it came today. It has a very thin piece of rice paper lol on the display when I unboxed it. I’m still researching screen protectors and keyboard cheese cloths 🤣😂
The paper is so thin because anything thicker is going to place pressure on that glass, which is really, really bad. As #
chrfr noted, that rubber/silicone O-ring on the outside of the bezel is where the weight is placed when the clamshell is closed, and it is connected to the aluminum back of the display (i.e.,
NOT the glass) to transfer the force of closing and the pressures encountered when inside of a bag to the aluminum frame. If you put something like a microfiber cover on the keyboard and then close the clamshell, that weight might no longer be placed on that O-ring, and instead be placed on the glass itself. Should considerable shock or pressure then be applied to the laptop when it is shut or when it is closed (as can happen when inside a laptop bag), bad things can happen as that glass is not designed to withstand those forces.
Apple states:
Leaving any material on the top case (keyboard and palm rest area) could result in damage to the display when you close it.
To enable the thin design of Mac notebook computers with a Retina display, the clearance between the display and the top case is engineered to tight tolerances. Do not use palm rest covers or keycap covers, as the additional thickness may interfere with the designed closed position of the display.
IMO, a microfiber and a gentle screen cleaner to periodically wipe the top case down is all you need. Just a few sprays on the cloth and a wipe of the top case removes oils as well as particles that might cause an issue. Cleaning the screen properly is also paramount to avoiding damage, as improperly cleaning anything with an AR coating can ultimately cause issues.
