Thursday, December 17, 2015

Hands on impression of butterfly switch


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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