I understand that the Midnight Blue case is a fingerprint and scratch magnet. Anybody got any experience with that and can confirm/refute? What about the other color options?

bartmoss said:

I understand that the Midnight Blue case is a fingerprint and scratch magnet. Anybody got any experience with that and can confirm/refute? What about the other color options?

I can confirm after having the midnight for 3 weeks that it was far too easy to scratch for my liking. The fingerprints never bothered me, not my first darker laptop I owned

But for context, I used the usb c port twice, was very careful and still left marks. It already developed a few marks in the coating on the bottom and it was always stored in a sleeve when not used and always used on a desk.

I went to silver and for me, it’s more suiting. The midnight is a gorgeous colour but I’m afraid it won’t age as well as I would like

So, I agree with the above. I LOVE the midnight colour, it’s awesome to have a dark MacBook and I really did try to make it work.

The finger prints didn’t really bother me as you can wipe them clean - it was the paint finish and potentially the longer term impact. The finish in one of the hinges had started to rub off after a months use - I assumed due to use as that the issues wasn’t there out of the box because I checked in that regard.

In addition, out of the box, one of the USB ports was already scratched I assume from factory testing/loading of the OS where they may have used USB C connectors.

I also had a couple of pin prick dots in random places where you could see the silver under the coating - they looked like specks of dust. Either something had hit the device during production or the paint was unevenly applied. Again, these issues weee out if the box.

In the end, no matter how much I loved the finish, I’ve had my fingers burnt with new Apple colours/finishes in the past - so I decided to return it.

I would consider the Space Grey finish for slightly more durability. Never had an issue with SG on any of my previous MacBooks.

I would absolutely go for the midnight, scratches and fingerprints be damned. It's too gorgeous.

bartmoss said:

scratch magnet

I don't know what people are talking about with this—I don't have a single scratch after six weeks of use, and I don't anticipate any soon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'd also note that both the people 'confirming' these scratches...are people who returned theirs. So I don't know what that says, but in the real world, my laptop has no scratches.

bartmoss said:

I understand that the Midnight Blue case is a fingerprint and scratch magnet. Anybody got any experience with that and can confirm/refute? What about the other color options?

I've had no issues with scratches/fingerprints and neither has anyone else I know who has one with the exception of one friend who is very "fingerprint-y", but no scratches on his either.

As usual its social media overblowing something.

mrmister said:

I don't know what people are talking about with this—I don't have a single scratch after six weeks of use, and I don't anticipate any soon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yup. I'm not even careful when I plug things into my usb-c ports and fully expected to see scratches by now but nope, nothing.

Silver all the way. Reminds me of the Sony Vaio Z that I was never able to afford when I was a kid!

bartmoss said:

I understand that the Midnight Blue case is a fingerprint and scratch magnet. Anybody got any experience with that and can confirm/refute? What about the other color options?

I love the Midnight color a lot. The finish shifts its tone depending on the light. It can look almost black or like a deep navy blue to a dark blue that has a certain luster that tends to glow in different lighting. It is a really nice color.

I love the color matched keyboard. I have always disliked the stark contrast between the black keyboard and siler and really did not like the black keyboard and frame in the 14/16" MBP on the silver.

If I could not get Midnight I would probably choose silver as I don't like the in between color that is space grey. It is not dark enough to be black and not light enough to be a bright color. It is just sort of dull to me. I was one of the first people to get Space grey on a MacBook when it came out too. I have always admired the pure black on the MS Surface Laptops.

I truly and honestly being as objective as I can say the fingerprint issue is sort of a joke to me. I say that because I have had so many Windows laptops with dark finishes, dark blue Lenovo, Royal Blue Galaxy Book, Dark Grey Galaxybook 2 and they all showed more fingerprints than Midnight. ANY dark colored anodized aluminum finish is going to show more fingerprints. Some finishes are better than others but the darker the color the more it shows the fingerprints. And no matter what you choose from silver to Midnight the fingerprints and scratches are the same whether you can see them or not.

Scratching or wear is going to be exactly the same as Space Grey. The difference is that the dark blue has more contrast than any previous MacBook so it will show smaller scratches in a more noticeable way than the lighter colors.

So for some people seeing fingerprints is too much. For some people a small scratch is too much. I understand this because I like my devices to look as new as possible as long as possible. So if you are one of those people and obsess on every fingerprint or minor scratch once it shows up then the M2 MBA in Midnight might not be the best choice.

I think the issue is way overblown and seems to be a thing with Apple owners not present in the PC world.

At the end of the day you need to be happy with what you bought and buying something based on the fear of what could happen or what makes you happy to look at are two different decisions. For me I have been waiting for other colors other than Space Grey and Silver and something in a darker tone. I am afraid it will get scratches. I do not love getting fingerprints on any device.

For me as I said at the end of the day I could buy based on my fear or buy based on what I like. I decided to buy based on what I like and deal with the fear and fingerprints and just love the awesome color that is Midnight.

If you want to play it safe get silver. It will show less wear over time-period. If you want to enjoy a really nice and different looking Mac that shifts its tone based on the light around you then get Midnight.

Only you can determine what you prioritize and what you value and there is NO wrong choice. A lot of people started out with Midnight and decided they wanted Starlight or Silver. Some people started with a Starlight and decided on Midnight. Some just got Midnight and love it. Buy what you like and if you change your mind and can return then do it and get the choice that makes YOU happy. that is all that matters in the end!

solq said:

I would absolutely go for the midnight, scratches and fingerprints be damned. It's too gorgeous.

Not me. I had a midnight MacBook Air and it always lookEd greasy from fingerprints, so I refunded it and got a silver one. Couldn’t be happier.

TSE said:

View attachment 2084538

​

Silver all the way. Reminds me of the Sony Vaio Z that I was never able to afford when I was a kid!

Silver all the way, definitely!

I am still on the fence depending on what Apple does in the next month or so. I want to get a new MBP or MBA and a new iMac. On the MBA, I really like Midnight because of the blue color. I think it would compliment my iPhone 13 Pro in Sierra Blue. If I get the blue iMac it will be quite the arrangement.

That said, I do have concerns about MBA Midnight. Aside from possible fingerprints/scratches I think I'm more concerned that it will look more black than blue which in my office lighting. That would be a big turn off as, to me, black is super boring.

My current MBP is SG so I think I'm done with that for a while. Silver is a good option, nice and clean. But my previous 2 MBP were silver. That leaves Starlight which I like but not sure I like it as much as Midnight.

Of course, if I wind up getting an MBP again, all of this is out the window and will go for silver.

I've had one in Midnight since launch day and there's still no scratches on any of the ports. I've also long since forgotten/worried about fingerprints - its genuinely not as bad as the videos and initial reactions make out, possibly because when you're using it, its on your lap/the desk, not being handled around to show everyone your new shiny laptop.

Anyway, for me, its a nice change from another silver/space grey laptop. Still a bit of a novelty having an almost-black Mac again. I love it.

1BadManVan said:

I can confirm after having the midnight for 3 weeks that it was far too easy to scratch for my liking. The fingerprints never bothered me, not my first darker laptop I owned

But for context, I used the usb c port twice, was very careful and still left marks. It already developed a few marks in the coating on the bottom and it was always stored in a sleeve when not used and always used on a desk.

I went to silver and for me, it’s more suiting. The midnight is a gorgeous colour but I’m afraid it won’t age as well as I would like

Click to expand...

Sounds a bit like the iPod mini screens - they basically scratched by exposure to air.

mrmister said:

I'd also note that both the people 'confirming' these scratches...are people who returned theirs. So I don't know what that says, but in the real world, my laptop has no scratches.

There will be a lot of variation between how sensible people are, how they use their Macbooks - one that never leaves a specific desk will obviously "age" different from one that you lug all around the world.

I am okay if my electronics show some minor signs of wear over time, but I'd be a bit miffed too if I look at it the wrong way after taking it out of the box and it scratches in response.

My current (well, now retired) Macbook Air is from 2012 and if it has any scratches, I've never noticed. But it's silver, of course.

TSE said:

View attachment 2084538

​

Silver all the way. Reminds me of the Sony Vaio Z that I was never able to afford when I was a kid!

Oh I remember Vaios. Awesome notebooks.

My first "real" notebook was a 2001 iBook. The white ones. I kinda wish Apple had offered the Macbook Air in shiny iBook white. But I get that they don't want to do plastic again - metal is nicer. Still, maybe they could have done it.

richard13 said:

I am still on the fence depending on what Apple does in the next month or so. I want to get a new MBP or MBA and a new iMac. On the MBA, I really like Midnight because of the blue color. I think it would compliment my iPhone 13 Pro in Sierra Blue. If I get the blue iMac it will be quite the arrangement.

That said, I do have concerns about MBA Midnight. Aside from possible fingerprints/scratches I think I'm more concerned that it will look more black than blue which in my office lighting. That would be a big turn off as, to me, black is super boring.

My current MBP is SG so I think I'm done with that for a while. Silver is a good option, nice and clean. But my previous 2 MBP were silver. That leaves Starlight which I like but not sure I like it as much as Midnight.

Of course, if I wind up getting an MBP again, all of this is out the window and will go for silver.

Click to expand...

The Midnight Blue does look pretty black-ish from what I have seen, but I actually like that about it tbh.

Technerd108 said:

I love the Midnight color a lot. The finish shifts its tone depending on the light. It can look almost black or like a deep navy blue to a dark blue that has a certain luster that tends to glow in different lighting. It is a really nice color.

I love the color matched keyboard. I have always disliked the stark contrast between the black keyboard and siler and really did not like the black keyboard and frame in the 14/16" MBP on the silver.

If I could not get Midnight I would probably choose silver as I don't like the in between color that is space grey. It is not dark enough to be black and not light enough to be a bright color. It is just sort of dull to me. I was one of the first people to get Space grey on a MacBook when it came out too. I have always admired the pure black on the MS Surface Laptops.

I truly and honestly being as objective as I can say the fingerprint issue is sort of a joke to me. I say that because I have had so many Windows laptops with dark finishes, dark blue Lenovo, Royal Blue Galaxy Book, Dark Grey Galaxybook 2 and they all showed more fingerprints than Midnight. ANY dark colored anodized aluminum finish is going to show more fingerprints. Some finishes are better than others but the darker the color the more it shows the fingerprints. And no matter what you choose from silver to Midnight the fingerprints and scratches are the same whether you can see them or not.

Scratching or wear is going to be exactly the same as Space Grey. The difference is that the dark blue has more contrast than any previous MacBook so it will show smaller scratches in a more noticeable way than the lighter colors.

So for some people seeing fingerprints is too much. For some people a small scratch is too much. I understand this because I like my devices to look as new as possible as long as possible. So if you are one of those people and obsess on every fingerprint or minor scratch once it shows up then the M2 MBA in Midnight might not be the best choice.

I think the issue is way overblown and seems to be a thing with Apple owners not present in the PC world.

At the end of the day you need to be happy with what you bought and buying something based on the fear of what could happen or what makes you happy to look at are two different decisions. For me I have been waiting for other colors other than Space Grey and Silver and something in a darker tone. I am afraid it will get scratches. I do not love getting fingerprints on any device.

For me as I said at the end of the day I could buy based on my fear or buy based on what I like. I decided to buy based on what I like and deal with the fear and fingerprints and just love the awesome color that is Midnight.

If you want to play it safe get silver. It will show less wear over time-period. If you want to enjoy a really nice and different looking Mac that shifts its tone based on the light around you then get Midnight.

Only you can determine what you prioritize and what you value and there is NO wrong choice. A lot of people started out with Midnight and decided they wanted Starlight or Silver. Some people started with a Starlight and decided on Midnight. Some just got Midnight and love it. Buy what you like and if you change your mind and can return then do it and get the choice that makes YOU happy. that is all that matters in the end!

Click to expand...

Yeah, and it's of course really difficult to judge how my thresholds may or may not match with those of others.

I'm the sort of guy who doesn't like to return items when I buy them - barring actual defects - so I try to do my due diligence beforehand. You may not be surprised when I tell you it always takes me forever to buy something expensive.

bartmoss said:

The Midnight Blue does look pretty black-ish from what I have seen, but I actually like that about it tbh.

My experience is that under natural daylight, a rich blue. Any kind of indoor lighting, a black with blue tints. It will vary, but it basically works like that.

Personally I like classic silver. After 5 years it still looks brand new, except for the keyboard (any keyboard)

Midnight Blue is the greatest color of any Apple product of all time. The entire line of all Apple products should all switch to it, with no other options offered.

mrmister said:

I don't know what people are talking about with this—I don't have a single scratch after six weeks of use, and I don't anticipate any soon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's just the daily example of people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions.

Asiatic Black Hebrew said:

It's just the daily example of people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions.

I have no issue taking responsibility. You’re just a daily example of an apple apologist. I know how I take care of my stuff, but thanks for the useless input

1BadManVan said:

I have no issue taking responsibility. You’re just a daily example of an apple apologist. I know how I take care of my stuff, but thanks for the useless input

I'm just wondering why the other posters haven't had similar issues, since the laptop itself is apparently to blame for the scratches & not the user. That's essentially what you were saying, so no need to get defensive.

I'm also quite certain that your ad hominem would be the only thing considered useless input.