Background
In 2015, Apple began launching a newer and sleeker version of the Macbook Pro, with one of its main features being the new butterfly switch keyboard. However, there have been numerous user complaints about the keyboard’s feel, susceptibility to damage, faulty keys, and double typing. Apple redesigned their keyboards to produce thinner and lighter laptops; the new butterfly switch mechanism was meant to be “more stable, responsive and comfortable.” However, upon closer analysis of the design, my team (Madison Frye, Alyssa Kuwana) and I found ways to even further improve the keyboard’s usability.
Our Process & Our Findings
To figure out which characteristics of the butterfly keyboard were good and which were bad, we interviewed people who used both the butterfly and the scissor keyboard. Overall, people thought the older scissor keyboard was easier to type on. To compare the new and old keyboards and redesign the Apple keyboard, we thoroughly analyzed each of the differences such as the distance between keys, the 40% decrease in height, and the scissor and butterfly mechanisms themselves. We broke down each aspect and discussed how they contributed to the user experience.
Credit: CNET
Firstly, the new butterfly keyboard reduces the space between the baseboard and the individual keys themselves, preventing particles (ie. dust or food crumbs) from getting stuck in the crevices that cause dysfunctional, “sticky” keys. While fixing that previous issue, Apple unintentionally created another set of issues: louder typing and increased typos.
In general keyboard design, the combination of height and spacing of keys are used to separate and distinguish between keys to allow for easy typing. When interviewing users who previously used traditional scissor keyboards and then switched to the butterfly keyboard, we found the majority of users enjoyed their experience with the scissor keyboard because it was easier to look away from the scissor keyboard and still type with fewer errors. In fact, the butterfly keys are 40% shorter than the scissor keyboard and the space between the keys on the butterfly keyboard are indeed smaller, so a user’s fingers have a harder time differentiating between the keys. Furthermore, as there is less bounce on the butterfly keys, users find it harder to tell if they actually hit the key or not. This is also a likely explanation for why an interviewee reported that people sound “angry” when typing on the new keyboard because of the added force they use to make sure they’re typing correctly. Our hypothesis for louder typing is that users are conditioned to having their keys bounce back on the scissor mechanism keys, so they compensate for that by typing harder on the butterfly keyboard.
Credit: 9to5Mac
understanding apple’s rationale
Apple made the design choice to switch to the new butterfly mechanism because it allows for a thinner keyboard due to decreased key travel. The space between each key and the key backboard has decreased to prevent dust, crumbs and small particles from getting stuck between the key and baseboard or falling into the laptop’s internal hardware. However, the new butterfly keyboard has “proved uncomfortable for many users who type a lot.”
The constraints that played a role in this redesign include decreasing keyboard height and thus total laptop height, which in addition to making the laptop smaller and easier to transport, helps the laptop stay in line with Apple’s wider brand strategy and brand image of always presenting sleek, minimalist electronics that get ever-thinner with each new release. Furthermore, Apple’s intended audience has a high amount of disposable income to purchase their laptops which come at a premium for their unique modern design. Thus, this new butterfly keyboard’s thinner keys make the laptop base sleeker and aesthetically pleasing, providing a reason for consumers to purchase this new laptop.
Our proposal
When thinking about a solution for the problem, our group thought about what it was our interviewees liked about the new MacBook keyboard (it’s sleek design) and also what they missed about the older keyboard (the height that allowed their fingers to rest while typing). Below is a rough sketch of our proposal—
We have designed a key that uses the same “underlying” mechanism of the butterfly keyboard to decrease food getting stuck in the keys. In increasing the height of the keys, users would get a better hold while typing, increasing comfort while typing, decreasing typos, and reducing noise. Our thin layer of fiberglass also absorbs noise, further decreasing the effect of “angry typing.”
Additionally, we would have to take a few things into consideration: (1) the added height of the keys would increase the bulkiness of the laptop and (2) keys may need to be more spaced out to support the extra height—these both may decrease the “sleek factor” of the laptop.
Interestingly enough, Apple announced on Nov. 13th that they would scrap their butterfly keyboard and replace it back with their scissor design.
This was originally published on Medium.