Earlier this month we reported about Apple coming under fire for defects in its butterfly keyboard. A petition calling for the company to recall and also replace all these MacBook keyboards has already gathered 17,000 signatures.
The latest news on this issue is that the butterfly keyboard has now caused Apple to be sued, with a class action lawsuit being filed against it.
The documents before the court allege that Apple was well aware of the unreliability problems of the butterfly design before it launched the device – but decided to release it anyway.
The complaint was filed in California’s Northern District Court. It covers both the MacBook Pro and the 12-inch MacBook.
The lawsuit also claims that ‘thousands’ of MacBook users have experienced problems with Apple’s butterfly keyboard, problems serious enough to eventually render the whole device useless.
The lawsuit goes on to say that entry of even the slightest amounts of dust or other dirt result in the keyboard failing, in the process rendering one of the MacBook’s ‘core functions’ incapacitated. This, the documents continue, makes the whole device “inoperable and unsuitable for its ordinary and intended use.”
What is even worse is that, according to the documents filed with the court, Apple was fully aware of the defects before it released the MacBooks in question. It also knew of the problems the 12-inch MacBook was suffering, yet nevertheless decided to go ahead with bringing the much-maligned keyboard to the MacBook Pro, while still retailing it at ‘premium prices’.
The lawsuit also addresses problems with Apple’s marketing campaign in which the company claims that the butterfly keyboard provided: “four times more key stability than a traditional scissor mechanism.”
It also claims that Apple regularly dishonours its own warranty obligations.
The lawsuit seeks legal costs, damages, and for the Cupertino-based company to acknowledge the flaws of the butterfly keyboard. It also insists that Apple should also replace faulty devices and reimburse buyers for the initial purchase.