Lawsuit filed against Apple over easily breakable MacBook keyboards

Apple's silence over issues related to its allegedly flawed MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards just got a whole lot more deafening.

On Friday, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple in the Northern District Court of California over the defective keyboards, according to AppleInsider.

According to the suit, filed by plaintiffs ZiXuan Rao and Kyle Barbados and "on behalf of all others similarly situated," Apple refuses to acknowledge the "butterfly switch" keyboards built into its MacBooks and MacBook Pros are flawed by design.

Per the lawsuit:

Apple knew that the MacBook is defective at or before the time it began selling the affected models to the public. Complaints of keyboard failures began to come in shortly after the 2015 MacBook was launched. Despite awareness of the keyboard defect, Apple equipped future model MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops with the butterfly keyboard, and continued selling these laptops to consumers at premium prices.

Apple failed to disclose that the keyboard is defective, and this information would have been important to Plaintiffs’ decision to purchase a MacBook:

Apple failed and continues to fail to disclose to consumers that the MacBook is defective, including when consumers bring their failed laptops into the "Genius Bar" (the in-store support desk) at Apple stores to request technical support.

You can find the full lawsuit claim embedded below:

Butterfly Keyboard Class Action by Mikey Campbell on Scribd

The flatter keyboards were first introduced on the 12-inch MacBook in 2015 and the reception to them has been split down the middle. Some people love they larger keys, which have less travel, and others, like myself, prefer the bouncier keys on the MacBook Air and old MacBook Pros.

Most recently, the keyboards have garnered attention for their failure rate. Specifically, keyboards are breaking down because specks of dust can get trapped underneath the keys, rendering them un-pressable.

The Outline was one of the first publications to help bring attention to these keyboards. An AppleInsider investigation then revealed some troubling data showing 2016 MacBook Pro keyboards were failing twice as frequently as older versions.

It goes without saying that customers are furious over Apple's silence on the matter. A Change.org petition has collected over 18,000 signatures demanding that Apple recall the MacBook Pro with busted keyboard and replace it with another type.

With a lawsuit filed, the pressure is on for Apple to respond. The company has a few options: It can either recall the laptops or extend its warranty service to offer free repairs to allusers with the defective product.

All eyes will be on Apple to remedy the issues. It's not acceptable for computers that cost $1,299 and more to have keyboards that break because of small amounts of dust. It'll be very telling to see how Apple plans to address the keyboard in future MacBook designs.