The infamous butterfly keyboard once touted by Apple is now the subject of a class-action lawsuit prompted by angry customers.
Apple is currently turning over a new leaf with its Apple Silicon movement. Almost everything in its plan is falling into the rightful place as the company regains leadership across multiple tech categories.
Unfortunately, the ghost of its infamous not-so-long-ago past still cannot let go. As much as Apple wants to bury and forget about its failed products, it just can’t.
Apple butterfly keyboard subject of a class-action lawsuit
A potentially nation-wide controversy about the Apple butterfly keyboard is rearing its ugly head. Last March 8, Judge Edward Davila certified multiple cases against Apple as a class-action lawsuit.
The action covers several affected customers in the states of California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington. There is still no word if this will go on as a nationwide lawsuit against Apple. Nevertheless, the firm behind the class-action is urging those affected from other States to speak up.
The issue, in this case, is quite straightforward. The petitioners believe that Apple has long known about the defective keyboards. However, it still went on for installation on multiple MacBooks through the years.
They also accuse Apple of infringing on the rights of the customers based on various laws applicable in the states mentioned.
Apple, for its part, has an initial defense that the subject matter may not be the issue controlling of the suit because of multiple iterations across different butterfly keyboards.
The company may be referring to the different models involved in the lawsuit, such as the 12-inch MacBook (purchased between 2015 and 2017), the MacBook Pro (between 2016 and 2019), and the MacBook Air (between 2018 and 2019).
Nonetheless, the plaintiffs were still successful in rebutting the defense as they said that the issue isn’t about the minor tweaks. Instead, the crux of the case is the fundamental defective design of the butterfly keyboard.
Did Apple know about this issue from the get-go?
The plaintiff believes that execs of the company already know about the butterfly keyboard’s issue. They even claim that one exec said,
“no matter how much lipstick you try to put on this pig, it’s still ugly.”
The veracity of this statement may be rebutted. However, it is not an impossibility that someone inside the Apple Campus could say this. After all, the company sort of admitted the butterfly keyboard’s flaw when it reverted back to the scissors mechanism on the Magic Keyboard.
Image from Apple Singapore/ YouTube thumbnail