Ah… Black Friday and then Christmas shopping season. The busiest
shopping time around the US it seems. I had a
chance encounter with the Macbook and of course had to try my hands on the new
butterfly switch. Boy. It was not what I expected and not exactly in
a positive way. Apple’s reputation
precedes it. Therefore, it’s always
risky to be critical of Apple products; but if I am honest, then I need to call
it for what I see it is.
The extremely short key travel of the butterfly switch
exacerbated all that is associated as a negative in a scissor switch in my
humble opinion. I was surprised how
stiff the switch was even though it was rated at 55g. Because all of that compression happens so
quickly, it felt like tapping on tablet with almost no feedback. It felt that the keys just suddenly sink
after I push it hard enough. The
experience was so jarring that I had to take a double take to make sure that
someone wasn’t pulling a fast one on me.
Now, I must say that I could get used to it if forced. I am sure some people enjoy using the board,
but I must admit that I am not a fan. At
this point, I can see why Apple went back to a more traditional scissor switch
rather than the hyped butterfly version because the butterfly switch felt so
alien to older hands like me. People who
do buy extra boards are more likely to prefer the older or more classical style, I
guess.
People who don’t use more traditional or mechanical
keyboards much or are used to the virtual ones on a tablet will probably adapt
to the butterfly switch relatively quickly.
I wouldn’t be surprised that they prefer it after some use. However, I am not exactly a huge fan of
virtual keyboard or a real keyboard pretending to be one. So, this is really not my cup of tea. This really does drive home a major point for
me tho. If you have chance, try before
you buy. You never know what might
change your mind….. even if it's something with great reputation like Apple products.
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