One of the worst things about the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is the shiny key issue. If you’re unfamiliar, the image above demonstrates the beginning stages of the shiny key development on my otherwise beautiful six month old MacBook Air, visible mostly on the shift key, but “A” and “S” are also beginning to display the hallmark worn key shine.
The shiny keys are unmistakable, and the wear occurs after routine use of MacBook keyboards. For some users they develop within weeks(!) and for others it can take a year or more to appear, but it seems that virtually every MacBook user who types on their built-in keyboard will eventually experience the shiny keys issue.
Many users assume the shiny key appearance is caused by skin oils or grime staining the keys, and then try unsuccessfully to clean them. But after digging into this a bit myself, it turns out the shiny keys are likely the result of physical wear to the plastic itself, whereby they’re getting polished and worn from continual usage. The shiny keys are basically the keys that are getting used the most.
I’ll cut straight to my opinion; the shiny keys look bad, marring the appearance of these otherwise beautiful, expensive, and premium Apple laptops. I think it gives the MacBook keyboards a cheap, dirty, sometimes even grotesque appearance since it makes it look like the keyboards are perpetually greasy from french-fry-munching fingers, and this simply shouldn’t be happening.
Mostly Cosmetic, But Not
Yes this is mostly a cosmetic issue, since the keys continue to function fine despite looking like they’re been greased by crisco. But it’s not entirely cosmetic either, because there are many people who hunt-and-peck to type, who are learning to type, or who simply aren’t touch typers, and the shiny keys eventually wear down even more and eventually lose the letters and numbers on them, and thereby lose the visual indicators of what keys are what.
It’s not just you (and I), worn shiny keys are common!
Many popular Apple and tech bloggers have experienced and griped about shiny keys on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, so we’re certainly not alone here.
MG Siegler, tech blogger turned VC, expresses frustration and resignation to the problem:
This is my single biggest problem with all Apple laptops over the past several years. The black key caps look absolutely disgusting over time. There is no avoiding it. And no cleaning it. Believe me, I’ve tried.
(MG Siegler’s shiny key shown prominently on spacebar and worn look developing on the “N” key)
John Gruber @ DaringFireball suggests the shiny key issue is due to the usage of chintzy plastics:
Here’s a gripe. The keys on Apple’s modern keyboards all develop a shine over time, starting with the most-used keys. It looks like oil from your skin, but it’s not — you can’t clean it off. It’s erosion of the plastic. Long story short, ABS plastic is more commonly used on keycaps because it’s cheaper; PBT plastic is more expensive. ABS plastic keycaps develop a shine the more they’re used; PBT keycaps do not. Apple has solved this problem before — the Extended Keyboard II I use at my desk was manufactured in the 20th century but the one and only key with any shine to it is the space bar. They should solve it again.
To be clear, I have no idea what kind of plastic Apple uses for its keycaps. I’m just saying that it’s well known that cheaping out on the materials used to produce keycaps results in keys that get shiny over time. Apple is a company that prides itself on its materials engineering and the durability of its products, and so they could fix this if they cared. And they should care.
(M1 MacBook Pro showing worn shiny keys with polished greasy appearance, image from colleague)
Apple blogger Michael Swengel also blames the type of plastic used, and has not found a solution either:
It’s a fact of life for MacBooks that after a short period of time, their keys start to wear and get shiny. No, it’s not dirt. It’s not oil. It’s caused by the ABS plastic of the keyboard’s keycaps wearing ever so slightly.
This is something that Mark Ellis and others have pointed out, and they’re right. It is a problem, but it shouldn’t be.
I noticed mine starting to exhibit signs of wear after about two weeks of owning my Mac. Frustrated, I immediately tried to find a solution. A keyboard cover isn’t a great idea because that can put pressure on the display when the laptop is closed — potentially leaving marks on the display’s glass or even causing the screen to crack.
(Reader submitted shiny keys appearing worn on M2 MacBook Air)
There are also tons of forum posts and pictures about shiny keys, worn keys, polished keys, stained keys, people refer to them differently, but they’re appearing on Apple‘s own support discussion forums, MacRumors Forums, myriad reddit threads, and elsewhere. And yes, it does happen with some third party keyboards and PC keyboards too, but we’re focusing on the world of Apple laptop keyboards here.
(Above shiny key image of an M2 MacBook Air keyboard via this Apple support thread)
Is there a fix for shiny keys?
Some users have been able to successfully get Apple to replace their keyboard that shows shiny keys under the AppleCare warranty, but it’s only a matter of time before the new keys get shiny again too. Others have tried to replace the keyboard that exhibits the shiny key look and have been rejected from warranty coverage, apparently being told it’s expected normal wear and tear.
Some users just resign themselves to it, with comments like “shiny keys are just the way of the world when it comes to these devices”, and many seek solutions.
Some blame themselves, assuming they must be typing with dirty fingers, or perhaps their particular skin PH or skin oils are the issue, and have borderline neurotic routines before typing on their laptops, to no avail.
You’ll find some recommendations to use key cap stickers, or a keyboard cover.
Some people are even resorting to using sandpaper to buff the shine off the keys (this seems like a very bad idea, I do not recommend!).
Ultimately it doesn’t matter how much you clean the keyboard itself either, because the keys apparently are actually physically wearing, rather than getting greasy or dirty.
(4 month old MacBook Pro 16″ model showing development of shiny keys via MacRumorsForums thread on the subject)
No excuses for premium products?
Given that MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops cost anywhere from $1000 to a whopping $7200, depending on your particular configuration, are easily worn out shiny keys to be expected? The shiny keyboards look like they belong on cheap nearly disposable $250 PC laptops (though it should be noted that some PC laptops do not have the shiny key problem, quoting Mac’O’Clock: “My Dell XPS […] exhibits zero signs of wear on the keycaps”,), this is really not something you’d expect on a premium product like the MacBook line.
Ultimately the cause does not matter much, because the worn shiny keys on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro look bad and are unbecoming of premium products, and I think Apple should remedy this problem. Better plastics? Better coatings? I don’t know, but Apple had an R&D budget of $30 billion for 2023 so I trust they can figure it out! Also, considering that Apple recently modified the coating on the Midnight color MacBook Air so that it shows fewer fingerprints, why not take a similar treatment to the keyboards of these otherwise fantastic laptops?
Chime in! Do you have shiny worn keys? Do you care?
Have you experience the worn keys or shiny key issue on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? How long did it take for your Mac laptop to demonstrate shiny keys? Do you care about the cosmetic aspect of your keys enough to gripe about this issue? Am I simply neurotic to dislike the shiny keys?! Share any and all of your thoughts, perspective, and experiences in the comments below.