How is the fingerprint coatings on the M3 MBA Midnight?

[iAppleOrchard]

Greetings!

I am looking into upgrading to an M3 MBA with 16 GB of Ram and 512 GB of Storage.

I already made the decision that I am upgrading as my trusty M1 MBA is starting to get slow in Xcode because I have 8 GB of Ram. Really good laptop for web browsing and video editing, but when I get into Ram intensive stuff like Xcode, it lags a lot...

Xcode is not a job, it's just a hobby that I want to turn into a job in the future. It isn't critical that I upgrade ASAP.

I went to my local Apple Store yesterday and looked at the colors.

I really like Midnight, however when the M2 was the latest, I would look at the MacBooks at the Apple Store and see that there were fingerprints ALL OVER on it.

I really like the Midnight color of the M3 MBA, I just want to know if I should wait for them to restock it in the configurations I want, as it is out of stock, or just get silver since that is my 2nd choice if the fingerprint coating doesn't work, and Flatirons Crossing and Cherry Creek have that in stock.

For those that have the M3 MBA or M3 Pro MBP in Space Black,
Does the anti-fingerprint coating actually work?

Please also send pictures of your MacBook and I will make my decision like that.

Thanks in advance,
Will

 

[Alicia1]

There is something up with Apple's website, if you select mid tier and up speck to 16gb ram, it becomes available for pick up in store. If you select top spec, it doesn't. Very weird considering it is exactly the same. I hope Apple fix this issue soon. Also if you select via the education store it isn't available but is available standard store.

 

[Rm.237]

Just got mine (13" 16gb/512gb) today and it's smooth as the glass on my 16" M2 MBP. I had (for a brief time) the 15" M2 and it was crazy coarse by comparison. I'm really pleased that that is not the case with my new M3 Air!

 

[Rm.237]

Just got mine (13" 16gb/512gb) today and it's smooth as the glass on my 16" M2 MBP. I had (for a brief time) the 15" M2 and it was crazy coarse by comparison. I'm really pleased that that is not the case with my new M3 Air!

Don't know why but I read this as another post about the coating on the trackpad. Not the overall fingerprint issue. But based off my previous experience the anodization process seems to be legit. Yes, fingerprints happen but it's not nearly as bad.

 

[jdb8167]

Greetings!

I am looking into upgrading to an M3 MBA with 16 GB of Ram and 512 GB of Storage.

I already made the decision that I am upgrading as my trusty M1 MBA is starting to get slow in Xcode because I have 8 GB of Ram. Really good laptop for web browsing and video editing, but when I get into Ram intensive stuff like Xcode, it lags a lot...

Xcode is not a job, it's just a hobby that I want to turn into a job in the future. It isn't critical that I upgrade ASAP.

I went to my local Apple Store yesterday and looked at the colors.

I really like Midnight, however when the M2 was the latest, I would look at the MacBooks at the Apple Store and see that there were fingerprints ALL OVER on it.

I really like the Midnight color of the M3 MBA, I just want to know if I should wait for them to restock it in the configurations I want, as it is out of stock, or just get silver since that is my 2nd choice if the fingerprint coating doesn't work, and Flatirons Crossing and Cherry Creek have that in stock.
View attachment 2357666

For those that have the M3 MBA or M3 Pro MBP in Space Black,
Does the anti-fingerprint coating actually work?

Please also send pictures of your MacBook and I will make my decision like that.

Thanks in advance,
Will

I'll know later today. Picking up mine after work today.

 

[Ubuntu]

Curious to hear thoughts as I saw in a couple of Youtubers mention that some of the smudges on the lid didn't go away

 

[jdb8167]

Curious to hear thoughts as I saw in a couple of Youtubers mention that some of the smudges on the lid didn't go away

I definitely still get fingerprints but I find them pretty easy to remove. Breathe on the fingerprint, wipe away with a micro-fiber cloth. I'll experiment with something more elegant than making out with my laptop but that works for now.

The palm rest deck also seems to not pick up as many prints. I've used it all day and I don't see any. Unfortunately, the space-bar is already getting shiny.

 

[Geeks]

Fingerprints show fairly easily. Brand new laptop, I touched the lid four times.

 

[ascender]

Jason Snell has said the new one is pretty much like the old one.

He thinks its possibly because Midnight is a much darker colour than Space Black, so even if the new coating is helping in some way, any marks are still pretty obvious.

 

[teerexx52]

I just purchased one and I would say it's considerably better.

 

[Ubuntu]

I definitely still get fingerprints but I find them pretty easy to remove. Breathe on the fingerprint, wipe away with a micro-fiber cloth. I'll experiment with something more elegant than making out with my laptop but that works for now.

The palm rest deck also seems to not pick up as many prints. I've used it all day and I don't see any. Unfortunately, the space-bar is already getting shiny.

Thank you.

 

[Geekett]

Here’s a picture of French site MacG, shows an M2 and an M3 in midnight. Seems awful fingerprints are not gone.

Can you guess which one has the new coating ?

 

[TheWraith]

Remember, you just need to use Plexus like 2/year and it won't matter, on an m2 and I presume an m3

 

[jdb8167]

Here’s a picture of French site MacG, shows an M2 and an M3 in midnight. Seems awful fingerprints are not gone.

Can you guess which one has the new coating ?

When I got to work this morning I noticed a few fingerprints on my M3 Midnight MacBook Air. A few swipes with a dry micro-fiber cloth and they are gone. That never worked on the M2 Midnight MacBook Air. Also, the palm rest seems much more resistant to smudges on the M3 vs. the M2.

 

[Steve121178]

Terrible. Pretty much false advertising really as the coating is still awful and shows prints easily. Just go for Starlight or Silver which requires vastly less effort to keep it looking respectable.

 

[za9ra22]

My M1 MBA looks like it's been used as a pingpong bat in a grease factory, but after almost 3 years and no cleaning, it probably would.

I've been playing with a 15-inch midnight MBA today, and even with a fair bit of handling, there's barely a mark on it. And what there was, wiped off with a soft cloth (microfibre I think).

I really don't know what you'd expect of a laptop that gets handled. I had a plastic-cased Dell that looked smudged and dirty after a month, and the only one that looked clean after use was a grey-colored Vaio a long time ago. The color does obviously have something to do with it - even after a couple of hours, the 15-inch MBA keyboard shows signs of smudges on the black key caps - just as the 13-inch silver one does.

 

[jdb8167]

Terrible. Pretty much false advertising really as the coating is still awful and shows prints easily. Just go for Starlight or Silver which requires vastly less effort to keep it looking respectable.

Not really. Just wipe it down with a micro-fiber cloth. Fingerprints gone. Bigger problem is how to keep the keyboard and especially the space bar from getting all shiny.

 

[halledise]

not to sound crass, but good old mr sheen on the outside casing keeps the fingerprints away.
well, at least it does on my space grey M2.
slippery little sucker tho'

 

[Lioness~]

It's mostly guys who have trouble with fingerprints, right?
Maybe a difference where you have or put your hands....😂

I am totally ok with my new M3 Midnight, I see absolutely nothing more then on the old 2018 that I traded in for this new M3. Midnight have some 6y appeal though.

 

[diamornte]

I noticed there still are smudges and dark spots on my M3 Midnight MacBook Air from where I picked it up etc. It’s a human thing to have oil seeping from our skins, not a male/female thing.

Since I didn’t want to have to wear gloves all the time when using my computer, I decided to use a cover like this below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C815DRN6?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Geekett]

Sorry but please don’t buy this kind of crap !
it would destroy the aesthetic of your Macbook. Besides not good for heat dissipation and for environment

 

[Jim Lahey]

Starlight or Space Gray are FTW. I’d have already bought a MacBook Pro M3 Pro if Apple hadn’t chosen Scratched Black and Bacofoil Silver as the only color options 🤮

 

[za9ra22]

One week of hours-long use each day.... 15-inch MBA Midnight, and it wipes clean with a $4 cloth for cleaning glasses. Spectacularly excellent.

Yes, it does collect fingerprints, my silver M1 did too. The M3 has flatter panels so I expected it to show smudges and prints more, but it really doesn't - and it does wipe clean quite easily. By comparison, it took quite a while trying to scrub the M1 clean before putting it away in storage.

 

[diamornte]

Sorry but please don’t buy this kind of crap !
it would destroy the aesthetic of your Macbook. Besides not good for heat dissipation and for environment

Sorry, but you’re wrong. It is easy to recycle the plastic, just take it to the nearest recycling center where they recycle hard plastic. If you’re so concerned about “heat dissipation,“ you can easily take off the bottom portion of the cover. And as far as the ”aesthetic,” that’s just your opinion, and IMO it’s fine and looks much better than a fingerprint magnet.

 

[joeblow7777]

I'm actually really impressed by it. Almost 2 weeks of daily use and my midnight MBA barely has visible fingerprints, even though I've never wiped it off.