Do not use palm rest cover for rMBP

I have been using an iCarbons skin which covers the interior of the laptop around the keyboard and have not seen any screen damage.

This was the first thing I checked when I installed the inside skin. When you close the rMBP you can see the rubber ridge that surrounds the screen sitting on top of the skin itself. I concluded that unless the screen is convex the skin couldn't come into contact with the screen.

Even after reading the release I'm not convinced there's any risk having it there.

First thing I get for any new 'Book is the Moshi PalmGuard, as c'mon, it's the best.

Haven't had any issues whatsoever with it. No marks, boundary line or otherwise, on the screen.

tau101 said:

I have been using an iCarbons skin which covers the interior of the laptop around the keyboard and have not seen any screen damage.

This was the first thing I checked when I installed the inside skin. When you close the rMBP you can see the rubber ridge that surrounds the screen sitting on top of the skin itself. I concluded that unless the screen is convex the skin couldn't come into contact with the screen.

Even after reading the release I'm not convinced there's any risk having it there.

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After a few weeks of using an iCarbons cover my lid failed to close. I was convinced that the magnet had moved as couldn't believe that the fraction of a mm the cover adds would count. The apple tech verified the magnet was in the right place and when i begrudgingly removed the cover it started working again... i have the top and bottom covers but nothing else now sadly...

evilpaddy said:

After a few weeks of using an iCarbons cover my lid failed to close. I was convinced that the magnet had moved as couldn't believe that the fraction of a mm the cover adds would count. The apple tech verified the magnet was in the right place and when i begrudgingly removed the cover it started working again... i have the top and bottom covers but nothing else now sadly...

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How exactly did it fail to close? Are we talking about a failure to close all the way with the skin causing some sort of obstruction, or something else? What made you think a magnet had moved?

Sorry in advance if the answers seem obvious to you, but I'm honestly completely puzzled over this subject.

Edit - Nevermind, I have found your post describing the problem at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1471193/
Though, to be honest, I still don't completely understand what you think happened when you describe the skin putting pressure on the "gasket".

The lid shuts but pops back open. Imagine if the magnets were reversed so that the magnetic force prevents the lid from staying shut. All I can say is that I've removed it and it's back to normal...

evilpaddy said:

The lid shuts but pops back open. Imagine if the magnets were reversed so that the magnetic force prevents the lid from staying shut. All I can say is that I've removed it and it's back to normal...

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Thank you for the description, I think I understand now. I will be vigilant for the problem, but I think for now I will have to leave the skin on. I'm a "see it to believe it" kind of person when it comes to counterintuitive stuff like this.

klover said:

I would add keyboard protectors to this as well.

On an earlier rMBP that I returned (LG panel), I had a Moshi keyboard protector on it. Shut it once, opened it, and there was a noticeable pattern of squares from the silicone on the display. It was just a dust-outline but it was obvious that a speck of debris would have easily scratched the surface.

I have a KB protector on my new rMBP but it doesn't get closed with it on.

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I using this Xskn silicone cover and it not doing any damage I can seeing. Maybe because it being very soft and very thin. I seeing Moshi TPU covers but they like plastic but softer but still hard. If not fitting nice on keyboard they can touching the screen.

PaulChowHK said:

I using this Xskn silicone cover and it not doing any damage I can seeing. Maybe because it being very soft and very thin. I seeing Moshi TPU covers but they like plastic but softer but still hard. If not fitting nice on keyboard they can touching the screen.

Image

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That's one busy keyboard.

IGregory said:

That's one busy keyboard.

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Haha sure is! lol

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JtheLemur said:

First thing I get for any new 'Book is the Moshi PalmGuard, as c'mon, it's the best.

Haven't had any issues whatsoever with it. No marks, boundary line or otherwise, on the screen.

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Same here. Been using the Palmguard for a couple or few months now.

Oleophobic coating as an alternative to keyboard cover?

I have owned a MacBook Air 13" for six months. I put a piece of black microfiber cloth on the keyboard and trackpad every time before I close it in order to prevent stains on the screen, and this worked fine. I did not know of Radtech, so I bought a large microfiber cloth for a few $ at an optician and cut it with paper scissors. For the first few weeks I used the thin paper that came with the original package, but it flew away, got crumpled, etc. A microfiber cloth is better and can be used also for wiping.

However the keys look messy, so I was thinking of buying a keyboard protection like the Moshi ClearGuard. As an alternative, I might cover the keys with the Fusso SmartPhone Anti Fingerprint Oleophobic Coating Kit http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/HOW+TO+COAT+Anti+Fingerprint+Oleophobic+Coating+by+yourself/9682/1 . What do you think? It is sold for glass surfaces like the iPhone: will it work also for plastic ones?

It is strange Apple did not engineer better the plastic covers of their keyboard keys. It is sufficient to touch them once and they are immediately spotted by finger grease. There have been lots of complaints for years in the internet about this, but Apple did not react. The trackpad and the aluminium body do not suffer from this problem. I owned a ThinkPad T42p and it had a similar problem with the whole lid, which was rubberised and became stained as soon as you touched it, of course unless you used gloves.

paulchowhk said:

i using this xskn silicone cover and it not doing any damage i can seeing. Maybe because it being very soft and very thin. I seeing moshi tpu covers but they like plastic but softer but still hard. If not fitting nice on keyboard they can touching the screen.

image

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omg what have you done!!!!!

is this still a good piece of advice? i was thinking of getting wrapsol for my 15" rmbp.

Ok. For real now?

I've had the problem with the MacBook Air and my new MacBook Pro with retina display (15") that the keyboard itself (!!) damages the surface of the display / glass which results in tiny scratches all over the display which resemble the keyboard layout and edges around the touchpad. I sent my first MacBook Air back because of this and ordered a new one.

Attached file is proof. This scratches are not dust but real scratches which are a result of the design.

Now I am fighting this with laying a big microfibre cloth inbetween. So… Apple?

lggreat said:

Link to Apple's note: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4384

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Apple tends not to be subtle. I think they're singling out a particular accessory and nothing else. If the issue were screen protectors, they'd say so.

I didn't see anything in Apple's note about screen protectors, which are the accessory Apple would be especially aware of given the role of the Retina screen in selling the rMBP. Telling customers not to use a palm protector is one thing. Telling them not to protect their expensive screens would be quite another. They might as well tell us not to buy cases: "The use of a carrying case could damage your laptop's shell."

The idea of forbidding screen protectors for the most exhaustively marketed screens of all time annoys me so much that I started a discussion in the official Apple Forums just to see what they'd say.

Still, I'm glad I read this, since it made me more aware of the fragility of this particular model. I now know I'll have to buy a wrapsol, Moshi or Zagg shield immediately, before my new MBP even arrives.

I still don't know why this is a sticky. That said, I have found that keyboard protector does mark the screen, but then again I have a screen protector and it's nothing I can't clean.

I have a BestSkinsEver clear skin on my '12 MBA 13" and put one on my wife's 15" rMBP, nothing visible on the screen. Sorry.

another reason to avoid the rMBP either size, screens too touchy, also I heard of images being burnt in over time on the rMBP's

I just wish they would migrate the current MBP 13 and 15 to the size factor of the retina, but with the regular screen, it would be similar to a MBA but I like the size of the 13 rMBP

Wicked1 said:

another reason to avoid the rMBP either size, screens too touchy, also I heard of images being burnt in over time on the rMBP's

I just wish they would migrate the current MBP 13 and 15 to the size factor of the retina, but with the regular screen, it would be similar to a MBA but I like the size of the 13 rMBP

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Screens too touchy??? If your concerned about the keyboard scratching the screen, which I am sure is rare, look into shaggymac. I use one just in case.

There has not been one issue of images being burnt into the screen. The issue that some lg screens have is image retention, not burn in.

I was actually considering to buy a keyboard skin because dust just keep falling into the key spaces. Any recommendations for a good quality one for less than $10?

Also, is there any truth to the idea that using a keyboard skin will reduce airflow and make it harder for the laptop to cool? Because there were some reviews I saw saying that mbp's use the keyboard spaces for additional ventilation.

Squares w/o cover

Sorry not to join the bandwagon even without a cover I get square dust marks on my MacBook Pro

I was talking to someone on apples website via live chat and they said keyboard protectors are fine and will not damage the screen at all. I agree that sometimes keyboard protectors leave marks on the screen but I just wipe them off anyway.

Hi, FWIW I've been using moleskin, a medical prosthetic liner, it works well. Use at your own peril.

Screen protector

I do not use a keyboard cover or palm guard but I do have a screen protector on mine. if you are worried about scratching the screen then put one on, then you don't need to worry about it at all

JtheLemur said:

First thing I get for any new 'Book is the Moshi PalmGuard, as c'mon, it's the best.

Haven't had any issues whatsoever with it. No marks, boundary line or otherwise, on the screen.

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Love the Moshi on the MBA and also the Moshi Muse sleeve for the MBA. Best product ever!

Now only if they made the same for the 15 rMBP.

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Jack9034 said:

I was talking to someone on apples website via live chat and they said keyboard protectors are fine and will not damage the screen at all. I agree that sometimes keyboard protectors leave marks on the screen but I just wipe them off anyway.

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So people are protecting the keyboard at the expense of the screen?

Thanks! was just about to buy one for my rMBP as well

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sorry double post