Apple's Warranty Expenses Have Significantly Declined Since Ditching the Butterfly Keyboard in Macs

Apple today shared its annual Form 10-K report, providing an overview of the company's expenses and other details for the 2021 fiscal year.

Notably, the report reveals that Apple's warranty-related expenses continue to sharply decline. Apple reported $2.6 billion spent on warranty claims in the 2021 fiscal year, down nearly 45% from $4.6 billion spent in the 2016 fiscal year.

Apple's warranty-related expenses have declined each fiscal year since 2016:

2015: $4.4B

2016: $4.6B

2017: $4.3B

2018: $4.1B

2019: $3.8B

2020: $2.9B

2021: $2.6B

Apple does not provide a breakdown of its warranty expenses, but one possibility for the decline is Apple ditching the problematic butterfly keyboard in Macs. First introduced in the now-discontinued 12-inch MacBook in 2015, followed by the MacBook Pro in 2016 and the MacBook Air in 2018, the butterfly keyboard can exhibit "sticky" or unresponsive keys over time, which led Apple to launch a service program offering free repairs.

The following MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models are eligible for the program for up to four years after first retail sale of the computer:

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)

Apple offering free butterfly keyboard replacements was a costly endeavor, as the keyboard is integrated with the "top case," which is essentially a part of the MacBook's aluminum chassis that also houses the trackpad and a glued-in battery. Apple is still running the program for eligible MacBook models, but claims have likely dropped, as Apple went back to a more reliable scissor switch keyboard design starting with the 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019 and the company no longer sells any new Macs with butterfly keyboards.

There are likely other contributing factors to the decline in Apple's warranty expenses. For example, starting with iPhone 12 models, Apple is able to replace the rear glass without replacing the entire iPhone, which reduces costs. There were likely pandemic-related impacts too, such as Apple Store closures in the early part of the 2021 fiscal year.

Apple's Form-10K reveals a few other details, including that the company had approximately 154,000 full-time employees as of September 25, 2021 and that it spent $21.9 billion on research and development in the 2021 fiscal year.

Tag: Butterfly Keyboard Issues

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