With the recent extreme popularity of mechanical keyboards, it seems like everyone wants to get one. But of course, what could you do if your computer is an Apple laptop, do you always carry the keyboard and the mac? That would be normal but, surprisingly, a user has managed to unite both concepts by making his own Macbook with a mechanical keyboard . But not everything is as beautiful as it might seem.
The dark history of Apple keyboards
Although Apple keyboards are incredibly beautiful in design in both their laptop and desktop versions, they haven’t always performed as well as you’d like them to.
The fiasco of all this came with the butterfly keyboard . A product that came from the hand of the Macbook “dry” in 2015 and that brought with it more problems than joys. Apple went from a keyboard with considerable volume and key travel, to that model in which the keys barely protruded a few millimeters from the base of the keyboard.
Apparently the change seemed to be something for the better but, the truth is that it became the company’s headache during the following years.
The fragility of the new mechanism, coupled with a design flaw that did not seal the keys properly, caused the products that implemented it to start failing over and over again. Keys that stuck, jumped or stopped working on the computers of many users who opted for the most current models. So, after the constant complaints of these people and the massive reception of computers in its technical service, Apple decided to activate a free repair program for the affected Macbooks.
So, after several versions of this mechanism for the keyboards of its products, the apple company finally rejected this design with the arrival of the 16-inch Macbook Pro .
Fever for mechanical keyboards
Although the new key design found in Apple computers has not been a problem to date, the trend of using mechanical keyboards is taking its toll on users. So much so that a boy, seeing that the inclusion of this type of keyboard would not reach computers on the block, has chosen to design his own version that he has dubbed “MechBook” .
He has documented the entire process through a video that he posted on his YouTube channel. In it he explains how he had to modify his old Macbook Pro by disassembling it piece by piece to remove the keyboard from it and even saw the metal part of the chassis that separated the keys. All this mixed with hints of humor in an interpretation that he performs as if it were an official presentation of Apple itself.
The keyboard chosen to replace the original is an RK 61 , which changed the switches for Gateron MX SMD Yellow to increase the softness of the keys. The result of all this is a Macbook Pro with a backlit mechanical keyboard that protrudes (obviously) above the body of the laptop itself. But of course, the feeling of using that type of keyboard may be better for many than the original but, it presents a clear disadvantage since the lid cannot be closed.
Of course, this is something more anecdotal and curious than a tutorial for anyone to do. This guy’s YouTube channel is based on just these kinds of videos, curious product transformations. And more than becoming a team that you use on a daily basis, it is one more project that you have done for your audience.
If you want to experience a mechanical keyboard with your Apple laptop, we recommend that you take a look at the NuTypes . A product that we already told you about a little over a year ago.
It is a wireless mechanical keyboard, which sits on top of the laptop’s own keyboard, fitting into the recesses of the keys themselves. This keyboard features low-profile Kaihua Choc mechanical switches that are 42% smaller than standard mechanical keyboard switches . But, to have the experience, they will do quite well. Of course, we will have to carry it along with the laptop.