What it's like to type on the new MacBook Pro keyboard
I've been using Apple's new MacBook Pro for two days, and so far the most noticeable change is the keyboard.
The 2018 MacBook Pro is the first laptop from Apple to brandish the third generation of the company's "butterfly" keyboard design that replaced the chiclet-style keyboards of the silver MacBooks that came before. Apple says the only improvement is that the keyboard is quieter to type on.
From teardowns, we know that there's likely more to that story. A new layer of silicone appears to both act as a cushion the keys as well as protect them from dust and other particles. That could in turn improve the reliability of the keyboards, which has been a source of major concern. Apple is facing multiple lawsuits over the issue, and this upgrade could in fact be a "secret" way to address it while not admitting there was a problem in the first place.
But for users, Apple's legal side-step is totally beside the point -- they just want to know how the keyboard feels. Well, it feels… better.
It definitely still feels like a butterfly keyboard. If my eyes were closed, and you put this keyboard in front of me, I'd call it as a MacBook Pro butterfly right away (and clearly not a skinny MacBook keyboard, since the shake of the machine itself is different as you type). But it's not quite like before.
For most of the rest of this article, you'll need to forgive my frequent use of minimizing language like "slightly" and "a bit" because the change is really subtle.
The "give" on each key feels just a hair stronger. The keys -- at least the letter keys -- are a little more ready for your fingertips than the previous generation butterfly. The bounce makes the overall feel just slightly closer to the old-style chiclet keys, but not so much that you'd mistake it for one.
Are they quieter? Yes. Certainly, the volume of your keyboarding is as much dependent on your typing style as they keyboard itself, but after switching back and forth from the previous-gen MacBook Pro, typing various sentences again and again, I can safely say the new keys will be a bit more forgiving.
Average typing noise is a difficult thing to quantify (although we'll give it a go in our upcoming review), but it feels as if the extra silicone layer is doing its job as a cushion as well as stabilizing the horizontal travel of the keys a bit. On the previous Pro, it always felt as if there wasn't much holding the keys in place besides the aluminum casing itself; as a consequence, if you would hit a key off-center, you could kind of feel that part of the key hitting bottom at a slight angle, which tended to be a "noisier" tap.
Again, these are the subtlest of details in a typing experience, and I by no means mean to say that typing was bad or unbearable on the previous Pro. But subtleties add up, and, for me, the sum was a lesser experience on the butterfly MacBook Pro than that of my workhorse machine: a silver 2015 MacBook Pro with chiclet keys.
Typing on that keyboard is an absolute joy -- the kind of attention-to-every-detail experience Apple stakes its brand on. Although the new MacBook Pro hasn't quite matched it, it has moved a step closer. Yeah, it's kind of insane that Apple moved away from what many considered perfection in the first place, but if you've been holding out from upgrading because of an aversion to the butterfly, the Pro's new keyboard is reason to pop out of your cocoon and give it a try.
Pete Pachal was Mashable’s Tech Editor and had been at the company from 2011 to 2019. He covered the technology industry, from self-driving cars to self-destructing smartphones.Pete has covered consumer technology in print and online for more than a decade. Originally from Edmonton, Canada, Pete first uploaded himself into technology journalism at Sound & Vision magazine in 1999. Pete also served as Technology Editor at Syfy, creating the channel's technology site, DVICE (now Blastr), out of some rusty HTML code and a decompiled coat hanger. He then moved on to PCMag, where he served as the site's News Director.Pete has been featured on Fox News, the Today Show, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and CBC.Pete holds degrees in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. His favorite Doctor Who monsters are the Cybermen.
