Apple Proposes Settlement in Butterfly Keyboard Case

20 JULY 2022 - Apple is paying for the Butterfly effect. A piece from MacRumors says the Cupertino-company “will pay $50 million to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit over the faulty butterfly keyboards that were used in MacBook machines between 2015 and 2019…”

Apple liked the Butterfly keyboard because it made the machine thinner and gave the keys a more stable feel. Consumers did not like them because they pretty much quit working. I had to have mine replaced. I know one guy who had to have his keyboard replaced three time before Apple gave up and finally replaced his whole machine.

Geographically, that guy would not be covered by this settlement, though I guess I might be. Then again, maybe I won’t, since I didn’t pay anything to have my machine fixed. MacRumors says the settlement covers customers in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. According to the report:

…lawyers are expecting maximum payouts of $395 to customers who replaced multiple keyboards, $125 to people who replaced one keyboard, and $50 to people who replaced key caps.

All of that assumes the deal goes down. The judge overseeing the case still has to approve the settlement.