Technologies

How to Claim Money From Apple’s $50 Million MacBook Keyboard Settlement

A class action suit claims Apple knew for years that the «butterfly» design in its MacBook keyboards was seriously flawed.

Did you buy a MacBook that had keyboard issues? If so, you might be eligible for part of a $50 million settlement Apple has agreed to in response to allegations it hid a known keyboard design flaw from customers.

Apple agreed to the multimillion-dollar payout in July, and a California court granted preliminary approval on Nov. 28.

MacBook Pro owners have started to receive emails and postcards notifying them they are eligible for payment, and the settlement website began accepting claims on Dec. 12.

Below, find out more about the MacBook settlement, including who qualifies for money, how much you could get from Apple and how to submit a claim.

For more class action suits, learn why Keurig is shelling out $10 million to users of its K-Cups and see if you’re eligible for money from T-Mobile’s $350 million data-breach settlement.

What is Apple accused of in the class action suit?

Apple introduced its «butterfly» keyboard design in 2015 in its 12-inch MacBook. The keys were attached with a wing-like hinge, as opposed to traditional keyboards, which use two pieces of plastic that, when pressed, cross each other and close like a pair of scissors.

At the time, the tech giant said the butterfly design was 40% slimmer, meaning its laptops could be too. But customers complained about the propensity for the keys to be sticky and miss or repeat typed characters.

Apple launched a repair program that covered MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops in 2018. But it only replaced old butterfly keyboards with new ones.

Finally, in 2019, Apple phased out the butterfly design and introduced a redesigned Magic Keyboard that once more relied on a scissor-switch mechanism.

The butterfly design «had some things it did really well,» then-Apple marketing director Phil Schiller told CNET that year. «It felt more firm and flat under your finger — some people really like that, but other people weren’t really happy with that.»

Schiller also acknowledged there were «quality issues we had to work on.»

In a class action lawsuit filed in California in 2018, a group of plaintiffs claimed Apple knew about the quality issues and «fraudulently concealed» them from customers.

As a result, they claimed, laptops were knowingly equipped with keyboards that could result in «characters repeating unexpectedly; letters or characters not appearing; and/or the keys feeling ‘sticky’ or not responding in a consistent manner,» according to the settlement website.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment, but in filings, it denied any wrongdoing.

Who is eligible for a payment from Apple?

If you bought a MacBook between 2015 and 2019 and had to replace the keyboard or individual keys, you are eligible for compensation.

If you’re not sure if your model is covered, you can check here.

How much money could I get from the MacBook keyboard settlement?

The amount of the individual payout depends on how many repairs you had to have on your MacBook.

Consumers who had to swap out multiple keyboards within four years of purchase are considered Group 1 Settlement Class Members. They are eligible for an estimated payment of between $300 and $395 and should be receiving an email this month.

You can still qualify for Group 1 so long as you require two or more topcase replacements before Nov. 28, 2024. (The topcase houses the keyboard and other components.)

If you believe you’re part of Group 1 but didn’t receive a notification, you can call the claims administrator at 855-579-1311. (You can also fill out a change of address form, if needed.)

If you had to replace the keyboard once, you’re considered part of the Group 2 Settlement Class and could receive as much as $125. You’ll need to submit a claim form, though.

And if you only had to replace individual keycaps, you’re eligible for up to $50. (You’ll also have to submit a claim form.)

How do I file a claim in the Apple butterfly-keyboard settlement?

You can submit a claim on the settlement website or mail a completed form to:

re: MacBook Keyboard Litigation Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91341
Seattle, WA 98111

For all class members, if Apple doesn’t have a record of your repair or purchase, you’ll have to provide proof of purchase or repair.

The deadline to file a claim is 11:59 p.m. PT on March 6, 2023. If you want to object to the settlement — or exclude yourself and retain the right to separate litigation — the deadline to notify the court is Feb. 10, 2023.

When will I get my money?

A final approval hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2023. Any payments would go out after that, but the process could be delayed by appeals.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know