Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I started a thread about it when I went through almost a dozen that all had some kind of screen damage.

I have seen your thread earlier. All of our units had dents/scratches in the screen. Some even had extra QC issues, but the most problematic component is the screen. Which comes like this out of the factory even their screen replacements. Something is wrong at their factory for two years.

What colour was your unit?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jha
I would suggest to inspect the new display too. We have replaced the screen for one unit three times due to this. All three came with some sort of dents/scratches. One worse than the other.

Update us. What colour unit do you have?
Picked it up today, the new display seemed spotless.
 
Haha, exactly :p The Apple Store guy was looking at me rather funny though
Better getting looked funny than returning home with dents which they say you "allegedly" caused. Good for you you have a perfect screen!
 
Flashlight treatment?
Yeah I did that with mine and it looks fine. I have yet to fold it up and travel so perhaps the keyboard is damaging the screens during transport.

Does anyone have links to the microfiber cloth they bought to protect the screen?
 
My 16" M3 MacBook Pro arrived with a few specks of dust inside the screen, that is, under the surface of the screen. This is very common for computer screens, especially larger ones. The spots that @t0rqx saw look similar. In my case, the dust specks are too small for me to see in normal use. By contrast, the external monitor I'm using right now has one dust fleck that's big enough to be annoying, but it's easy enough to ignore most of the time unless I'm doing finicky graphics work.
I tried the flashlight test on my new MacBook Pro, and found a couple of tiny scratches and scuff marks that I hadn't seen before. Every screen is going to look horrible in the flashlight test, especially after it has been in use for a while.
I also checked my MacBook Pro screen for uniformity. There's slight vignetting in the corners, and a slight ripple, presumably due to the mini-LED backlight system. None of the defects are noticeable in normal use, which is what counts for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Makisupa Policeman
I have seen your thread earlier. All of our units had dents/scratches in the screen. Some even had extra QC issues, but the most problematic component is the screen. Which comes like this out of the factory even their screen replacements. Something is wrong at their factory for two years.

What colour was your unit?
Space grey M2 Pro. Want space black M3 but don't want to roll the dice again now that I got a good one....
 
I checked mine. No issues at all. Perfect! Wow. Some people have the worst luck. I hope you find a good screen. However, more refurbished units to be sold on Apple's site and provide some savings for some people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jlc1978
less than two months after getting the display of my M2 Max replaced, the new one has dimples again. I've cleaned it once with the Apple microfiber cloth and other than that just don't touch the display. This is annoying and I have no idea where the damage stems from.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: Makisupa Policeman
For some reason with the Macbook screens I just try not to look for imperfections or wipe it down unless absolutely needed. Especially on the bigger models they are smudge magnets and it bothers me if I start cleaning
 
My new 14” M3 MBP is already getting the keyboard marks on the screen after just a few weeks of use. It hasn’t left my desk let alone been carried in a bag or backpack, and don’t ever put pressure on the lid. This happened completely on its own.

The marks come off with light pressure from a microfiber cloth so it’s not permanent (so far). But my previous 14” did not have this problem after even several months, nor does our M1 MBA which is over a year old.

I think the issue is that there is just a slight manufacturing variation in the keyboard height and lid tolerance that causes some models to get this issue and others not to. Despite the best efforts of the user to prevent it I don’t think it’s possible.

I’m just going to do my best to keep it clean without overdoing it so I don’t damage the AR coating, and hope it doesn’t cause a permanent mark. Luckily I do have AC+.
 
My new 14” M3 MBP is already getting the keyboard marks on the screen after just a few weeks of use. It hasn’t left my desk let alone been carried in a bag or backpack, and don’t ever put pressure on the lid. This happened completely on its own.

The marks come off with light pressure from a microfiber cloth so it’s not permanent (so far). But my previous 14” did not have this problem after even several months, nor does our M1 MBA which is over a year old.

I think the issue is that there is just a slight manufacturing variation in the keyboard height and lid tolerance that causes some models to get this issue and others not to. Despite the best efforts of the user to prevent it I don’t think it’s possible.

I’m just going to do my best to keep it clean without overdoing it so I don’t damage the AR coating, and hope it doesn’t cause a permanent mark. Luckily I do have AC+.

I open and close my MacBook Pro probably 25 times per day and there are no marks - not even dust marks. I do clean the screen and keyboard regularly though. This is an M1 Pro MacBook Pro 16. I also carry it around in a backpack from time to time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Makisupa Policeman
I open and close my MacBook Pro probably 25 times per day and there are no marks - not even dust marks. I do clean the screen and keyboard regularly though. This is an M1 Pro MacBook Pro 16. I also carry it around in a backpack from time to time.
Good to hear. Cleaning could have something to do with it as well. I have not done a good cleaning of the keys yet and my hands are fairly moist at times. But it was also a non-issue on my two previous MacBooks, so I think there is something else about this one, like the keys are just a little too tall for the razor thin tolerances of these things.
 
So I’ve now noticed a couple of the pitting marks OP is referring to after a few months of use. I’ve been lightly cleaning the keyboard and screen of dust with an air bulb and cloth after most uses, and as I stated above don’t carry the computer in a bag or put pressure on the lid.

Well this probably just proves it isn’t worth obsessing and/or being overly cautious with these machines—although I did not have a problem out of the box, I think this issue is almost unavoidable for many units; the screens on the Mx MBPs are just very very delicate!

However, I cannot detect these marks under normal lighting with the screen on or off—I use Vivid which unlocks the full 1000 nits brightness, and on a white background the marks aren’t detectable at all as far as I can tell.

So, as frustrating as it can be to have this happen to a $2000+ “premium” machine, please don’t lose sleep over these micro imperfections. Unless maybe the screen blemishes start to become more noticeable in every day use. (Clearly advice I need to heed as well.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: leifp
2024/2025 bought 9 glossy and 3 nano all of them had dents again. Buyers be aware and check your screen for quality issues. At this rate all of them have it.
 
My M4 Nano screen is flawless after owning it since launch and I take it with me every day wherever I go. I was a little worried that it might get scratched up or get marks on it but its been the absolute best screen I've ever had on a MacBook Pro and I could never go back to the glossy. It's held up really well so far.
 
My M4 Nano screen is flawless after owning it since launch and I take it with me every day wherever I go. I was a little worried that it might get scratched up or get marks on it but its been the absolute best screen I've ever had on a MacBook Pro and I could never go back to the glossy. It's held up really well so far.
Second this, purchased on release.
 
If you read the OP carefully, these dots or specks are only visible in strong direct light. I too noticed dust-like specs all over my screen on my 2021 M1 Max. They are only visible in direct sunlight. Maybe inconsistencies in the anti-reflective coating, maybe the anti-reflective coating starting to fail like they used to on the 2013 era MBPs. Maybe made this way specifically so that it doesn't fail. Who knows. Only Apple.

Have you found any MBPs that do NOT have the little specks visible?
 
  • Like
Reactions: t0rqx
If you read the OP carefully, these dots or specks are only visible in strong direct light. I too noticed dust-like specs all over my screen on my 2021 M1 Max. They are only visible in direct sunlight. Maybe inconsistencies in the anti-reflective coating, maybe the anti-reflective coating starting to fail like they used to on the 2013 era MBPs. Maybe made this way specifically so that it doesn't fail. Who knows. Only Apple.

Have you found any MBPs that do NOT have the little specks visible?
For the record. These are all brand new custom ordered directly from Apple. The only one I got that was flawless was one during covid which i needed to wait for 3 months.
 
This is why I always gently wipe down the screen with a micro fibre cloth before closing the lid each time. So no dust bunnies stick to the screen. The fact is most people never clean their laptops and a lot of people I know who do clean it once a year or so, use windex on with a t-shirt lol.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.