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. 😁

Responses

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  • Ari Palo Ari Palo

    “Who even, on a regular basis uses the FN-Key?”

    That fn (or 🌐) key really is for emojis, no?

    I use it on my M5 MBP quite regularly. And yes, I know ctrl+cmd+space is an option, launchers (like Raycast) are an option, and apps like rocket are options for emoji picking. But I like the single key 🌐.

  • Lloydi Lloydi

    Something that you can try: Karabiner Elements. It will allow you to remap keys, so you can map that function key to something else, or nothing at all.

  • Andy Clarke Andy Clarke

    @marcthiele Alex will love that word!

  • kenan kenan

    @marcthiele You don‘t need dongles to use Logitech Bluetooth keyboards. That dongle is only good if you need a better and unified connection if you have the mouse too. But that‘s for Mac never the case since both Logitech and Mac Bluetooth is reliable already. For the Fn key, you might use Karabiner to reprogram that key to Ctrl again I believe. And yes, I find that obnoxious too to put it exactly there. Verschlimmbesserung wirklich.

  • Maythee A. Maythee A.

    @marcthiele@mastodon.social I think for people who have to switch langauge often, that fn/globe key is an improvement. I used to have to map to cap lock/cmd+space before but now it has dedicate key.

  • Simon Praetorius Simon Praetorius

    @marcthiele I was very happy with that change, since my external keyboard now (almost) exactly matches the keyboard layout of my MacBook. I always find it strange now when people suddenly need to use their laptop as a laptop and are angry with the keyboard. 😇

  • Oyu F''ka Oyu F''ka

    @marcthiele That word is perfect....memorising it right now, lol!Not knowing anything about apple, I was about to ask if the keys could be re-programmed, but I see several people more qualified than me have confirmed it is possible!

  • Luke Dungeon Luke Dungeon

    @marcthiele love it. Also don’t like the globe button. You, too, might need to carry around an Apple Extended Keyboard II with a usb adapter. I love this thing. lol tools are frustratingly satisfying.

  • @gurupanguji @gurupanguji

    @marcthiele not a fan either. However, you can change the Fn key to act as control if you don't use it much.

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