Concerns about MacBook Air M2 build quality

Honza1 said:

Too high expectations, especially for Air? I would not bother to even look for most of these "flaws". It is machine, a tool... It is expected to be carried in backpack, taped with stickers all over, carried in one hand opened and running, and basically abused. I have seen all of it, just visit any university. It is more important for it to survive than to be symbol.

JustAnExpat said:

There's always going to be imperfections that is within tolerance. It appears these imperfections are not causing any fitness of use problems with the MacBook Air.

> The scratch on the display cable makes me feel like it’s rubbing and LCD will break

What's the display cable you're referring to. The display cable isn't exposed.

Honza1 said:

While the cost may be high for you personally to think about this as premium device, Air is NOT Apple premium laptop. Air is their basic consumer item, similar to Mini. Even though the cost of loaded version on is quite high, same box, same display, same assembly line. It is sold in large quantities to students and general consumers. Their premium laptop is Max 16 inch Macbook Pro. But even there, these things are tools, not status symbols.
On a side note, none of the computers I had (Macs or PCs) looked better or was more perfect after repairs. If you want perfect Air, you need to get it from factory - which means exchange within exchange period if you are not satisfied. Most repairs involve work which will likely cause additional scratches and misfits. If you are trying to improve cosmetic issues via repairs, it is unlikely to work.

Click to expand...

midnightrain said:

But hinges noise can exist even from factory. All MacBooks assembled by the workers at the factory, am I wrong? MacBooks can also come with scratches right from the box.

Technerd108 said:

What the poster was trying to say that responded to you is that it is best to exchange than repair.

The reason is generally if you have a defective device repair is not going to solve cosmetic issues and will likely only add to them because repair involves disassembly and reassembly. This process can add cosmetic defects. Also during repair they may replace parts with refurbished parts. Repair only guarantee fit for use not cosmetic perfection.

If you inspect all items you buy carefully as soon as you get them and notice any issues like you have mentioned then it would have been better to simply exchange it. You may have to exchange a few times until you get the "one" that is good enough for you.

Unfortunately it seems that Apple manufacturing is not doing a good job at quality control and the consumer is left to be the final quality control check. For the factory to produce as many devices as possible as cheaply as possible it seems it is better to ship out poorly made units and just have the consumer replace it or live with it rather than slowing down the production line and doing a proper quality control check.

Retail units sold at stores in preconfigured specs seem to be better in this regard than BTO units.

In your situation you are either going to have to live with what you have as long as it works despite any cosmetic imperfections or sell it resale and buy something else.

Since Apple has probably spent up any profit on your machine by repairing it more than once they are likely not going to do much more than what they have done. If after the first repair it was unsatisfactory to you and you escalated to a customer service supervisor you might have been able to get a replacement.

I don't think that is possible now because repairing the device a few times is almost as costly as a new unit.

It is unfortunate and I am sorry for all you have gone through. We do except a certain level of perfection from Apple regardless of the tier we buy into.

For those saying that the air is an entry level device so you should just expect imperfections or pay more is ridiculous. All Apple devices are premium except for maybe the older base iPad and the iPhone SE but everything else is a premium product and people expect an experience commensurate with the cost.

Click to expand...

midnightrain said:

Got it, thanks. Unfortunately we do not have 14 days return policy in my country. Every Apple reseller will probably send defective devices to AASP for diagnostic and repair. It always takes nearly 2 months . I’ve contacted Apple Support Agent after first repair, but he was literally useless. He also told me that the AASP engineers make a decisions about repairing my device, but it’s not true. The AASP engineer was friendly and professional, but Apple rejected the third LCD replacement. They said that it’s fine. I really don’t understand why they replaced entire LCD at the first time if the hinges noise is a cosmetic issue.

Technerd108 said:

Not that I agree with Apple in your case but from their perspective a noise made by the case that doesn't affect the actual use of the device is not an issue.

If the noise caused an actual problem like the screen flashed or went blank every time you opened the hinge and it made a noise then it would warrant a repair but if it just makes a noise but doesn't affect anything else then they consider that cosmetic and within tolerance.

So you don't have any return policy in your country? After you purchase a device your only remedy is repair? I am really sorry to hear that.

If you bought a windows laptop would you be able to return it within a certain time period if it was defective or didn't like it?

Click to expand...

midnightrain said:

The expensive device must have a hardware defect if you want to return it within 14 days. Apple diagnostic usually takes more than 2 weeks, so the only solution is a repair. I’ve read that in the USA you can return your Apple product even if it’s not defective within 14 days.

fisherking said:

the keycaps/trackpad wear is no better or worse than it was on my previous macbook... and i take my M2 air everywhere, and would hardly call it 'delicate'. then again, i have mine in a soft sleeve, in a backpack, because, you know... i take care of my stuff...

Honza1 said:

While the cost may be high for you personally to think about this as premium device, Air is NOT Apple premium laptop. Air is their basic consumer item, similar to Mini. Even though the cost of loaded version on is quite high, same box, same display, same assembly line. It is sold in large quantities to students and general consumers. Their premium laptop is Max 16 inch Macbook Pro. But even there, these things are tools, not status symbols.
On a side note, none of the computers I had (Macs or PCs) looked better or was more perfect after repairs. If you want perfect Air, you need to get it from factory - which means exchange within exchange period if you are not satisfied. Most repairs involve work which will likely cause additional scratches and misfits. If you are trying to improve cosmetic issues via repairs, it is unlikely to work.

Click to expand...

midnightrain said:

I mean Apple is a billionaire company. MacBook Air M2 is still a premium laptop. It’s only 100$ cheaper then MacBook Pro M2 and components are better in MacBook Air M2. Why should I have such a poor quality for this price? I’ve had my MacBook repaired 3 times and it’s even looks worse now. My LCD was without any backlight bleeding before the first repair. The new LCD came with backlight bleeding in the bottom left corner and I’ve been waiting another 2 months. The last LCD came with even bigger backlight bleeding, but Apple says that it’s normal. So they have wasted 4 months of my time and now I have backlight bleeding, poor build quality, noise from the hinges and scratch on LCD cable. Awesome!