A federal judge approved Apple’s proposed $50 million class action settlement over its butterfly keyboard assembly, paving the way for customer payouts to owners of affected MacBook models produced between 2015 and 2019. The lawsuit was initiated back in 2018 amidst increasing reports of chronic butterfly keyboard failures, and the plaintiffs alleged that the company’s service program didn’t do enough to fix the issue. Following the customer complaints, the company has since reversed course, producing thicker MacBook models packing traditional scissor switches.
Butterfly keyboards failed at a much higher rate than scissor switches due to their small, single-switch assembly. The tiny form factor was prone to failure, including sticky keys, repeating keys, and key failure. While scissor switches can withstand normal wear-and-tear, the butterfly keyboard’s single-switch assembly breaks under duress. The company opened a keyboard service for affected units. Under the terms of the program, Apple would replace failed butterfly keyboards on MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models for four years after the laptop was first released. Some customers felt that this was an inadequate solution to the problem, leading to the class-action lawsuit.
Apple reached a $50 million settlement in the class-action suit back in July 2022, but the planned payout required court approval. A federal judge approved the deal Nov. 29, paving the way for customer payouts early next year. Though the California federal judge’s approval is only preliminary, the decision represents a step forward in settling the class-action case. Apple denies all wrongdoing despite the payout, per the terms of the agreement. The $50 million settlement includes $13.6 million in attorney fees, up to $2 million in litigation costs, and $1.4 million in settlement administration costs, according to MacRumors. The rest of the settlement will be paid out to eligible customers that were affected by butterfly keyboard failure.
Who Is Eligible For Apple’s Settlement Payouts?
Though the lawsuit was settled in federal court, the settlement agreement only covers customers in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. It also only includes MacBook models with a faulty butterfly keyboard, as identified by Apple in its service program, which features select models from 2015-2019. Customers in the aforementioned states with faulty butterfly keyboards are eligible for payouts if they had their unit serviced under the company’s repair program. People who have faulty units that were not serviced by Apple are unable to receive compensation under the terms of the settlement agreement.
The exact dollar value of the payouts have not been decided yet, but there will be different tiers of payouts depending on how many times a customer’s device had been serviced. Attorneys expect that affected customers who had key caps replaced would receive a minimum of $50, customers who had one keyboard replaced would receive a minimum of $125, and customers who had multiple replacements would receive a minimum of $395. Eligible class members, who received butterfly keyboard replacements under Apple’s repair program, will begin to receive settlement notices later this month.
