The new MacBook Pro is far from perfect. It’s expensive, the Touch Bar feels like a gimmick, it’s not upgradable and the USB-C ports means you’ll be stuck using dongles, at least in the short-term. These are all valid reasons for Mac fans to be unhappy with the new MacBook Pro.
Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
But the silliest reason to hate on the MacBook Pro is the loudness of its new keyboard. Yet that’s exactly what some people are doing.
YouTuber Louis Rossman rants for a solid two minutes (from 13:55-16:10) over the loudness of the MacBook’s new keyboard.
A handful of Twitter users agree with Rossman.
Hey @Apple the new Macbook Pro keyboard is way too loud compared to the old model. #Fail
— James Almeida ? (@jimmyalmeida) November 15, 2016
MacBook Pro 2016 keyboard – like typing on a hard table top. A no-give, loud keyboard. Quick, somebody resurrect Steve Jobs!
— Stefan Mischook (@killersites) November 14, 2016
Got my hands on a New MacBook Pro this aft. Pros: Very nice screen. Cons: very clacky loud keyboard, odd trackpad click, dongles
— Andrew McAllister (@andrewmcdotca) November 7, 2016
The keyboard and this trackpad on the new Macbook Pro are loud af. Damn @Apple did you not have any h4rdc0r3 h4x0rs bang on this?
— Chris Delbuck (@chrisdelbuck) November 15, 2016
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber agrees that the new keyboard is louder, but he doesn’t think it’s a bad thing.
I think the new one is definitely louder. At one point during my review process, I was thinking the same thing, and I asked my wife and son to corroborate. They both told me it just sounded different, not louder. But now I’m thinking maybe I was right.
To me it’s of a piece with the clicky feel of the new keyboard, which I like. The premium clickiness is what made me say in my review that it’s a mixed bag, not a complete regression from the old ones. People who work in quiet rooms might disagree.
The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern also commiserates that it was louder in her tests, too.
Yes! It is louder. I mentioned it in both video and column. I think part of it is that you think you need to hit the keys a bit harder. https://t.co/WHvgFdYte0
— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) November 15, 2016
As for me, I’ve used three different MacBook Pro models over the last few weeks and honestly, it probably is a smidge louder. The new MacBook Pro’s keys have less travel than its predecessors, and that could be why pressing down on the keys makes more noise. The truth is, we don’t know why the keys are louder, but regardless the reason, it’s not that big of a deal.
If you want to complain about the new MacBook Pro, complain about the lack of Kaby Lake or the lack of rose gold options. But an overly loud keyboard? That’s just silly.