Updated MacBook Air Model Display Design Flaw

[ilikewhey]

Great write up, hopefully Apple are secretly aware of this issue and will be fixing the design for it's next models.

this is not a apple issue(well sort of is and isn't at the same time), but an overall LCD issue that exist in the industry since LCD's inception. the only way apple can "fix" this is ditching lcd all together.

 

[h.gilbert]

this is not a apple issue(well sort of is and isn't at the same time), but an overall LCD issue that exist in the industry since LCD's inception. the only way apple can "fix" this is ditching lcd all together.

M2 Air is the only LCD Apple product that seems to be having a significant LCD problem. The other LCD models seem fine. It is an Apple issue because it's happening to Apple laptops. How is it not an Apple problem? Sorry, but your take is a little off the mark.

 

[ilikewhey]

M2 Air is the only LCD Apple product that seems to be having a significant LCD problem. The other LCD models seem fine. It is an Apple issue because it's happening to Apple laptops. How is it not an Apple problem? Sorry, but your take is a little off the mark.

m2 air is definitely not the only lcd apple product that significant lcd problem, the m2 mbp 13inch probably has it too but because no one really buys it, its issue goes underreported. does the m2 mba have a more observable backlight bleed? sure, but panel uniformity issue has been a common theme for lcd.

 

[russell_314]

That was proposed to you to further the rather scientific practice of determining how the quality of the panels that ship for this specific computer differ from each other. You really needn't be so rude about it.

I stated my thoughts on the matter. How is that rude or even impolite??

Most people on here dismiss issues like that of the OP because there's not enough evidence to show how widespread a given issue is. The OP GATHERED THAT EVIDENCE! People are chiming in to ACTUALLY determine what this issue is and how common it is!

I'm not against OP "gathering evidence". This thread is like every other thread where people discuss their thoughts about a topic. My "silly" comment wasn't even about what the OP said but another poster suggested to sit in a dark room and take a picture with a black background to try and capture something that I couldn't see under normal use. To me doing that seemed silly.

If it's too silly for you, don't participate in the discussion! It's really that simple!

Are you a MacRumors admin? If not I don't think it's appropriate for you to tell other members not to comment on a topic just because you don't agree with their thoughts. It's okay if you don't agree with me on the subject. This is a forum for people to discuss topics...

 

[h.gilbert]

m2 air is definitely not the only lcd apple product that significant lcd problem, the m2 mbp 13inch probably has it too but because no one really buys it, its issue goes underreported. does the m2 mba have a more observable backlight bleed? sure, but panel uniformity issue has been a common theme for lcd.

It seems like there's quite a lot of commotion about the M2 Air screen in particular though. Never seen so many problems for other Apple laptops.

 

[Dingster101]

Grrrr… didn’t need to read this right before I upgrade my 2015 MB Air…

 

[xtremesniper]

Why does backlight bleed keep coming back up in this thread? Respectfully, please stop hijacking the thread. Go back to the first post. This is about DSE, not backlight bleed. Backlight bleed is a common issue in LCDs, DSE is not (at least not for laptop screens; different story for TVs).

Back on topic: To re-iterate, I have gone through four MBA M2s during a span between December to March. Each one had varying levels of the same issue identified in the first post. Admittedly, if I had received the last one first I probably wouldn't have noticed the issue. But because I know where to look, I can't unsee it and it's 100% there.

To be clear, if you have an M2 Air and you don't notice any issues with its screen, please do not look for it. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. It's a curse. Just enjoy your laptop and move on. I am hoping Apple will be fixing this behind the scenes, but ultimately this laptop is going back for a refund. I've given up.

 

[caolthedesigner]

Wow, I feel seen by this post. Everything you mentioned is true of my MBA M2. It's BTO (16gb/512gb) and I am now on my 4th try at getting one without DSE.

This most recent replacement is my last chance. Apple is no longer willing to acknowledge the issue and has said that they will no longer offer replacements. So I have to choose whether to put up with it or return it. I bought it during the Black Friday sale so I'm hesitant because I'd lose my BF offer on it. I may consider trying to do a repair on the screen instead of a replacement of the laptop, but I'm not sure if my return period would be affected by that.

Getting to the point: This 4th laptop still exhibits the exact same issue as the first 3, but to a lesser degree. It's 100% still there, and it's still annoying when scrolling through the web (most websites have white backgrounds), but it's not as bad as my previous one which also was exhibiting other issues like keyboard popping.

It feels wrong for a laptop at this price point to feel like it has a dirty screen that I can't clean.

If what you're saying is true (it's affecting BTO only) then potentially a repair on the screen might be the trick? If they replace the screen with one from a different vendor then it might not have the same issue?

Hey there, I appreciate your response. It’s definitely frustrating!

I would recommend having Apple replace the screen if you can.

The screen replacements and the base model lids seem to show the defect to a much lesser degree.

But to clarify, I believe the BTO show the worst of the effect, but I am confident ALL MBA M2 displays have this issue, since it’s due to the way the lid is built. This means if the design of the lid isn’t updated, the M3 MBA will have the same issue in a few months time.

 

[caolthedesigner]

I have a BTO MBA (24 MB Memory, M2, MACOS 13.2.1). I usually use only dark screen but just tried to see the light screen and do not see any problems on the screen. I ordered my unit on line from Apple about 2 weeks after they were released.

Thanks for sharing your feedback and experience!

Would you mind sharing a photo of your screen set to all white background?

If not, that is okay! Thanks.

 

[caolthedesigner]

I have a BTO MacBook Air M2 without any issues.

We can't all be as lucky as you!

Would you mind sharing a picture of your screen with an all white background?

If not that's okay! Thanks.

 

[caolthedesigner]

I'll echo and agree with the notion that it is a very well-constructed post!

Though I would say what it can't do is assess how widespread the issue really is or if it's truly a design issue rather than manufacturer's variances or poor QA, which thankfully becomes a topic further into the post.

Furthermore, this thread will likely flock the people who believe they have the issue and it will sound like maybe every screen has it. Like with the 10.5 inch ipad pro "white spot issue" where the thread starts spinning a narrative that it's something every 2017 IPP develops as the thread starts becoming an echo-chamber.

I can say this: I've now spent an unhealthy amount of time looking at white.jpg in full screen from every angle and I can not see any uniformity or "dirty screen" effects. It's a BTO-model. I think you need *a lot* of more data points before making the conclusion if BTO is affected more or not.

Hey, I really appreciate your response. You make some great points, especially that it's important to collect many samples before making a hard conclusion.

Would you mind sharing a picture of your screen with an all white background?

If not that's okay! Thanks.

 

[caolthedesigner]

If you can't see it up until now, I definitely advise not trying to find it because once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Also you can have darkmode always on and many websites and apps will have a black background. And use a dark colour on your desktop. That will help it to disappear or will stop you thinking about it constantly. That's not a perfect solution or even the best solution as the panel shouldn't do that, but it can help.

You make the best point of all. Once you see it, there's no going back.

I appreciate your response, it gave me a good laugh because I felt very similarly.

 

[caolthedesigner]

this is not a apple issue(well sort of is and isn't at the same time), but an overall LCD issue that exist in the industry since LCD's inception. the only way apple can "fix" this is ditching lcd all together.

Hey there, you make a good point that LCD's do have uniformity issues in general.

However I DO believe that this is an issue created by Apple in that they designed the LCD panel which contains a foam padding element which creates pressure against the screen during assembly.

It is true that with good QC, the issue is very minimal.

 

[caolthedesigner]

I'd like to comment that if anyone comes across this post and doesn't believe their MBA M2 suffers from this issue, please drop an evenly lit photo of your MBA with an all white background (try to avoid highlight blowout) and I'm happy to adjust the curves of the image to show the defect.

For anyone interested in doing this themselves in the Apple Photos app, usually a simple photo will reveal the DSE.

But to enhance it you can raise the Brilliance, lower the Brightness or a combination of these to reveal the shadows on the screen.

I will caution as many have said: once you see it, it's difficult to unsee. So be sure to cover your children's eyes.

 

[OAG7]

Thanks for the feedback! I've read elsewhere that the MBA's had a yellow tint issue.

Retroactively asking, in your experience, are you confident it wasn't a True Tone/Night Shift issue?

Thanks!

 

[ilikewhey]

View attachment 2180142

he doesn't mean taking a screenshot within the mac, that doesn't tell anything since you are just capturing internal pixels. he meant taking a picture with your phone.

 

[Grohowiak]

maybe I should wait for the M3 MBA instead..

I had this on my iMac back in 2016. Good luck.

 

[Scarrus]

I had this on my iMac back in 2016. Good luck.

Let me guess... You still have it and it's great?

 

[xtremesniper]

Leading some support to the OP's observation that the MacBook Pro line doesn't suffer from this issue, after returning my Air, I picked up a refurb M1 Pro 14" for roughly the same price and it does not have this issue.

Does it have other issues like yellow/green/pink tint? Sure, but it doesn't have this uniformity issue (and I think the tint is a common issue across all Mac lines anyway).

 

[caolthedesigner]

I had this on my iMac back in 2016. Good luck.

Hey there, appreciate your feedback and comparison to similar experiences.

FWIW the iMacs are ginormous displays, in the sense that the display variances are disperse and larger.

Even my iMac 24 has some DSE!

But the difference that makes a big impact in experience is because the screen is larger the DSE appears more diffuse and less isolated, again very dispersed.

And because the screen is larger, and your eyes are focusing on different regions of the screen so it's less noticeable.

With the laptop the entire screen is in your peripheral and the DSE is very isolated and noticeable.

 

[caolthedesigner]

Leading some support to the OP's observation that the MacBook Pro line doesn't suffer from this issue, after returning my Air, I picked up a refurb M1 Pro 14" for roughly the same price and it does not have this issue.

Does it have other issues like yellow/green/pink tint? Sure, but it doesn't have this uniformity issue (and I think the tint is a common issue across all Mac lines anyway).

Appreciate your comment!

As I briefly mentioned the MBP have a uniform, full screen foam padding element which gives the screen even support, decreasing the chances to exhibit DSE just as you said.

Unfortunately the MBA doesn't have a full display foam padding element which concentrates pressure in a very localized area of the screen and creates this DSE.

Hope you enjoy your MBP and thanks again for your comment!

 

[Wokis]

Hey, I really appreciate your response. You make some great points, especially that it's important to collect many samples before making a hard conclusion.

Would you mind sharing a picture of your screen with an all white background?

If not that's okay! Thanks.

Sure!

The thing to the middle-left is a confirmed physical dirt-smudge as it turns out I am a bit of a pig.

 

[m2m4]

Thanks for making this thread. Mine has this issue too. I don't even want to take it in for a repair because Apple has messed my repairs up badly before.

Edit: just wanted to add that I overall really like this laptop though. The display doesn't bother me all that much.

 

[Zest28]

It is not a design problem, Apple is simply being cheap with the MacBook Air, having low production standards.

My 2020 13” MacBook Pro (with 4-TB ports) has the most perfect IPS display I have ever seen in my life. Perfect eveness, perfect blacklight.

However my M2 MacBook Air …… yeah, a big downgrade over my 2020 13” MBP. I checked other M2 MacBook Air and it looks like exchanging won’t matter much as my current display on the M2 MBA is better than other ones I have seen.

I’m sure Apple could offer the same quality as the MacBook Pro line, but then the price would go up.

 

[Masterbook]

Keyboard Markings on Display​

I’ve recently learned many customers are also reporting an increased observation of keyboard pressure marks on the display.

This is a common issue with MacBook over time, and is expected.

The red flag 🚩🚩🚩 is that these marks appear in the same location of this foam padding meaning there's more of a chance of contact than normal.

View attachment 2172184

Is those keyboard pressure marks on display also common design problem on M2 Air and what Apple is saying about this? Is it caused from a foam padding issue or goes to under normal wear and tear?