Not only can the keyboard assembly be thinner, but the entire key depresses evenly, remaining level. In addition, because the keys on the MacBook use the newly designed "butterfly" mechanism, it feels different at first. That's because the surface of each MacBook key is slightly concave, and the curvature sends a signal to the brain, I suspect, on where the finger is on the key-preventing bleed over. It looks odd at first, but after eight weeks of typing, I haven't noticed any tendency to fumble and strike the wrong, adjacent key. With the new MacBook, the key center to center distance remains the same, 19 mm, but the keys are a little larger: 18 mm vs 16 mm on Apple's other keyboards. The individual center to center spacing for a standard keyboard is pretty well defined (19 mm) and researched, and so what's left is a decision on how wide to make the key itself. We needed to reduce key wobbling for a keyboard this thin otherwise, striking a key off-center could result in the keycap hitting bottom before a keystroke registers. As Apple describes the problem: This creates a lack of precision when you strike anywhere except the center of the key. We've all used a keyboard like that for years, and we've gotten used to it.īecause the key tends to wobble just a little, it probably doesn't pay to make the actual key face too large. Not only does that design use up more vertical space than desired, but it also wobbles around the edges.
![i love the new macbook pro keyboard i love the new macbook pro keyboard](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71LE4bSZ4HL._AC_SX679_.jpg)
Recall that the keyboards Apple used in all previous MacBook Air and Pro models use what's called a scissor mechanism. What follows are my personal observations.
![i love the new macbook pro keyboard i love the new macbook pro keyboard](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ed/60/24/ed60243f0b0a57b1d159069d514dbf65.jpg)
I'm not a keyboard design expert, but I've been using computers since the Apple II, and I've learned a lot about keyboards along the way. Just like the single USB-C port, past experience doesn't prepare or guide one for using this keyboard because it's so different from what Apple has delivered in the past. I've spent eight weeks with my new MacBook now, and one of things I like about it the most is the keyboard. The keys are larger and the throw is less, and so when people try it out for just a minute ot two in the Apple store, it may feel strange, different and even undesirable.
![i love the new macbook pro keyboard i love the new macbook pro keyboard](https://i0.wp.com/boles.com/called/07/mbp15.jpg)
Apple's new MacBook uses a new keyboard mechanism.