SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has agreed to pay USD 50 million to settle the lawsuit over flawed "butterfly" keyboards in MacBooks in the US.
A group of MacBook users in 2018 had filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple for the controversial butterfly keyboards, alleging that the new design failed when even tiny particles of dust accumulated around the switches.
They alleged that the company concealed the fact that its butterfly keys were prone to failure. The lawsuit covered those who purchased an Apple MacBook with a butterfly keyboard in seven states: California, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, and Michigan.
Apple later launched an improved keyboard design in late 2019.
Once the USD 50 million agreement is approved, those who replaced multiple keyboards can expect maximum payouts of USD 300 to USD 395 and people who replaced one keyboard can get USD 125 and those who replaced key 'caps mat' get USD 50, media reports.
Law firms Girard Sharp LLP and Chimicles Schwartz Kriner and Donaldson-Smith LLP can claim up to USD 15 million from the USD 50 million windfall to cover legal fees.
Apple had extended four years of free key repairs to customers who bought MacBooks with butterfly keys. The tech giant earlier said that one consolidated suit shouldn't cover multiple tweaks to the butterfly keyboard.
The plaintiffs, however, argued that all butterfly keyboards may have the same fundamental problems due to their shallow design and narrow gaps between keys.
Apple later launched a new MacBook Pro series with Magic Keyboard, which is now available across Apple's laptop lineup, touted as the "the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook."
The butterfly keyboard was slimmer than Apple's previous design, which used industry-standard scissor switches.