Not long after the departure of Apple’s longtime design chief, Jony Ive, one of the company’s most criticized products in recent years appears to be getting an overhaul.
Starting with the release of the redesigned MacBook in 2015, the keyboards on Apple’s Mac laptops have featured a proprietary key design which was considerably thinner than any keys before it. The keyboards have been lambasted by users for being too loud, not clicky enough, and breaking easily. Apple has attempted to redesign its keys three times since first launching the design, but even it has admitted that its brand-new laptops might need their keyboards serviced soon after purchasing. The faulty keyboards have even led to class-action lawsuits.
It’s rumored that Apple is going to unveil new laptops in the coming months—it tends to hold new product launches in September, and occasionally, October. A report from veteran Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, published Thursday (July 4) suggests the new laptops will give up on the keyboard design Apple has been running with, in favor of a more traditional “scissor-switch” keyboard. Kuo’s report suggests the new laptop keys will have more travel (the distance a key moves when pressed) and durability, which should address many of the issues customers have faced in recent years, according to 9to5Mac.
The first laptop to receive the new keyboard design will be the 2019 MacBook Air, according to Kuo, followed by MacBook Pro laptops in 2020. Apple wasn’t immediately available to comment on its laptop plans.