If it's an Apple product, iFixit will do a teardown- the new Magic Keyboard

iFixit.com is well known for their teardown prowess.  Like it or not, Apple products announcements simply command attention, even for something as mundane as a keyboard, something many folks don't think too much about until it breaks.  As expected, iFixit did perform a product teardown of all the new accessories.

My main interest of course is the keyboard.  Indeed iFixit confirmed quite a few things in the magic keyboard teardown.  Yes, it is a scissor switch, not a butterfly switch.  To see a butterfly switch, iFixit's got it covered as well.  Comparing the two kind of switches, I think Apple went with the more traditional scissor switch because it doesn't need LED keyboard lighting.  The scissor switch design seems to take more real estate than the butterfly one.  That's a major design factor if one needs keyboard lighting as one prefers the support mechanism to be out of the way as much as possible to allow better lighting.  Butterfly switch design moves the support arms out of the LED's way to make even key lighting, but the trade-off is a more stressed hinge in the middle as it flexes during key presses.

The other thing is that the key travel for this keyboard is indeed quite shallow, measured to be around 1mm or so.  That's pretty close to what Apple Macbook's as well.  The key caps are indeed completely flat, another Chiclets style keyboard signature.  In any case, I think the speculation that Apple is trying to merge its desktop and laptop user experience is not without merit.  Given the market trend, laptop usage is now the dominant one.  Thus, it is no surprise again that Apple is showing preferences to its mobile platform.