269: ‘Maximally Thin’ With Casey Johnston

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: John Gruber and Casey Johnston discuss Apple’s new 16-inch MacBook Pro, centering on the long-running butterfly keyboard failure and why the new scissor-switch design matters. They trace Apple’s missteps in reliability, repairability, and product testing, while also praising the new model’s speakers, revised arrow keys, and improved keyboard feel. The conversation blends technical critique with industry skepticism about Apple’s design priorities and response time.

Main Topics: Butterfly keyboard failure and repair problems (Priority: 5/5): The core of the discussion is Casey Johnston’s multi-year criticism of Apple’s butterfly keyboards: shallow travel, keys sticking or double-registering, and Apple’s inconsistent support experience. They argue the keyboard was a solved problem that Apple unnecessarily broke. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro keyboard redesign (Priority: 5/5): Both speakers treat the new model’s keyboard as a genuine fix: a return to scissor-switch mechanics, more key travel, a physical Escape key, and an upside-down-T arrow key layout. Gruber says it feels substantially better and likely more reliable. Apple’s testing, design priorities, and accountability (Priority: 4/5): They debate whether Apple’s emphasis on thinness and design purity led to poor real-world product decisions, and why the company took so long to reverse course. The discussion frames Apple as resistant to acknowledging mistakes publicly. Repairability and Genius Bar frustration (Priority: 4/5): The transcript highlights absurd repair workflows, like replacing entire top cases for key failures or entire bottom cases for a missing rubber foot. They contrast Apple’s premium image with poor support practicality. Touch Bar’s lingering role (Priority: 3/5): The new machine still includes the Touch Bar, though with changes like a physical Escape key and spacing adjustments. They debate whether it is a meaningful innovation or an expensive solution to a problem few users had. Unexpected strengths: speakers and microphone (Priority: 3/5): Gruber is struck by the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s speaker quality and upgraded microphone array, calling them dramatically better than previous models and suitable for real-world use cases like shared viewing or podcasting.

Key Arguments: The butterfly keyboard was unreliable for a significant number of users, not just a handful, and its failure rate was high enough to make normal typing stressful. Keyboard problems were hard to reproduce in-store because issues could temporarily vanish, creating a gaslighting effect for customers and Genius Bar staff. Apple likely prioritized thinness and design consistency over typing reliability for too long, then only changed course after years of backlash. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro’s keyboard feels meaningfully better and appears to address both feel and reliability, though the speakers may be the biggest surprise improvement. Apple’s repair model is overly all-or-nothing, replacing entire assemblies for tiny failures instead of swapping small parts like rubber feet or individual keys. The Touch Bar remains controversial because it is more expensive and less useful than traditional function keys for many people. Apple’s long delay in fixing the keyboard is hard to justify whether you believe Tim Cook prioritizes product quality or profit, because either motive should have led to a faster fix.

Data Points: Screen size of new MacBook Pro: 16-inch - The new model replaces the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Butterfly key travel: 0.5–0.55 mm - Referenced as the shallow travel of the problematic butterfly keyboard. Old keyboard travel: About 1.5–2.0 mm - Used as the comparison for pre-butterfly MacBook keyboards. New keyboard travel: About 1.0 mm - Described as roughly halfway between butterfly and older scissor-switch keyboards. Butterfly keyboard repair program: Ongoing and expensive - Discussed as evidence that Apple was absorbing warranty costs from widespread failures. MacBook Pro price: Starts at $2,400 - Used to argue that the 16-inch model is expensive and not accessible if you only want a larger screen. MacBook Air update timing: About 9 months after launch - The 2019 Air was updated unusually quickly, which they read as evidence the keyboard issue was serious. Podcast episode number: 269 - Mentioned in the Squarespace sponsor read. Speaker array: Three microphones - Gruber says Apple describes the new internal microphone system as a three-mic array. Personal typing volume estimate: Millions of key presses per year - Used to emphasize how critical keyboard reliability is for professional and everyday computer use.

Pivotal Quotes: "The new MacBook keyboard is ruining my life." — Casey Johnston: Referring to her original reporting on the butterfly keyboard problems at The Outline. "This keyboard is garbage." — John Gruber: Summarizing the plain-language conclusion that emerged from years of reporting and user complaints. "The keyboard is an all new design. It feels better. I think it's going to be more reliable." — John Gruber: His verdict on the new 16-inch MacBook Pro after using the review unit.

Implications: Apple’s reversal suggests sustained user criticism can force design course corrections, but the delay damaged trust. The new MacBook Pro may reset expectations for laptop keyboards, while highlighting how much influence Apple’s design philosophy still has on users’ daily work.