Apple's new MacBook lineup has come under criticism ever since the company introduced the new butterfly mechanism keyboard back in 2015 with the 12-inch MacBook. Users have complained of problems with the keyboard with keys getting stuck and not working properly. Recently Apple expand its repair program making all MacBooks eligible for the keyboard repairs. With its upgraded MacBook Pro for 2019, Apple also introduced another iteration of its third generation butterfly keyboard, which it claims will offer improvements. Apple also said that it was using new materials in the MacBook Pro 2019, which will fix the problem that users have faced in the keyboards. But it did not give out details on this new material. Now, an iFixit teardown has given more details about what has changed with the keyboards. According to the iFixit report, the 2019 butterfly mechanism on the Apple keyboard has a silicone membrane on top, which will protect the inside of keys from dust, and prevent jamming, though this has not entirely solved the problem in the 2018 versions. The teardown shows Apple has changed that the material on the "springy metal dome" has changed along with "plasticky material that covers it." This dome is what detects the press when a key is pushed down by the user. According to the teardown notes, the "transparent cover that flexes with each key press," which will also keep "contaminants away from the dome switch underneath," has a new material. The 2018 model had a material that felt more tacky similar to silicone, while the new material is clearer. They also analysed and tested both materials, and found that the new material in the 2019 models is a match for polyamide or nylon. iFixit says they are not sure what problem this material solves, and according to them, the switch can still crack for a number of reasons from manufacturing defect to corrosion. Another difference is that the dome switches themselves are "magnetized from the factory," indicating that Apple is using a different heat treatment or alloy or a combination of both these switches. Overall though, MacBook Pro 2019 still gets only one out of 10 in the iFixit repair scores because everything is soldered to the logic board, which makes repairs possible. iFixit says "if the slightest thing ever goes wrong, you’ll be replacing half the machine," which is a problem with the device's repair factor. With the 2019 MacBook Pro, Apple has upgraded these to the 8th and 9th Intel octa-core processors and is offering them at reduced prices in India. The 13-inch MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Pro starts at Rs 1,59,900 and Rs 1,99,900 respectively, which is lower by Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
