We’ve all been there. You’re typing a very important essay or work document and suddenly you lose all access to the ‘N’ key because it has become stuck. Well, Apple might have finally solved this issues as this week the technology giant has secured patented technology that reportedly stops dirt and dust affecting the MacBook keyboards.
In the last few months, Apple has received an increase in the report of damaged keywords on MacBooks. They are reportedly failing as a result of dust and debris getting under individual keys. Apple has been forced to switch the affected keys or to offer complete keyboard replacements.
Casey Johnson reported on the issue at the end of last year:
“One corporate issuer of the MacBook Pros in question reported to me that its business has encountered a significant number of keyboard issues, but “less than 5% for sure.” Another Genius explained to me that he had seen an overwhelming number of the computers with keyboard issues, the spacebar in particular — while some keys can be very delicately removed, the spacebar breaks every single time anyone, including a professional, tries to remove it. This is a big problem, since, according to the Genius I spoke to, it’s the key most susceptible to acting up from the aforementioned piece of dust.”
Apple is finally actively looking address this issue. The iEmpire has filed a patent that was finally made public this weekend, although it was initially filed in September 8, 2016. This patent is for a crumb, dust and dirt resistant keyboard, but many are wondering why this didn’t happen sooner. The new keyboards would either seal the gaps or they would include a membrane underneath each key to excel dust and dirt.
Let us know if your keyboard has been affected and if you think the new patent would fix the issue.
