Butterfly keyboards in 2023

By Justin Harris, 17 October, 2023

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Hello everyone,
I've been running a 2012 macbook air, with Opencore Patcher, and have been impressed with howwell it handles a lot of things I throw at it, and while it can still very easily handle the basics, I need something a bit more powerful. I was thinking about going with a 2015 macbook pro, but I honestly want usb C, which is definitely not on the 2015 pros. So, I'm looking at a pro from 2016-2019, depending on what I can find that stays in my budget. But, I'm just wondering about how well those butterfly keyboards are holding up in 2023, and if anyone has found a way to fix key jamming. I'm aware the travel isn't great on them, which I'm not as concerned about, but I am very concerned about the idea of keys that just stop working. Any particular year you recommend? Any tips for these keyboards? How does the touchbar work with voiceover? Heck, how do you even turn VO on with a touchbar Mac? I doubt the touchbar works with NVDA in Windows. Any other way to replicate function keys? I know most would say, go for the m1 Macbook air, as that can often be found with a good discount, but I want to stick with Intel because of Bootcamp. I used to have an m1 air, and had to sell to meet a few other financial obligations, and while I loved the m1, I really didn't like not having bootcamp, and was never really happy with Windows on a VM. So, while I know Intel's days are numbered with Mac OS, it still makes the most sense for me. Tips and advice are most appreciated.

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Comments

By Justin Harris on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 19:45

@Brian:
Unfortunately I don't think the 2017 Airs have usb C, and I think, though I may be wrong, that the non touchbar pros also have the previous ports, no usb C. Ifthey do indeed have type C, but standard keyboards, then that's for sure what I want.

By Brian on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 19:45

Here are the specifications of the 2018 MacBook Air. This one hits all of your buttons: • Standard Keyboard. • Hardware function keys. • Supports USB-C. • Intel-based.

You're welcome. 😃

By Tyler on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 19:45

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

I believe the 2018 MacBook Air has the butterfly keyboard. To my knowledge, the latest Intel-based Macs with a standard keyboard are the 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro, early 2020 13 inch MacBook Pro, and early 2020 MacBook Air. I'm not sure what any of these models are costing these days.

By Michael on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 19:45

Hi, I have still got my first Mac book air 2018 and use it every day. The butterfly key board thing seems to only be a problem if you get dirt or grit on the key board. If I remember correctly, I have taken one or two of the keys off to just clean under them, using a fingernail. It is quite easy to do so. When I say every day, I mean I have been typing assignments and coding on this Mac for 5 years now and other than the keys feeling slightly shiny, they are fine. Hope this helps.

By Justin Harris on Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 19:45

Thanks everyone for your comments. I ended up going with the 2018 Air, as I found one that should do the trick. I know the processor in it isn't super powerful, but should be enough to do what I want. 16 gb ram, 512 gb ssd. I could've probably found an even better deal on ebay, but two day prime delivery is pretty convincing.
Thanks for the info on the keyboard. I'm hoping it won't be an issue, as I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't have the replacement program anymore.
Does this model get Sonoma or not? I know I can use Opencore, just curious if it is still officially supported. Not in any hurry to upgrade, as the quicknav issue in Sonoma was enough to make me downgrade my 2012 macbook air back to Ventura. But, hopefully they will fix that soon enough and I can upgrade. If they don't, then Ventura is still a pretty good stopping point.