The two halves of the butterfly switch attach to a hinge in the middle and when pressed, the two sides compress down in more of a V or U shape.Īpple swapped to a butterfly design for a thinner keyboard that allowed for thinner devices, but also advertised the butterfly keys as being more stable because of the way that a butterfly mechanism more evenly distributes applied pressure from a finger press.īutterfly keys generally have less travel than scissor switch keys and there's less squish and less movement, plus there's a more space for debris to accumulate, which is what led to Apple's issues. The scissor switch keyboards have a scissor-like operating mechanism, while the butterfly keyboards use a mechanism that features components that work together like the wings on a butterfly rather than overlap.

Scissor switch keys don't have quite as much travel as some other key types, but there's more travel than a butterfly keyboard because there's more space when the scissor mechanism compresses.

The two pieces snap to the keyboard and the key, and when you press down, the two pieces close together like scissors. With a scissor switch keyboard, the keys are attached to the keyboard using two plastic pieces that interlock together in an X shape like a pair of scissors, hence the name. This guide explains the differences between the two keyboard types. Many people are aware of the problems with the butterfly keyboards that resulted in a huge recall program and many frustrated customers, but may still be confused by what exactly a butterfly keyboard is, how it's different from a scissor switch keyboard, and why Apple elected to ditch the butterfly key mechanism to return to the tried and true scissor switch mechanism. Since 2012, Apple has developed two kinds of keyboards for its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air machines - one that uses butterfly switches and one that uses scissor switches.

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