Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro Rumored To Gain More Durable Scissor Keyboard Mechanism
Apple is widely rumored to launch a new 16-inch MacBook Pro later this year. It will serve as the flagship of Apple's professional notebook lineup and will likely start at around the $3,000 price point compared to a $2,399 for the 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Now, the ever-reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is indicating that the new 16-inch MacBook Pro will adopt a scissor mechanism for the keyboard to replace the oft-maligned butterfly design employed on the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro families.
Not only is the new keyboard mechanism expected to provide longer key travel (something that has been missing from Apple's keyboard once it first shifted to the butterfly mechanism in the 2015 MacBook), but it will also reportedly be more durable. The actual scissor mechanism is said to be thicker and more robust, and will have a structure composed of reinforced glass fiber. The components of this beefed up keyboard are said to double Apple's costs -- compared to the current generation keyboard -- to around $25 to $30.
Apple's butterfly keyboard has gone through a number of revisions of the years, mostly in response to complaints from users. The third-generation keyboard introduced a silicon membrane under the key cap to prevent dust from entering the delicate typing mechanisms, while generation 3.5 is said to use a new durable plastic blend in its construction.
Apple has faced a number of lawsuits regarding the poor reliability of the butterfly keyboards and has implemented a free keyboard replacement program that covers all MacBooks up to four years from their date of purchase.
According to previous reports, the 16-inch MacBook Pro will feature a display with much thinner bezels and a resolution of 3072x1920 versus 2880x1800 on the current 15-inch MacBook Pro. It's also expected to adopt Intel's latest 9th generation Core processors.
