US court approves $50 mn lawsuit over Apple’s flawed butterfly keyboard

A federal judge in the US state of California has finally approved a $50 million lawsuit related to Apple’s defective butterfly keyboard design.

In July of last year, Apple agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit over defective butterfly keyboards in MacBooks. About 86,000 people made a claim that the new design failed even when small particles of dust accumulated around the keys.

“The court finds the settlement fair, adequate and reasonable,” US District Judge Edward Davila said in the ruling.

On October 11, 2018, the plaintiffs, initially 10 consumers from California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, filed a presumed class action complaint against Apple.

They claimed a number of consumer protection and warranty claims stemming from an alleged defect in some “butterfly” MacBook keyboards.

“The plaintiffs alleged that their keyboards failed within a year and that Apple failed to provide effective solutions or repairs,” the ruling read.

The lawsuit covered those who purchased an Apple MacBook with a butterfly keyboard in seven states.

Apple later launched an improved keyboard design in late 2019.

Those who trade in multiple keyboards can expect maximum payouts of between $300 and $395, people who trade in a single keyboard can get $125, and those who trade in large keyboards get $50, according to the reports.

Apple has extended four years of free key repairs for customers who purchased MacBooks with butterfly keys.

Apple then launched a new MacBook Pro series with the Magic Keyboard, which is now available across Apple’s laptop lineup.

The Butterfly Keyboard was slimmer than Apple’s previous design, which used industry-standard scissor switches.

– Jans

na/prw