It is kind of weird that not even a single review, in print or on YouTube, seems to mention the issue. Makes me wonder whether it's regional (East coast US here), the reviewers don't actually spend a lot of time using the machine other than running benchmarks, or most people just don't notice.
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Macbook Air 15 inch - Trackpad texture
- Thread starter arnolds1
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Just picked up the 15" MBA and remembered this thread I came across but only after a few hours after starting to play with it. I was in migration mode so comparing the 2021 MBP trackpad vs this 2023 MBA and there is definitely a difference. The MBP is smooth like glass.
I don't find the MBA trackpad to be bothersome, personally, but there is a difference. It's exactly how the OP described it. Smooth glass vs etched glass. I probably wouldn't have noticed though if the 2 laptops weren't right next to each other and me purposely testing the difference because I had read this thread previously.
But that's why the MBP is the premium product and costs more, I suppose.
I don't find the MBA trackpad to be bothersome, personally, but there is a difference. It's exactly how the OP described it. Smooth glass vs etched glass. I probably wouldn't have noticed though if the 2 laptops weren't right next to each other and me purposely testing the difference because I had read this thread previously.
But that's why the MBP is the premium product and costs more, I suppose.
I just took in my space grey and midnight one to show them the loose keyboard on the midnight one compared to the space gray one being normal, but the genius didn’t notice the issue. Lol. I figured.
Lol, does not surprise me. Lack of attention to detail these days.
Did you hear about the audio issue with all the M2 laptops? There's bad distortion due to a bug in the DSP filtering, and it's particularly bad on the Air. That alone has me waiting for the M3.
M3 coming Oct 30th? Not for the Air but possibly the Pro this year.
Damn I didn’t hear about that but. The M3 release can’t come soon enough.
Honestly, I don't even think about it at this point. I only notice if I'm literally touching both at the same time. But everyone has different sensitivities so I can see how it would bother some. But personally, I find no functional difference at all.
It's interesting that it bothers some people more than others. On mine I can almost forget about it if my fingers are completely dry or I'm not using the trackpad much, just watching videos and so on. It only really becomes bothersome if I'm using the trackpad heavily for some task, or when my fingers are even just slightly damp and the friction kicks in. When that happens, the burning sensation in my fingertip is almost painful.
I've tried ignoring this issue for as long as I could, but I just have to vent somewhere:
I've been using a mid-2015 15" rMPB since 2016 and it's been a trooper, never had any issues with hardware; in fact I've replaced the screen and the hard drive, cleaned it out multiple times, etc. Skipped the new models from 2017-2019 since those were objective downgrades and I didn't like the Touch Bar.
Finally was able to upgrade earlier this year, so in May I purchased a 2023 14" M2 Max in Silver and immediately felt the difference. My old Mac's trackpad is consistently smooth and clear like warm butter, but my new Mac sometimes gives me coarseness that hurts my freaking fingers sometimes.
Terminal shows cores as October 24, 2022, and I'm just wondering if any models out there are as good as my trusty 2015 MPB. I love booting it back up and using it, but really disheartened to know a premium machine I'm still paying for (Apple Card payments) that I cannot return has a defect that is so niche and unnoticeable. Urghhhh.
I've been using a mid-2015 15" rMPB since 2016 and it's been a trooper, never had any issues with hardware; in fact I've replaced the screen and the hard drive, cleaned it out multiple times, etc. Skipped the new models from 2017-2019 since those were objective downgrades and I didn't like the Touch Bar.
Finally was able to upgrade earlier this year, so in May I purchased a 2023 14" M2 Max in Silver and immediately felt the difference. My old Mac's trackpad is consistently smooth and clear like warm butter, but my new Mac sometimes gives me coarseness that hurts my freaking fingers sometimes.
Terminal shows cores as October 24, 2022, and I'm just wondering if any models out there are as good as my trusty 2015 MPB. I love booting it back up and using it, but really disheartened to know a premium machine I'm still paying for (Apple Card payments) that I cannot return has a defect that is so niche and unnoticeable. Urghhhh.
That sucks but I’ve learned to make sure I can live with the unit I got during the return policy. Cause after that it is a tough situation
Could always sell yours and get another and lose a little but perhaps another deep sale will come along soon (or is already here? Haven’t really kept up since splurging on one and being happy with my unit)
Good luck we all been there
Yeah, lesson definitely learned. Rough part is I adore everything else about this computer:
- Beautiful machining on the body
- Smaller 14" footprint is really lovely
- Amazing screen, speakers, keyboard
There’s definitely a lottery with the trackpads. I briefly had an M2 Pro MBP 14” earlier this year and the trackpad was quite smooth.
Probably wait for the M3s to arrive next week and consider selling your M2 used and upgrading?
Or switch brands. If you look back at Apple laptops over the last 8 years since the golden era of the 2013-2015 models, we’ve had Touch Bars, butterfly keyboards, and now coarse trackpads forced upon us by Apple on high for most of that period. At some point, staying within the Apple ecosystem, where you have only one choice of hardware vendor, doesn’t make sense. It only works if the hardware is always very good, and frankly it just isn’t. With Windows laptops there are so very many choices that you never really have this problem.
Probably wait for the M3s to arrive next week and consider selling your M2 used and upgrading?
Or switch brands. If you look back at Apple laptops over the last 8 years since the golden era of the 2013-2015 models, we’ve had Touch Bars, butterfly keyboards, and now coarse trackpads forced upon us by Apple on high for most of that period. At some point, staying within the Apple ecosystem, where you have only one choice of hardware vendor, doesn’t make sense. It only works if the hardware is always very good, and frankly it just isn’t. With Windows laptops there are so very many choices that you never really have this problem.
Just an idea - try something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0C9MYTSLR/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A1LIDGY85TKMI3&psc=1
Will be checking out the M3 MBP trackpads and keyboards today in the stores. Let's hope they've addressed the issues.
I'm not sure if it's placebo or maybe I was using my Apple Silicon trackpad in the same way I used the Intel gen's trackpad, but I've altered the way I use my hand with the track and it's seeming to get easier on me
Not to say I prefer it over the original, but at the very least it's becoming slightly more usable without pain/irritation.
The news is good! I tried a 14" MBP M3 in the store. Space black, which is honestly very similar to the midnight Air just with a reddish color temperature vs blue on the Air. The trackpad was smooth - not as smooth as the old ones but much smoother and less sticky feeling than the Midnight Air 15 which was next to it - definitely acceptable! The keyboard was also pretty good, with a lighter feel that I prefer, and no stiff or sticky key issues. Very happy and may buy one soon, Framework 13 notwithstanding.
Cores date was Oct 13 2023.
Cores date was Oct 13 2023.
That's great news! Hopefully they bring this fix to the M3 MBA's whenever they launch maybe next March...
Did you get to try more than one unit? That's encouraging but doesn't mean its resolved
They only had a 14 and a 16 in the store, both were good. Will check out another store later.
New MBA 15 here, space grey. Smooth trackpad. July date in cores.
Purchased directly from Apple mail order.
R
Purchased directly from Apple mail order.
R
Checked out some more. Keyboards were all good. Trackpads felt about the same as the midnight MBA 15 on display. My finger was a bit greasy and the trackpads were not completely clean so it was hard to tell whether they were smooth or coarse. They just all felt kinda the same - but not noticeably coarse. May have been a lucky MBA 15 with a smooth trackpad.
Have to say, the fingerprint resistance on the Space Black is really quite something. You can almost see the smudges vanish before your eyes.
Have to say, the fingerprint resistance on the Space Black is really quite something. You can almost see the smudges vanish before your eyes.
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