Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Apple’s ‘Highly Responsive’ Butterfly Keyboards Suffer ‘Sticking’ Defect

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Two plaintiffs have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Apple in which they claim the “butterfly” keyboards that come with 2015 or later MacBook and 2016 or later MacBook Pro laptops are “prone to fail” and thereby compromise the computers’ core functionality. According to the 44-page complaint, Apple’s butterfly keyboards are manufactured in such a way that even when minimal amounts of dust or debris accumulate under or around the keys, a user’s keystrokes fail to register.

“When one or more of the keys on the keyboard fail, the MacBook can no longer serve its core function: typing,” the lawsuit states. “Thus, when this defect manifests in the MacBook, the computer becomes inoperable and unsuitable for its ordinary and intended use.”

The lawsuit charges that Apple knew its butterfly keyboards were defective “at or before” the time it began selling affected MacBook models yet continued to sell the compromised computers to the public. Apple even ran with the claim that its MacBooks came equipped with “a superior and highly responsive keyboard” that boasted “four times more key stability that a traditional scissor mechanism,” representations the complaint pegs as false.

Even further, the plaintiffs allege that despite every MacBook coming with a one-year written warranty, the defendant “routinely refuses” to uphold its end of the deal once the supposed butterfly keyboard defect manifests. From the complaint:

“Instead of fixing the keyboard problems, Apple advises MacBook owners to try self-help remedies that it knows will not result in a permanent repair. When Apple does agree to attempt a warranty repair, the repair is only temporary—a purportedly repaired MacBook fails again from the same keyboard problems. For consumers outside of the warranty period, Apple denies warranty service, and directs consumers to engage in paid repairs, which cost between $400 and $700.”

The lawsuit seeks to cover a proposed class of consumers nationwide who bought a 2015 model year or later MacBook or a 2016 model year or later MacBook Pro laptop equipped with a butterfly keyboard.