This is the end of a long legal drama for Apple. The firm has started sending checks to American customers harmed by reliability problems with MacBook butterfly keyboards. Compensation which can reach $395 per person, a significant sum.
Updated 11/20:
Apple’s free butterfly keyboard service program for select MacBook models ended last week, nearly six and a half years after its launch.
Return to the case of defective butterfly keyboards
Introduced in 2015 on the 12-inch MacBook, Apple’s butterfly keyboard promised more stable and consistent typing despite its thinness. But very quickly, many users encountered problems: keys that stuck, stuck or characters that repeated.
Despite several revisions, Apple has failed to correct these design flaws. The outcry from dissatisfied customers led to a class action lawsuit in 2018, accusing the brand of knowingly selling defective computers.
Rather than going to trial, Apple preferred to find an amicable agreement in 2022. The amount of compensation was set at $50 million in total. But only certain American states were eligible.
Up to $395 refunded per affected MacBook
Three years after the legal action began, injured customers are finally starting to receive their dues. According to certain American journalists, the first checks arrived this Saturday, August 3 in mailboxes.
The amount of compensation depends on the severity of the problems encountered and the repairs carried out:
- Up to $395 for those who had to have the top case (the upper part including the keyboard) replaced at least twice.
- Up to $125 for a single topcase replacement.
- Up to $50 for those who just had keys changed.
You obviously had to have completed a form before the deadline to benefit from these payments. Affected customers living outside of the 7 eligible states (California, New York, Michigan, etc.) were unfortunately unable to participate. Elsewhere in the United States and around the world, eligible customers have been able to receive a keyboard repair but the problem has not been resolved. Outside of the 7 American states mentioned above, Apple has not implemented any compensation policy.
Apple learned lessons from this mishap
This episode shows that Apple is not immune to design errors, despite its high-end brand image. But the Cupertino giant seems to have learned from its mistakes.
As of 2020, all new MacBooks now come with a more reliable Magic Keyboard scissor keyboard. And the latest MacBook Air and Pro with M3 chip are even entitled to a new, even more robust design.
Let’s hope that these compensations will help turn the page on this fiasco. And that Apple will continue to innovate, but without sacrificing quality and customer satisfaction.
