Apple has agreed to compensate American customers who bought MacBook models between 2015 and 2019. In total, the Cupertino company is ready to spend $ 50 million to close a dispute related to “butterfly” keyboards.
Money may not buy happiness, but it may allow some to avoid going to the end of a lawsuit. This is particularly the case of Apple, which has just agreed to pay no less than 50 million dollars to compensate MacBook users.
Little throwback. We are in 2015 and Apple is launching its “butterfly” keyboard with great fanfare. Boasting of having reduced the thickness by 40% per key, the apple brand is however not at the end of its troubles. Problems will quickly appear: “butterfly” keyboards are sticky, unresponsive and the slightest dust or crumb can be enough to damage them.
Although it abandoned the “butterfly” keyboard in favor of a new mechanism in 2020, the Cupertino company was already the subject of a class action in court at the time of this abandonment. According to the complaint, Apple was aware of and covered up the fact that the “butterfly” keyboard was prone to failure. The only change that occurred in an attempt to correct the problem was the addition of a membrane touted as a way to make the keys quieter. But this has never greatly improved the reliability of keyboards.
To settle the case quickly, the company then agreed to pay 50 million dollars without however admitting fault. Apple’s proposal must now be approved by a judge. According Reutersattorneys for the clients expect compensation ranging from $300 to $395 for users who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 for those who replaced a single keyboard, and $50 for those who replaced one or more keys.
Note that the compensation will only cover customers in seven US states (California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Washington) who purchased a MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro model between 2015 and 2019.