Bye-bye butterfly keyboard: Apple unveils 13-inch MacBook Pro with a better typing experience

Bye-bye butterfly keyboard: Apple unveils 13-inch MacBook Pro with a better typing experience
13-inch MacBook Pro Photo: Apple

Apple announced a new 13-inch MacBook Pro on Monday, and the most radical revision is an updated keyboard used on the company's 16-inch model from 2019.

The new laptop reinforces a shift away from the flat butterfly in favor of the Magic Keyboard and Touch Bar found on all the latest notebooks available on Apple's website.

The new 13-inch laptop also features double the storage, a speed boost and prices start at $1,299.

Most of the improvements were performance-based.

"With these updates, our entire notebook lineup features the Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook, offers twice the standard storage than before, and delivers even more performance," said Tom Boger, Apple's senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, in a statement.

Over the past 6 months, Apple has moved to kick the butterfly keyboard out of its lineup.

First, the tech giant induced the pricey 16-inch MacBook Pro with a backlit Magic Keyboard in November. Then In March, the company followed up with a refreshed MacBook Air that has a similar keyboard configuration.

The shift comes after Apple faced a class-action lawsuit over its old butterfly keyboard, which was flat and sometimes had issues if debris got caught under the keys. Apple launched a free repair program for users with faulty keyboards on some MacBook and MacBook Pro computers in 2018.

The Magic Keyboard has an internal mechanism designed for a "comfortable and stable key feel," Apple said.

The new baseline 13-inch model comes with 256GB of storage, double the storage of the previous generation. And customers can choose 32GB of memory for the first time. Apple promises better visual performance and smoother gameplay thanks to one of Intel's 10th generation chips.

It's available to purchase on Apple.com.

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