Apple Starts to Compensate Users for 'Butterfly Keyboards' Issue, with Details and Restrictions

TapTechNews August 4th news, Apple has finally started to compensate users due to its controversial butterfly keyboards issue. In 2022, Apple agreed to pay 50 million US dollars (TapTechNews note: currently about 359 million RMB) to settle the losses suffered by some MacBook users due to keyboard malfunctions from 2015 to 2019. The claim process started at the end of 2022 and was finally approved last May. Starting today, eligible MacBook users have finally received the compensation.

Apple introduced the butterfly keyboard on the brand new 12-inch MacBook in 2015, and then extended it to the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in 2016 and 2018. However, this keyboard design has problems and is plagued by reliability and durability issues, including problems such as key sticking, repeating characters, and even inability to input certain characters.

Apple finally abandoned the butterfly keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro at the end of 2019. By mid-2020, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air also adopted the new Magic Keyboard. However, this is not the end for Apple.

The discussion around the class action lawsuit started in May 2018, with users stating that the butterfly keyboard does not work properly and is not suitable for its normal and intended use. Throughout 2019, the lawsuit continued to make progress, and the judge required Apple to face the class action lawsuit. In the middle of 2022, Apple was required to pay a settlement of 50 million US dollars. The claim process started later that same year, but with some restrictions.

First, only users residing in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, or Washington are eligible to claim. This excludes 43 US states, so many people with butterfly keyboards are not eligible to claim. In addition, the expected payout amount varies depending on the severity of the keyboard problem:

Replace the upper case twice or more: up to 395 US dollars (currently about 2838 RMB)

Replace the upper case once: up to 125 US dollars (currently about 898 RMB)

Replace the keycap: up to 50 US dollars (currently about 359 RMB)

On June 27th, the court issued a payment order, and the official website updated that payment would begin in August 2024. Although it's only early August now, eligible customers have already started to receive payments.