Macbook Keyboard Explained

The MacBook Air is the best-selling computer in the lineup, so this brings the keyboard fix to a lot more people. The performance and storage bumps in this MacBook Air update are also welcome. MacBooks with Function Keys If you have an older MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, you’ll see a physical row of function keys (F1 to F12) along the top of the keyboard. At the right end of the keyboard is the physical Power button. Holding down this button will turn on your MacBook. PC Keyboard Layout vs Apple Keyboard Layout. Another main difference between the PC keyboard and the Apple keyboard is the layout. The majority of the keys are placed in the same or similar places, but there are a few noticable differences. The option keys (alt keys on Windows) are located right next to the space bar on a Windows keyboard. The command key on your Mac keyboard does the same thing the Ctrl key does on your Windows keyboard. You can execute all manner of commands this way, and the keyboard shortcuts are all the same: command-s is save, command-c to copy, command-v to paste, etc. No fancy French keyboard required and no settings to switch. This stuff is built into your Macbook. How else could I write articles here or type French papers with such ease? THE TWO CRUCIAL STEPS. There are two steps required to type French accents on your mac device. First, you must hold down the option key and then click on a certain letter.

Apple just unveiled the all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and one of the biggest changes is the return to a scissor switch Magic Keyboard. In a new interview with CNET, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller explained Apple’s decision to change keyboard styles, and what it might mean for the future of the rest of the MacBook lineup.

Schiller told CNET that “lot of people are much happier” with the butterfly keyboard after several years of revisions, but pro customers wanted more. Essentially, Schiller said that Apple heard from many “pro” customers that they wanted something like the Magic Keyboard, but in laptop form.

“But a few years back, we decided that while we were advancing the butterfly keyboard, we would also — specifically for our pro customer — go back and really talk to many pro customers about what they most want in a keyboard and did a bunch of research.

That’s been a really impressive project, the way the engineering team has gotten into the physiology of typing and the psychology of typing — what people love. As we started to investigate specifically what pro users most wanted, a lot of times they would say, “I want something like this Magic Keyboard, I love that keyboard.” And so the team has been working on this idea of taking that core technology and adapting it to the notebook.”

In terms of adapting the Magic Keyboard to laptop form, Schiller said that there were some challenges in things like backlighting and ergonomics:

“To make this new scissor mechanism work appropriately in a notebook, we had to adapt it to the angle, which is different in a notebook than in a slanted desktop design for ergonomics. And it had to work in a design that had a backlight, which the notebook has that desktops do not.”

When it comes to the negative press and feedback on the butterfly keyboard, Schiller said that Apple has learned a lot about laptop keyboards over recent years:

“There’s always something to learn to make a product better, no matter what the feedback, and so what can we do to make it better? Can we make it better along the lines of what we already have, or do we need to go in another direction — and for who? The team took the time to do the work to investigate research, explore and reinvent. The team has learned a lot over the last few years in this area.”

Can we expect to see the new Magic Keyboard in the rest of the MacBook lineup? Rumors suggest yes, but Schiller isn’t ready to make that announcement. “I can’t say today. We are continuing both keyboard designs,” he said in the interview.

In terms of the Touch Bar, Schiller explained that the physical Escape key change is one of the biggest updates for pro users. Combining that with the Touch Bar gives the best of both worlds, he explained:

“There is a fairly large number of customers who use the Touch Bar and see great benefit in some of its features, but there were also some complaints. If I were to rank the complaints, No. 1 was customers who like a physical Escape key. It was just a hard adaptation for a lot of people.

We decided that rather than just remove the Touch Bar and lose the benefits some people get, we could instead add the Escape key.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Schiller said that Apple does not envision merging the iPad and the Mac, nor does it plan on adding a touchscreen to the Mac. Read the full interview here.

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Apple introduces keyboard changes in the new MacBook Pro models

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The new MacBook Pro models that were released today include some significant changes to the keyboard. Here's an overview of the changes:

Combination 'Media and Function' keys on the top row. Includes a picture of what the media functions do.
The word 'command' is now present on the cmd keys
Removal of the num lock key
Removal of numbers that were on the right side letters (u,i,o,p,j,k,l,m)
Removal of arithmetic symbols from keys on the right side of the keyboard
Replaced small 'enter' key on the right with a second 'option' key on the bottom row (two keys to the right of the space bar)

The following picture shows the keyboard change on the Early 2008 MacBook Pro models:

MacBook Pro Guide
Be sure to read our MacBook Pro Guide which has been updated to reflect the new models that were released on February 26, 2008.
New Changes
The current generation MacBook Pro models have a new keyboard layout having adopted the keyboard style that was first introduced on the MacBook and subsequently on the MacBook Air. The new MacBook Pro keyboard looks like the following:
Updates

May 5, 2009 - content revision, updated early 2008 image, added late 2008 image

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