MacBook Air

2022: Payment of $50 million by Apple due to the sale of laptops with defective keyboards

On November 29, 2022, Apple received approval from a California federal judge for its compensation program for users who initiated class-action proceedings over faulty keyboards equipped with a butterfly mechanism. The giant from Cupertino will spend a total of $50 million to resolve the conflict.

Butterfly keyboards appeared in the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro in 2015-2016. Apple stated that this mechanism provides excellent tactile feel, stability and makes devices thinner. However, in reality, thousands of users were faced with sticky buttons, false positives and key failure due to even small debris particles.

Apple will pay $50 million to sell laptops with defective keyboards

As a result, in 2018, a lawsuit was initiated on behalf of Apple laptop owners from California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Washington. Users complained that Apple was well aware of the faulty keyboard mechanism used in laptops between 2015 and 2020. However, the company allegedly kept the defect from consumers and continued to sell defective devices.

Apple tried to solve the problem by improving the butterfly mechanism, but users continued to report crashes. In June 2018, the company launched a keyboard repair program, and then completely abandoned the use of such buttons in favor of scissor-type solutions.

As now reported, the court approved a compensation program in the amount of $50 million. It includes $13.6 million in attorney fees, up to $2 million in legal fees and $1.4 million in administrative costs. The rest will be distributed among the participants in the class action.^[1]

2020: Updated MacBook Air announced

On March 18, 2020, Apple unveiled the updated MacBook Air laptop. It received an improved keyboard and doubled the amount of memory.

The announced laptop received 10th generation Intel Core processors. The device is twice as fast as the previous model, Apple says.

Apple has unveiled the next generation MacBook Air laptop. And it is noticeably cheaper than its predecessor

The MacBook Air is equipped with the new Magic Keyboard, which was first introduced on the MacBook Pro with a 16-inch display. The improved scissor mechanism  with a 1 mm key stroke makes this keyboard responsive, comfortable and quiet, the manufacturer says. The keyboard has a key backlight and an ambient light sensor.

In terms of design, the laptop is almost indistinguishable from the 2019 version. The dimensions of the laptop remained the same, however, as well as the display diagonal (13.3 inches) and resolution (2560 x 1600 pixels). But the mass increased by more than 200 grams. Apparently, Apple has slightly reduced the battery capacity of the device. If earlier the battery life of the MacBook Air was 12 hours, then the laptop of the 2020 model year will last no more than 11 hours without charging.

New MacBook Air powered by tenth generation Intel processors

 VRossia will be sold in two versions - on Intel Core i3 and on Intel Core i5. Both processors have a clock speed of 1.1 GHz. Apple does not name processor models, most likely that these are chips of the Y line, which has a reduced thermal package and not the highest performance.

The minimum capacity of the SSD-drive of the new MacBook Air is 256 GB, which is twice as much as the models of the previous generation. At the same time, the maximum capacity reaches 2 TB.

Comparison of MacBook Air 2020 with competitors

The cost of the updated MacBook Air on the Russian market will begin at 90 thousand rubles. This is less than the initial price tag of the previous model (93,900 rubles).^[2]

2019

Recall of defective MacBook Airs that are not included

At the end of June 2019, it became known about the recall of defective MacBook Air laptops, which may not turn on due to a motherboard problem.

According to 9to5Mac, citing an internal document sent to official Apple Stores and authorized service centers, the defect occurs in a "very small number" of laptops.

Apple recalls MacBook Air with defective motherboards

What exactly is the malfunction, the American company does not specify. The document only says that the marriage is related to electricity. Some consumers complained that they suddenly stopped turning on. Several such messages from users have been posted on the Apple Technical Support Forum.

Apple found problems in the 2018 model year MacBook Air with 13-inch Retina displays. The manufacturer knows the serial numbers of the devices that need repair. Owners of potentially faulty laptops are sent emails in which Apple notifies of the problem and offers to bring the computer to the Apple Store or service center to carry out a free motherboard replacement if necessary. Free repairs are possible within four years of the initial purchase of the laptop.

According to CNET, by early July 2019, information about the recall of the 2018 MacBook Air has not yet been published in the corresponding section on the Apple website, but users of such laptops are better off backing up their data in advance without waiting for an official announcement from Apple.

We are talking about the third service campaign launched by Apple in five weeks. Earlier in 2019, the company initiated a program to restore and replace the batteries of the 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro, as well as repair the backlight of the 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro display.^[3]

Apple admits marriage in MacBook keyboards

At the end of March 2019, Apple acknowledged the existence of a keyboard problem in laptops. Moreover, the manufacturer has not been able to fix the marriage for about three years.

Back in 2016, MacBook and MacBook Pro users began to complain about incorrect keyboard operation: buttons "stick," do not always respond correctly to clicks, characters may or may not be duplicated.

Apple recognized the marriage in MacBook keyboards and will not fix it in any way

Such a problem was found in a mechanism called "butterfly." In 2018, the third generation of technology was released, which was supposed to eliminate the shortcomings in the keyboard. However, in reality, this did not happen.

 The Wall Street Journal journalist Joanna Stern released an article in which she pointed to the preservation of marriage in the MacBook. A reporter reported that some keys on laptops were sinking or unresponsive to pressing. In particular, Stern had problems with the keys E, T and R.^[4]

The newspaper contacted Apple and received the following comment:

We know that a small number of users have problems with the third generation butterfly keyboard, and we regret it. But the vast majority of Mac laptop users have a positive experience with the new keyboard.

The company offers a key replacement program for laptop owners in 2015, 2016 and 2017. By the end of March 2019, owners of the 2018 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with a third-generation butterfly keyboard, in which the marriage has survived, cannot count on such repairs. It is possible that after the publication of The Wall Street Journal, the program will be expanded to more devices.

The third generation butterfly has quieter keys and a new membrane designed to protect the keyboard from failures when dust and other small particles hit.

2018

Year-end sales growth

On January 25, 2019, it became known that the official premium reseller of Apple technology - Cstore (Apple Premium Reseller) - analyzed Apple MacBook sales on the Russian market in 2018. The overwhelming majority of sales - 70% - fell on retail chains, 30% - on online channels.

The most popular model among all MacBooks sold in Russia was the MacBook Air 13 "128GB - 29% of total unit sales. In second place in popularity in 2018, the MacBook Pro 13 "128GB with a 13% share, in third place is the MacBook Pro 13" 256GB - 7%. At the same time, the largest number of sales fell on the price segment from 100,000 rubles - 34% of all sales in 2018, 30% were MacBook sales in the segment from 50,000 to 70,000 rubles, another 29% fell on the segment from 70,000 to 100,000, and 7% - on the segment up to 50,000 rubles.

The reason for this popularity of Apple laptops in Russian retail stores is due to the fact that it is at the points of sale that the client can get a full examination of this tenological product. We see that MacBooks are increasingly chosen by creative people (designers, bloggers, content producers), as well as business people and students who need high laptop speed, form factor, and technological capabilities.

At the same time, it is more convenient for customers to make a purchase of a MacBook offline, who consulted with experienced sellers of Apple technology, who will help them choose the required size, configure the software and talk about the functionality of laptops.

In total, at the end of 2018, 150,000 MacBooks worth more than 14 billion rubles were sold in Russia. Sales of MacBook at the end of 2018 in monetary terms showed an increase of 46%, in pieces - by 47%.

MacBook Air output with Retina display

On October 30, 2018, Apple unveiled the first laptop in the MacBook Air line with a Retina display. The 13.3-inch screen has a much thinner (50%) bezel compared to the previous model, 50% improved color transmission and an increased resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. The laptop has decreased in size by 17%.

The laptop received a Touch ID sensor with sapphire glass on top for secure fingerprint authorization and an Apple T2 chip for increased security, namely, for storing passwords and hardware encryption. Such a chip has previously found application in the 2017 MacBook Pro and iMac Pro model year.

In addition, the technical equipment of the new MacBook Air includes a third generation butterfly keyboard, a pair of USB-C ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. With a thickness of less than 16 mm, the device weighs 1.24 kg. Sound quality has improved, with Apple claiming more volume and higher bass quality.

The case, which can be painted in one of three colors (dark gray, silver and gold), is made of 100% recycled aluminum.

According to The Verge, the MacBook Air family of ultra-thin laptops has been fully updated for the first time since 2015. In 2017, only slightly modified versions with new processors and graphics accelerators were released.

MacBook Air with Retina screen

In the case of the Retina-screen MacBook Air, eighth-generation Intel processors with integrated graphics, up to 16 GB of RAM and solid-state drives with a capacity of up to 1.5 TB are installed.

The basic configuration of the laptop includes 8 GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5 chip with a clock frequency and an SSD with a capacity of 128 GB. The cost of this version is $1,200. Sales of the updated MacBook Air, including in Russia, will begin on November 7, 2018.^[5]

Notes