No Backlit Keyboard? GLOSSY screen????!!!!!

Would not making the MBP lighter and thinner be potentially extremely attractive vs the MBA? Unless Apple sells enough MBAs that they dont care. If the new MBP is 1.5 kg and is thinner as it is now, I will get one over the 13" MBA.

Anyone knows when it might be out?

Thank you for the Lab Tick link. I downloaded it, and it works great. Much appreciated!

Yes New York I do know how it works. It is a light guide plate made of acrylic plastic that underlies the circuit board of the keys. A white mylar reflective layer underlies the acrylic. Five side firing LEDs shoot light the length of the keyboard. Small ridges in the plastic permit the light to escape in a desired pattern of the character of the symbol above.
The LEDs use a mere 15mA a piece. At full strength it consumes only 20 minutes of battery on a 5 hour continual use.
Its an exceptional feature, why they removed it is beyond me. All laptops are going in the direction of backlit keys. Stupid move apple... I share most everyones opinion in here.....I'll pass on the new MacBook until they put the backlit keyboard back in. Maybe next year they will have the common sense to give people what they want.

Agreed. Sacrificing 20 minutes for a backlit keyboard is a no brainer. Why? Because at the last 20 minutes you would want to be plugged in soon anywayz.

I guess when Apple said they put everything they learned in the MBA, someone forgot to remind them about the keyboard.

I actually had a customize MBA and returned it for the lack backlit keyboard. I have been spoiled. Stupid move by Apple.

Yup same here. Lets hope a new revision will be out soon.

Re: the pulsating white light (missing from the new MBA):

Whenever you put your Apple computer (whether desktop or laptop), there is a pulsating white light on the front of the computer letting you know that the computer is in sleep-mode, as opposed to off. It is a fast, convenient way to see the status of your computer; one easy glance and you know what state your computer is in.

This feature is missing from the new MacBook Air line ... for no reason. (David Pogue's take on this is that since the MBA can be in sleep mode for up to 30 days [Apple's estimate], that the sleep indicator light is superfluous.)

pcmike wrote:
ecdowney,

AMEN! FINALLY SOMEONE AT APPLE GOT RID OF THAT STUPID LIGHT! I can finally lay in bed at night and not have my entire room lit up by some stupid pulsing white LED!!! I LOVE IT!

Amen!!!

ive been trying to think of reasons for why apple would do what they did.
i went down to the mac store and asked them why. they say battery life.
i also found fluorescent key-board stickers promising they help you type
in the dark. someone else posted a 10-LED usb light. this got me. a part
of me would rather use a sick led light like that then give into apples gimmicks.
also, the engineers must have the reason im looking for and it will surface.
my faith in apple after this is weaning. backlit keyboards are not only really
practical but mad cool. please, apple, please- give me one good reason for
doing what you did. thats all i ask.

My only guess is it makes the overall laptop thinner.

Not really New York. The light guide is about the thickness of a finger nail. I believe .003 mm.

It's all about cutting corners so Apple can price the product more competitively. They are testing the waters for cheapening their products. If they get enough negative feedback, they'll bring back the backlit keyboard feature in the next revision.

I sure wish I could take the backlit keyboard assembly out of my old MBA and implant it in the newer one. Hate my old plastic, shiny trackpad, but love my backlit keyboard. Love the new glass trackpad, but hate the new hard-to-see keyboard. Keyboard trumps trackpad... and the extra power.

Can't drive a car at night without headlights no matter how much cooler and powerful it may be.

Apple is perhaps targeting not current Mac laptop owners but PC converts. They don't need the backlit keyboard to attract someone who has never seen it. But someone has never used the PC but loves his iPad would be very tempted. The next round will be for us. Why complain? For once Apple is rewarding our loyalty and not turning our hardware into obsolescence. Current MBAs with 128 GB SSD are still very usable, especially with their backlit keyboard.

I can't believe this actually - did not know it was not backlit - just bought the most expensive Macbook Air - totally disappointed
what were they thinking?

I totally need the backlit keyboard - this company has lost a ton of respect by taking away something so obviously needed.

I bought all seven of our children macbooks and macbook pros last year and that was one of the big things I liked the most.

SPent 11 K on the computers and waited a whole year to buy myself a macbook air just to find out after I bought it - this is like surreal actually.

This one with all the extras and apple care was $2600 plus

Least they could do is give me a backlight keyboard - sheesh

OK,

I have been following this thread for a while now because i was planning to buy the MBA 11". I have a MBP 15" with keyboard backlit also.

I often work in bad light conditions and without the backlit keyboard on my MBP it was hard to type, if not impossible. For this reason i had to think twice to by the new MBA. Now i did receive my MBA yesterday and i must say, ITS PERFECT ! also when there are no lights on at night except a small TV i can use it! It looks like the light of the screen is far better reflected on the keys then my MBP. *There is absolutely no need for backlit keyboard on the Air*, although it would probably have looked nicer 🙂

Message was edited by: StarlightNo1