I think the latest Apple Keyboard was verschlimmbessert

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In March 2021 I got my last keyboard. Since I don’t like the idea of dongles, I tend to get Apple’s original keyboard. I also quite like how it feels and get along with it quite well. Recently my left control key started to act strange, plus a few of my keys are heavily used and they are falling apart. So it was time to get a new one.

I went to one of the big stores and tested a few other keyboards than the Apple “Magic Keyboard”. I liked the Logitech MX one, but am still not a fan of the additional bluetooth dongle (can I use it without it?). So I paid roughly €100 more than for the Logitech keyboard and got the latest Apple keyboard with Touch ID, which I like since my Mac Mini does not have Touch ID by itself.

Side-by-side close-up comparison of two black Apple Magic Keyboards. The left keyboard is visibly worn, with a chipped and faded 'S' key and scuffs on surrounding keys. The right keyboard appears brand new, with crisp lettering and a clean finish. The new version also includes an additional 'fn' / globe key in the bottom-left corner.
The old Magic Keyboard on the left, the new one on the right.

I like the soft feel of the keys, how silent it is in general, but one major question:

Why the f--k did they add the FN-Key to the lower left corner of the keyboard?!

Honestly, I heavily use the control key in the lower left corner with my little finger of the left hand. You can imagine how often I hit the FN-Key now? Who really thought “Well, if we put the FN-Key in the lower corner of the keyboard, it help people”? Who even, on a regular basis uses the FN-Key?

I really don’t understand those decisions and think this is a typical example for a “Verschlimmbesserung”!

What is “verschlimmbessern?”

“Verschlimmbesserung” is one of those wonderful German compound words that captures a very specific human experience English doesn’t have a single word for.

It’s made up of:

  • verschlimmern = to make worse
  • Verbesserung = improvement

Mashed together, it means: an “improvement” that actually makes things worse.

You know the feeling – you try to fix something, tweak it, optimise it, polish it just a little more… and end up worse off than when you started. The software update that breaks features you relied on. The extra sentence you add to an email that makes it sound passive-aggressive. The renovation that ruins the charm of the old building. The “small refactor” that brings down production.

A rough English equivalent might be “a fix that makes it worse” or “a disimprovement”, but neither carries the same satisfying punch. The closest idiom is probably “the cure is worse than the disease”, though Verschlimmbesserung is broader and more everyday.

It’s a quietly brilliant word because it acknowledges good intentions while naming the bad outcome. The person meant to improve things. They just… didn’t. 😁