A federal judge this week rejected Apple's request to dismiss a class action lawsuit over its faulty butterfly keyboards, reports Reuters, which means the lawsuit will proceed.
The complainants believe that Apple knew of and concealed the fact that its 2015 and later MacBook models had keyboards prone to failure and that its repair program does not serve as an effective fix because replacement butterfly keyboards can also fail.
San Jose District Judge Edward Davila said that Apple must face the claims that the repair program is inadequate or compensate customers for their out-of-pocket expenses for repairs.
The lawsuit covers customers who purchased 2015 MacBook models or later and 2016 MacBook Pro models or later, which includes all machines that are equipped with Apple's butterfly keyboard. Apple has faced public scrutiny and many, many complaints over the butterfly keyboard's penchant to fail when exposed to dust and other small particulates.
Apple launched a repair program that covers all of its MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air models that have a butterfly keyboard, but at the current time, all keyboard replacements are also butterfly keyboards.
Apple has attempted to revise the butterfly keyboard several times to make it more durable, but ultimately, it's still prone to failure.
With the recently released 16-inch MacBook Pro Apple eliminated the butterfly mechanism and reverted to a more reliable scissor mechanism, but the new 16-inch MacBook Pro keyboard is limited to that machine and older models are still getting repairs with butterfly keyboards.
The lawsuit is seeking damages for violations of consumer protection laws in several dates. Benjamin Johns, lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Reuters that he's pleased with the decision and looks forward to pursuing the case.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport.
To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need:
An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later
Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on
An Apple Account ...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows.
Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs.
The U.S. version...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items.
The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
"Apple has faced public scrutiny and many, many complaints". please define "many, many": 6, 100, 1000, 10% of owners? Seems more like a made up issue by a few loud influencers, maybe even paid influencers, than a real one. I'd say it was not many, many unless the defect rate exceeded say 2% of owners.
And no don't go saying, "but there is a lawsuit". it is simply fashionable to sue Apple for anything you can. Some have merit, many are thrown out.
Yeah, Apple's butterfly keyboard was a failure. Otherwise, they'd have never finally abandoned the design and went back to scissor switches. On top of this, them abandoning the design, they'll also leave those owners to deal with the problems after the warranties and extended warranties expire. The purpose of this lawsuit isn't just about it being a lawsuit to sue Apple for the sake of it like you'll read some morons spouting off about. It's to ensure that Apple must continue providing support, but better than this, has to provide extended warranties on these keyboards. Not much different than the NVIDIA GPU solder problem that occurred a few years ago. Most likely they'll lose this one since there has already been a precedence of a previous ruling for the failing hardware which required them to cover losses to the consumer. Apple fanboys and cultists can piss off about this. It's legitimate.
"Apple has faced public scrutiny and many, many complaints". please define "many, many": 6, 100, 1000, 10% of owners? Seems more like a made up issue by a few loud influencers, maybe even paid influencers, than a real one. I'd say it was not many, many unless the defect rate exceeded say 2% of owners.
I have had the keyboard replaced twice on my 2017 that is used lightly for office type work and I am neither loud nor an "influencer".
I am very happy for those that like the butterfly and never had a problem but please stop making those of us who have experienced failures out to be drama queens.
"Apple has faced public scrutiny and many, many complaints". please define "many, many": 6, 100, 1000, 10% of owners? Seems more like a made up issue by a few loud influencers, maybe even paid influencers, than a real one. I'd say it was not many, many unless the defect rate exceeded say 2% of owners.
And no don't go saying, "but there is a lawsuit". it is simply fashionable to sue Apple for anything you can. Some have merit, many are thrown out.
"Many" lawsuits in the US are frivolous - and class actions usually do not benefit the consumer....However, in this case, Apple has been selling a known defective keyboard. The internal numbers are much, much higher than 2%. The best we can hope for as consumers is for Apple to never repeat this mistake - and to receive some financial punishment.
"Apple has faced public scrutiny and many, many complaints". please define "many, many": 6, 100, 1000, 10% of owners? Seems more like a made up issue by a few loud influencers, maybe even paid influencers, than a real one. I'd say it was not many, many unless the defect rate exceeded say 2% of owners.
And no don't go saying, "but there is a lawsuit". it is simply fashionable to sue Apple for anything you can. Some have merit, many are thrown out.
I disagree with you, this issue is actually very widespread and growing. Mine started to have issues typing a few months ago and I didn’t even know about the keyboard problems until I googled it in September.
This keyboard issue is ridiculous, I was at the Apple store last week getting my laptop fixed when the genius told me a whopping 100+ were in line in front of me to get their keyboard replaced. I didn’t believe him until the morning I went in to pick up mine and they sat me at a table with 8 others who all had their keyboard replaced. All entered within 5 min of each other!! And even the genius told me the keyboard will fail again since it’s not a fix... apple really failed here.
Yeah, Apple's butterfly keyboard was a failure. Otherwise, they'd have never finally abandoned the design and went back to scissor switches. On top of this, them abandoning the design, they'll also leave those owners to deal with the problems after the warranties and extended warranties expire. The purpose of this lawsuit isn't just about it being a lawsuit to sue Apple for the sake of it like you'll read some morons spouting off about. It's to ensure that Apple must continue providing support, but better than this, has to provide extended warranties on these keyboards. Not much different than the NVIDIA GPU solder problem that occurred a few years ago. Most likely they'll lose this one since there has already been a precedence of a previous ruling for the failing hardware which required them to cover losses to the consumer. Apple fanboys and cultists can piss off about this. It's legitimate.
I agree with this! After getting mine repaired and the genius told me “when it fails again you got 2 more years to keep replacing it” I was thinking so what your saying is in 2 years I gotta buy a new MacBook or pay out of pocket.. Apple failed big time here!
