MacBook Pro 2018: a nicer and quieter keyboard



[ad_1]

Never mind that the new MacBook Pro are (much) faster. It does not matter if their Retina display now includes True Tone. It does not matter that the T2 chip modifies their architecture in depth. Many customers simply want to know how the keyboard behaves. In short: everything changes, but nothing changes.

Nothing changes in appearance: if you saw the keyboard of a MacBook Pro 2017, you saw the keyboard of a MacBook Pro 2018. But a few seconds of typing are enough to feel – and hear – the difference. Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Apple's marketing talks about a "third-generation" butterfly keyboard .

A "quieter" keyboard it must be said. The "clack" of the old keyboards, a sharp and definite sound, gives way to a "plop", a more dull and diffuse sound. The noise level is reduced, but especially the nature of the noise is less unpleasant in the long run. An audible difference in the next recording, made by copying a text at over 90 words per minute.

The same text typed between 90 and 95 words per minute, on a 2017 MacBook Pro 15 inch for the first ten seconds, then a 138-inch MacBook Pro 2018 for the next ten. The background noise is mainly due to the fans of the machines, the microphone being positioned in the upper left corner of the keyboard.

The difference is also noticeable: the strike is a little less dry, slightly more damped, but not deeper. The butterfly keys were already very stable, they are even more, and have almost no side play. In total, this keyboard is more "direct" while being less dry, a paradox very appreciable.

The secret? The packaging of the butterfly mechanism in a silicone membrane, according to the first disbadembly. The plastic dampens the striking, participates in the rapid return of the key, and must probably prevent the intrusion of dust. It's hard to say if this measure will completely solve the reliability problems that have affected the butterfly keyboards, but we can already say that it makes typing a little more pleasant.

[ad_2]
Source link