9C90 is the ONLY display reported for new MBA! Anyone have 9C9A, 9C8F, or different?

[macinsomniac]

MBA Model: 1.86/HDD (display unit)
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Very slightly affected
Place Purchased: Apple Store Michigan Ave. Chicago

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD (display unit)
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Very slightly affected (slightly more than 1.86)
Place Purchased: Apple Store Michigan Ave. Chicago

Once I finally managed to get my turn on these Airs (there were only two MacBook Airs on display in the entire store - I think that a large reason for this is there were still lots of unibody MacBooks on display alongside the new 13" MacBook Pros.

I was specifically looking for the lines, which is the only reason that I noticed them at all. I had to look really near to the screen. Other than actually seeing the lines, it seemed to cause a slight flickering / movement. My general impression when using them from a natural distance was that the displays were of higher-than-average quality. Perhaps the issue is more pronounced on other displays in which I have not seen first-hand. I consider myself a perfectionist and slightly OCD, for measurement's sake, and my career is in graphic design. I am used to closely analyzing aesthetics.

 

[gnfcoota]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Severely Affected
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Returning unit, will try another

Replacement unit
MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Severely Affected
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Same result!, and it was a new shipment into the store.

I am now unsure whether to try another or give a MBP 13 a trial for a few days and see if the weight is bearable or not.

This is very disappointing for an otherwise excellent machine.

 

[Scottsdale]

Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store (there for GRAND OPENING tonight)

So, the coolest Apple Store in Arizona, by a long shot, opened today in Scottsdale (my favorite place and closest store to me, YAH).

FOUR NEW MBAS ON DISPLAY!!!

Manager had taken over one for photos of people in store... so I couldn't check that one.

EAST SIDE OF TABLE = missing the info from that one!

SOUTHEAST CORNER of TABLE
MBA Model: 1.86/HDD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Severely Affected
Location: Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store

SOUTH MIDDLE UNIT on SOUTH SIDE of TABLE
MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Slightly Affected
Location: Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store

SOUTHWEST CORNER of TABLE
MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Slightly Affected
Location: Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store


Looking like the first batch of ALL MACBOOK AIRS are ALL 9C90. I am not giving up hope, but I do agree a third-party-reseller is unlikely to have also. Maybe we just need to wait out some time???


COME ON APPLE!!! Frustrating!

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Can those with 'severely affected' units please post pics? I'm curious as to what these lines look like. I googled it, but even on photos of screens with 'lines', I couldn't see them.

 

[Maven1975]

9C90 here too. However, I do not have the line issue like I did with my Rev. B.

 

[gman901]

Model: 2.13 w/128 SSD
Display: 9C90
Purchased: Sugarland, TX
Status: No Lines

This is the best display I have seen on any Macbook I have owned.

 

[AdamLikesMusic]

So, the coolest Apple Store in Arizona, by a long shot, opened today in Scottsdale (my favorite place and closest store to me, YAH).

Definitely. I work right next to another one, but the new Scottsdale store is a beauty. (Sorry for going off-topic!)

 

[Scottsdale]

You have to see the lines in person. It's nearly impossible to show the lines via a low resolution camera photo. The nature of the lines are to annoy an not completely ruin the image. They usually don't appear completely obvious so you have to know or spot the grainy resolution which is really the lines.

 

[aussie.damo]

Replacement unit
MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Severely Affected
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Same result!, and it was a new shipment into the store.

I am now unsure whether to try another or give a MBP 13 a trial for a few days and see if the weight is bearable or not.

This is very disappointing for an otherwise excellent machine.

That is indeed disappointing. I went through this with the Rev Bs at the Chadstone store, never found one that I could live with, ended up getting a refund. Have been using my Rev A in the hope that either the Rev B would improve, or that the Rev C would fix the problem. I'd really like to transition to using the MBA full time, and the spec of the machine now means I can do that.

The screen on the Rev A is unmatched in my experience. I have two of them in my house, they are both flawless. I would lay down the $$ tomorrow if I could get a Rev C with guaranteed good screen, but I don't want to play Apple lotto.

Damo

 

[Scottsdale]

Definitely. I work right next to another one, but the new Scottsdale store is a beauty. (Sorry for going off-topic!)

I was shocked to see FOUR MBAs on display and how big it is. Really there should have been a Scottsdale Store for at least a couple of years. Since the Apple Store is my favorite place to be, I really welcome a real Apple Store close by. But my bank account will get more stress.

 

[eVolcre]

I'm at the Apple store Pasadena. The display is 00009C90 but I'm not sure how to look for the lines.

I'm in love with the Air and pissed that they didn't give it a good upgrade. Kinda leery of buying it right now but its such a beautiful machine.

I have it right next to the Junior MBP and the screens are no comparison. The MBP is literally like a mirror. I have a glossy display right now in my Gen1 MBP but this is insane. All the 3 MBPs have so much reflection than mine. I have my machine open and next to them with the same screen and same background.

If someone posts here on how to look for the lines I'll give it a shot (i'm sure instructions can be found but I'm at the store and walking around. WIll check back in a few minutes.)

eV

 

[eVolcre]

You have got to be *&^%ting me. This is horrible! I just found them without even needing instructions. I can see them from 2 feet away. Didn't even need to load a special background, its visible with the MR forums on the screen.


Now I see why everyone's so upset. There is no way in heck this is acceptable and no way would i be able to live with it. It would bother me every second I looked at the screen. Even if I knew nothing about the lines issue, I would have seen them. They're very very visible and from 2 feet, not 2 inches!

Sorry MBA users - Apple's been shafting you guys for a while now.

I bounced over to the 13" MBP with the same page in the background to make sure I wasn't imagining this. Nope - no 'lines' on this. The display is so frigging reflective though compared to the MBA.

eV

 

[gnfcoota]

Replacement unit
MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Severely Affected
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Same result!, and it was a new shipment into the store.

I am now unsure whether to try another or give a MBP 13 a trial for a few days and see if the weight is bearable or not.

This is very disappointing for an otherwise excellent machine.

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: No Lines
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Well I went back for the third time with a MBA and I was third time lucky!

It shouldn't be this hard.

 

[Scottsdale]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: No Lines
Place Purchased: Apple Store, Chadstone, Australia

Well I went back for the third time with a MBA and I was third time lucky!

It shouldn't be this hard.

Congrats.

I couldn't find my lines for a few hours today when it had been running half the day. I turned it off, and when I rebooted a few hours later, I found them again. It's weird though because it has to be a light grayish/brownish color (not white)!

I am so convinced there is something minor affecting this.

 

[Houdini7]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: None
Place Purchased: Online Apple Store

 

[Prenvo]

I was shocked to see FOUR MBAs on display and how big it is. Really there should have been a Scottsdale Store for at least a couple of years. Since the Apple Store is my favorite place to be, I really welcome a real Apple Store close by. But my bank account will get more stress.

Heh - if you like four, you'd love the SIX in Regent Street

 

[Scottsdale]

Heh - if you like four, you'd love the SIX in Regent Street

Well, since I live in Scottsdale, Arizona... and the new Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store is a five minute drive from my home and office... I think it's far more likely I will look at the four MBAs at the Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store than the SIX at your "bloody" Regent's Street Apple Store... bloody cool though, mate! Sorta like my cars faster than your car... or for Apple fans my MBP is a 17" and you have a pitiful 13" (well at least it has FireWire too)... or MBA fans, my MBA has MORE lines than your MBA... ugh, or something like that! You report them all in this thread as 9C90???

I will be driving by our Biltmore Apple Store for a conference Monday morning; I plan to stop in and check out the one there too - I guess it's possible with the new MBA they added a second on display??? I am damn near doubtful that we will see anything other than the 9C90 in the first batch at least.

The new Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store is actually quite nice. It has 25' tall ceilings, and it's huge compared to the other four stores in the metropolitan area. At the other four stores, there are currently ONE MBA EACH on display. So it really was quite shocking to see four of my favorites! They must have 24 MacBook Pros on display along with maybe 12 iMacs (that's all a guess as I sorta counted the tables in my head from memory - could be way off). I took my son with me to the Grand Opening, so we each got a free t-shirt. Was too bad they gave us each ADULT XL! There were probably 10% kids, so I was surprised when they didn't have any kids shirts??? I guess it's free, and now I have TWO Scottsdale Quarter t-shirts (black). Pretty cool to me. My first Apple shirt... and it's the area I am from.

It was fairly warm, 100 F. The people stretched completely around the building, which was far larger than the Apple Store itself. So, everyone on the West side of the building got an Apple Umbrella. They were giving out 1,000 t-shirts, and it seemed like there must have been 600 plus in line. The problem was it was very chaotic, so we checked out the MBAs and left, disappointed.

 

[bened]

Congrats.

I couldn't find my lines for a few hours today when it had been running half the day. I turned it off, and when I rebooted a few hours later, I found them again. It's weird though because it has to be a light grayish/brownish color (not white)!

I am so convinced there is something minor affecting this.

Scottsdale,

I remember that either on this forum or on the apple-forum someone had the same experience. He came up with the theory that a warm display might alleviate the line issue. It seemed reasonable to me at that time as I regard the line issue as a coating or glue issue. As the lines are parallel and as I have found on several screens that usually the lines are uneven in appearance (in some areas they are very visible, in others barely noticeable) it seems to be a pattern created by mechanically applying the coating or glue and with glue/coating applied in an uneven matter. Warming up might alleviate the appearance of the lines.

I am not a technical expert but that explanation still seems reasonable to me. Too much glue/coating might explain as well why you don't see the regular square-pattern that I have seen on every other LCD for years when getting very very close to the screen. It would explain as well from a business point of view why Apple is not going to address the problem as that would mean changing the displays of most Revision B MBA - quite costly. This is not a justification, just a search for an explanation. Why didn't Apple changed the display with Revision C? I am just guessing but maybe they have a very long-term supply contract that can't be changed. Just a guess.

My experiences with the lines are the following: Since november and Revision B I have seen close to 20 MBA displays in Japan and Taiwan. All of them - with one exception - had the lines, more or less noticeable, all of them were 9C90 or 9C9A, there was no difference between the 1.6 or 1.86 models. I would not dare to argue that 9C9A is less affected than 9C90. There was one exception in Taiwan where the screen was 9C8F and had no lines at all. It was a wonderful display except for very uneven lightning. I have seen Revision A MBA which were all flawless.

I exchanged my initial MBA once in november and then gave it back. In march I bought another MBA, it had very visible lines. They repaired the MBA due to other issues and changed the display, now the lines are less visible but they are still there. Annoying on white or light background, especially bad as I use the MBA mostly for writing. Very very distracting if you want to do serious work with pictures. I keep the MBA as the small form factor is perfect for my work. I see it as a trade-off although I am highly disappointed by Apple. All MBPs I had before had much better screens. I don't let Apple touch the screen again as I am worried that they would install an even worth display.

My experience is that the lines are less and - depending on surrounding lights - not visible if you use the MBA in normal working distance. But under some darker working conditions I see them directly even in normal working distance. But even if you don't see them in a noticeable way they tend to diminish contrast and sharpness in my experience. The whole screen just don't look right, someone had described it as a pattern like recycled paper with highly uneven structure.

Regards bened

 

[Joe23]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Slightly Affected
Place Purchased: Apple.com (UK Store)

I also appear to have a slight bright spot in the middle of the screen, which is only really noticeable when the screen brightness is on the lowest setting.

I'm not sure if I should go through the whole returns process with Apple (nearest store is at least an hour away) with no guarantee of getting a better screen - but at the same time I don't want to be left with an inferior screen on a supposedly premium product.

 

[Scottsdale]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: Slightly Affected
Place Purchased: Apple.com (UK Store)

I also appear to have a slight bright spot in the middle of the screen, which is only really noticeable when the screen brightness is on the lowest setting.

I'm not sure if I should go through the whole returns process with Apple (nearest store is at least an hour away) with no guarantee of getting a better screen - but at the same time I don't want to be left with an inferior screen on a supposedly premium product.

If you definitely want the MBA, be careful returning it. I returned a second new MBA last week which had the faintest lines possible yet still visible from only a few inches. I wish I would have kept that MBA. I am on number four, and it has the weirdest lines I have seen yet. Not on white but on very light grayish/brownish colors like the boxes around the white text box when submitting a post here.

There has not been a single report of any display other than the 9C90, and that is bad news considering this is considered the display with the worst lines on the rev B MBAs.

Disappointing for certain. I love my new MBA. It doesn't affect normal viewing right now... but it changes throughout the day often. I fear that it could do anything actually. I don't trust how unstable the lines are, but truthfully it's only within a few inches that they can be seen, and they're not on white which is crazy! Normally white is the easiest way to find the lines. So, this is a different issue than the normal...???

 

[Scottsdale]

Scottsdale,

I remember that either on this forum or on the apple-forum someone had the same experience. He came up with the theory that a warm display might alleviate the line issue. It seemed reasonable to me at that time as I regard the line issue as a coating or glue issue. As the lines are parallel and as I have found on several screens that usually the lines are uneven in appearance (in some areas they are very visible, in others barely noticeable) it seems to be a pattern created by mechanically applying the coating or glue and with glue/coating applied in an uneven matter. Warming up might alleviate the appearance of the lines.

I am not a technical expert but that explanation still seems reasonable to me. Too much glue/coating might explain as well why you don't see the regular square-pattern that I have seen on every other LCD for years when getting very very close to the screen. It would explain as well from a business point of view why Apple is not going to address the problem as that would mean changing the displays of most Revision B MBA - quite costly. This is not a justification, just a search for an explanation. Why didn't Apple changed the display with Revision C? I am just guessing but maybe they have a very long-term supply contract that can't be changed. Just a guess.

My experiences with the lines are the following: Since november and Revision B I have seen close to 20 MBA displays in Japan and Taiwan. All of them - with one exception - had the lines, more or less noticeable, all of them were 9C90 or 9C9A, there was no difference between the 1.6 or 1.86 models. I would not dare to argue that 9C9A is less affected than 9C90. There was one exception in Taiwan where the screen was 9C8F and had no lines at all. It was a wonderful display except for very uneven lightning. I have seen Revision A MBA which were all flawless.

I exchanged my initial MBA once in november and then gave it back. In march I bought another MBA, it had very visible lines. They repaired the MBA due to other issues and changed the display, now the lines are less visible but they are still there. Annoying on white or light background, especially bad as I use the MBA mostly for writing. Very very distracting if you want to do serious work with pictures. I keep the MBA as the small form factor is perfect for my work. I see it as a trade-off although I am highly disappointed by Apple. All MBPs I had before had much better screens. I don't let Apple touch the screen again as I am worried that they would install an even worth display.

My experience is that the lines are less and - depending on surrounding lights - not visible if you use the MBA in normal working distance. But under some darker working conditions I see them directly even in normal working distance. But even if you don't see them in a noticeable way they tend to diminish contrast and sharpness in my experience. The whole screen just don't look right, someone had described it as a pattern like recycled paper with highly uneven structure.

Regards bened

I need to find a broken hinge with a display being replaced to buy a display cheaper for testing. Perhaps we could try to take off the top layer??? Does it come off? Does anyone know this? If I could find one for a few hundred bucks I guess I may do it. If anyone sees one on Craig's List or eBay, send me a PM with a link PLEASE.

 

[kent912]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: No Lines that I can see
Place Purchased: Amazon.com

I have spent the past 10 minutes looking at the screen but I can not see any horizontal lines at all. I am using MR site as the background. How long are the lines that you guys have been seeing? Maybe I am just not looking at the right place.

 

[Veinticinco]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: No Lines that I can see
Place Purchased: Amazon.com

I have spent the past 10 minutes looking at the screen but I can not see any horizontal lines at all. I am using MR site as the background. How long are the lines that you guys have been seeing? Maybe I am just not looking at the right place.

Think of a laid-paper, linen, or papyrus-look texture - continuous faint lines in a stave-like arrangement (as in musical score - grouped 5 or 6 together) and this pattern repeated all the way down the screen, left to right, often at a slight angle to the horizontal.

 

[Jezak]

MBA Model: 2.13/SSD
Display ID: 9C90
Line Status: no lines, no problems
Place Purchased: Amazon.com


I cannot find any traces of lines at all.

 

[uberamd]

MBA Model: 1.6GHz Rev A
Lines: None
Display Model: 9C73
Place: Apple Online Store, refurb 2 months ago