42
  • Reply 33 of 54
    Sorry, copy/paste resulted in wayy too big a font.
  • Reply 34 of 54
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,337member
    elfig2012 said:
    A fine example off how crazy and complex the Ict world is!
    seems to me that HP and other PC giants don’t have these keyboard issues....
    Stop it...


    HP laptop keyboard. Some keys not working as expected.



    Here is the fix..

    Try this...

    1. Uninstall the keyboard driver.
    2. Reboot the computer (without reinstalling the driver).
    3. When it restarts, it should reinstall the driver on its own.

    If this doesn't work, you may wish to try connecting an external keyboard and see if it works fine. If it does, then it could be the keys themselves that are the issue.

    You may also want to try updating the Synaptics Driver if the above doesn't help.


    If this doesn't help, then I would return it again.



    StrangeDays
  • Reply 35 of 54
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    longfang said:
    The way Apple has nailed the trackpad by way of force touch is nothing short of magical when you use it, and absolutely earns it’s name as the Magic Trackpad. 

    Basic idea here is that Apple would have the same kind of success with a keyboard, which would be an unbelievable outstanding achievement.
    Just make the keyboard a gigantic trackpad, with the haptic engine used to register key presses. I’ll be in line to buy one on release day.

    That would be nice.  Then you could seamlessly switch between QWERTY, Dvorak, or any of the other alternative keyboard layouts.  If I could learn all over again I’d choose Dvorak.  But I’m too ‘seasoned’ to learn it now.

  • Reply 36 of 54
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    The last optical keyboard I remember hearing about was all the way back in 1983, and it was a music keyboard... Sequential Circuits's Prophet T8.  So this is not entirely unheard of.

    I do wonder how this could be any more impervious to dust than current tech.
    First off I don’t believe Apples problems are dust related.  Some keyboards throughout the industry do fail that way but I believe Apple has had mechanical issues.  

    As for failures related to this patent, it all depends upon the actual implementation.  Patents don’t really address the details that would manner here.  For example the through hole for the beam interrupted could be sealed on the back side via common PCB manufacturing methods.   The key side has the same old issues of crashing under the cap, however sealing the actual optical area should be easy.  

    Reliability in switches is really a function of how much you want to pay.    This is pretty obvious in the industrial market where a push button can cost $3 or $30.    I really believe part of Apples problems where the result of cost cutting to raise margins.   I’m not sure if the have come to terms with that or not.    For a number of reasons I’m related Reluctant to consider another Apple laptop, I’m really hoping that Apple has wised up and has retreated from profits at any cost mentality.  
  • Reply 37 of 54
    DuhSesame said:
    Just fix what you f****** have already on a $4,000 computer, Apple.

    Thank you.
    And how they're going to do that?
    Is that meant to be a serious question? I mean, serious?
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 38 of 54
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    JWSC said:
    longfang said:
    The way Apple has nailed the trackpad by way of force touch is nothing short of magical when you use it, and absolutely earns it’s name as the Magic Trackpad. 

    Basic idea here is that Apple would have the same kind of success with a keyboard, which would be an unbelievable outstanding achievement.
    Just make the keyboard a gigantic trackpad, with the haptic engine used to register key presses. I’ll be in line to buy one on release day.

    That would be nice.  Then you could seamlessly switch between QWERTY, Dvorak, or any of the other alternative keyboard layouts.  If I could learn all over again I’d choose Dvorak.  But I’m too ‘seasoned’ to learn it now.

    That’s where they’re heading. 

    By by the time they’ve reached it, the mechanical key dinosaurs will be mostly extinct. 
  • Reply 39 of 54
    The current low profile keyboard is perfect.

    If they want to go ahead and perfect THAT... gotta love Apple. 
  • Reply 40 of 54
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    lkrupp said:
    The real problem is the Mavis Beacon touch typists who will never be satisfied with any keyboard other than the traditional typewriter key look and feel. Andy Ihnatko on MacBreak Weekly is always bitching about keyboards on laptops and tablets.
    Are you seriously complaining that there are people who are touch-typists?
    docno42
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