512 Pixels

July 2008 was a very busy time for Apple. In addition to the App Store and MobileMe, Apple launched the iPhone 3G.

Speaking of the new butterfly keyboard, iFixit has put it through some testing:

We pumped this keyboard full of particulates to test our ingress-proofing theory. We started with a fine, powdered paint additive to add a bit of color and enable finer tracking. Lo and behold, the dust is safely sequestered at the edges of the membrane, leaving the mechanism fairly sheltered. The holes in the membrane allow the keycap clips to pass through, but are covered by the cap itself, blocking dust ingress. The previous-gen butterfly keys are far less protected, and are almost immediately flooded with our glowing granules. On the 2018 keyboard, with the addition of more particulate and some aggressive typing, the dust eventually penetrates under the sheltered clips, and gets on top of the switch—so the ingress-proofing isn’t foolproof just yet. Time will tell how long the barrier will hold up. Following the Mythbusters method of testing, we pushed the keyboard to failure with the higher-grit particulate we used last time: sand. And just like last time, a few poorly placed particles bring the mighty butterfly down to earth, never to click again.

I’m hopeful that this means in everyday life, these things will be as robust as the 2015 and earlier keyboards.

A new Apple service document outlines changes to the new MacBook Pro keyboard. Text from the document was provided to MacRumors:

The keyboard has a membrane under the keycaps to prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism. Be careful not to tear the membrane. A torn membrane will result in a top case replacement.

This is good news; I hope that it works as intended.

The document also states that it is now much easier to replace individual key caps, and that full top case replacements should be less common now. If a key is stuck, feels uneven or soft, a technician should be able to safely remove and even replace it in store now. That wasn’t the case before, which blows my mind.

John Gruber:

This is what I thought all along: the new third-generation keyboard was designed to better in every way, quieter and more durable, but Apple, for legal and/or marketing reasons, has decided only to tout that the new design is quieter.

This week’s Connected was full of mini-topics, but was a lot of fun:

Federico bought an iPod touch, Nest and Instapaper both have new bosses and the world is finally getting the leg emoji it deserves.

My thanks to our sponsors:

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Holy moly, this is great:

On this week’s Query, I was joined by Mikah Sargent to discuss MacBook Pros, emoji, HomeKit and more.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code QUERY to get 30% off.
• Simple Contacts: Contact lens prescriptions from home: Use offer code QUERY20 for $20 off your contact lenses

This time on Ungeniused:

Hans Island is a small uninhabited island between Canada and Greenland, and is the center of one of the oddest (and most adorable) land disputes in modern times.

Apple Support:

If the back of your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS becomes discolored, you may clean it with isopropyl alcohol.

Dampen a clean, soft, lint-free cloth with isopropyl alcohol. Rub the back of the device until clean.

Do not apply alcohol directly to the device. Avoid rubbing the display with the alcohol, and avoid getting alcohol in any openings.

I joined Jason Snell on this week’s episode of Upgrade:

Guest co-host Stephen Hackett joins Jason to discuss the new MacBook Pros and what they mean for Apple’s product line at large, adventures with the macOS Mojave beta, and the new Sonos AirPlay 2 update. And since this is the summer of fun, we cap it all off with a quick Mac OS X draft!

This was a lot of fun.

The iPhone X has been for sale for eight months, so I thought it was time to check in and see how things were going:

Instapaper:

Today, we’re announcing that Pinterest has entered into an agreement to transfer ownership of Instapaper to Instant Paper, Inc., a new company owned and operated by the same people who’ve been working on Instapaper since it was sold to betaworks by Marco Arment in 2013. The ownership transfer will occur after a 21 day waiting period designed to give our users fair notice about the change of control with respect to their personal information.

We want to emphasize that not much is changing for the Instapaper product outside the new ownership. The product will continue to be built and maintained by the same people who’ve been working on Instapaper for the past five years. We plan to continue offering a robust service that focuses on readers and the reading experience for the foreseeable future.

Color me excited. Instapaper has withered under Pinterest’s watch¹ and I hope that if it’s being worked on by people who care about it and are free to work on it full time, that it will be restored to its former glory.

There has been some hopeful discussion that the silicone-covered keyswitches in the 2018 MacBook Pros could filter down to 2016 and 2017 models via repair.

There is some precedent for this; many customers with 2016 models have reported that Apple has replaced their keyboards with the 2017 variant. However, that does not seem to be the case this year, according to Joe Rossignol at MacRumors:

When asked if Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers will be permitted to replace second-generation keyboards on 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models with the new third-generation keyboards, if necessary, Apple said, no, the third-generation keyboards are exclusive to the 2018 MacBook Pro.

I had feared this would be the case. When a MacBook Pro’s keyboard is replaced, it’s actually the entire top case, with the keyboard and battery along for the ride. It is not an efficient repair, and one that was going to eventually lead to part compatibility issues between generations.

While I don’t know for sure, I have to guess that the screw boss locations needed for the revamped logic board, coupled with the higher capacity battery found in the new machines, dictated the change in repair strategy.

This leaves 2016 and 2017 customers potentially stranded with a design that is clearly less than ideal. However, many have reported that the failure rate on the 2017-style keyboard is much lower, so maybe this won’t be that big of a deal in the long run.