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Air returns - Why?
- Thread starter raqball
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Had to return my wife's. See post https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ness-the-nitgate.2160758/page-6#post-26923752
After posting on November 12th that I loved my new 2018 MBA and that I did not have any of the screen issues, I had to return it because of a hardware issue. I opted not to repair it but just exchange it. Well, the new one has a dim screen like so many have talked about. I'm so disappointed. Now that I've gone through the pains of restoring my content and playing on it I can't decide if I'm going to keep this one or exchange it for a comparable Pro model.
But I didn't want the Pro. I like the form factor and weight of the Air. But what good is it if I can't see anything on the dang screen. So sad right now.
But I didn't want the Pro. I like the form factor and weight of the Air. But what good is it if I can't see anything on the dang screen. So sad right now.
Can you tell us what kind of hardware error that was?
Does it mean that there are different displays out with different maximum brightness for the 2018
MBA?
Sorry, I should have elaborated. Shortly after started using the laptop when I would open the lid either try to wake from sleep or just turn it on I would get a “gray-test-pattern” like screen. I wouldn’t be able to login. Then it would take 4-5 minutes to login with the gray gear frozen on the screen. I assumed it was software related. But one Apple rep had me send logs that were forwarded to the engineers. They got back with me within 24 hours and said it was a hardware issue. No need to troubleshoot any further. No one would say what was failing. So that’s all I know. Here’s a photo of my screen when it would do that. The white square in the lower left of the screen is my cursor.
I wanted the Air, not the Pro, but having bought the Air I returned it too and decided to try the Pro. I haven’t missed the Air one bit. Give it a go!
Battery life is so much better than I expected, and I prefer the flat keyboard to the angled one on the Air bizarrely (maybe because it is butterfly?). I’m not a fan of the TouchBar but it’s a compromise I’m willing to live with. The iGPU horesepower of the 13” Pro really helps makes the UI slick smooth and the screen is of course, far better.
A lot of people are having the same issue but I thought it was still unresolved as to the cause or fix. Mine started doing it but I discovered if I put it to sleep with the dropdown menu it never does it.
So you are just going to live with it? When they said it was a problem with the Hardware that kind of freaked me out. First thought, "Great, something is already broken on my new computer". That's why I didn't want to keep it.
I'm not convinced yet it's a hardware problem. One of these days I'll figure out what to do. With so many people having the same problem what's to say the new replacement doesn't also have the defective hardware component.
Wait and see I guess.
You're right. I hadn't thought of that. Dang, I'm so on the fence of keeping this one or exchanging it. That comment makes me want to take it back for a Pro. I always keep my laptops for minimum 5 years. I just don't want any issues. Guess I've been spoiled in the past.
So, to make my saga even longer... I went back to the Apple Store with the replacement Air and decided to exchange it for yet another 2018 MBA (same configuration as I've had. Luckily they had some in stock as mine was originally a custom order) I figured if this one was dull then my original one must be the anomaly and I'd just replace that one with a Pro and forget it.
But thankfully, the third one is just like the first, a bit deeper and richer in color. I don't have to move the brightness slider all the way to the end, I can go a touch past half way and it's plenty bright. Obviously, it's not the Pro, but this is perfect for me if nothing goes wrong with this one. But I wish I had screenshots to show you how much dimmer/duller and washed out the last one was compared to this one.
They said I have 14 days to make an exchange, so if something is goofy with this one, I'm hoping it will surface in time and that will be it, I'll get a pro and be done with it.
But thankfully, the third one is just like the first, a bit deeper and richer in color. I don't have to move the brightness slider all the way to the end, I can go a touch past half way and it's plenty bright. Obviously, it's not the Pro, but this is perfect for me if nothing goes wrong with this one. But I wish I had screenshots to show you how much dimmer/duller and washed out the last one was compared to this one.
They said I have 14 days to make an exchange, so if something is goofy with this one, I'm hoping it will surface in time and that will be it, I'll get a pro and be done with it.
Maybe a weird question, but I know they 'resolved' this brightness issues since. But, does it still drain the battery faster? I am sitting here at home with a new 2018 MBA and 2018 MBP Touch Bar and I can tell you the Air battery wears down much quicker (although I need to have the screen brighter) wondering if this is why? So at the same point, same usage the MBA was at 50% and the MBP was at 72%.......I just watched a new review on Youtube about the 2018 MacBook Air (where the reviewer talked a lot about the dimness and how she had to have it basically at max brightness which kills the battery quick) but looking at the form factor again I miss it :/ I seriously hope they resolve the brightness issues. Such a real bummer the more and more I think about it. I hope enough people have complained or returned their new Airs that it triggers Apple to resolve this. Because then in my opinion the MacBook Air 2018 would be perfect
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I'd be happy if they just made the screen less dim
Received mine today. I don't have any serious concerns so far. Comparing this side by side with a 2017 MBP:
The display seems bright enough. Sure, the MBP's is brighter, but honestly, not by a huge amount.
Colors do pop out more on the MBP, but I don't think it's as dramatic as many people are making it out to be, especially if you tweak the color profile. It's not a perfect, A+ display, but it's still a great one.
I already knew this, but I prefer the MBA's form factor. Edges are not as sharp, and it's easier to pick it up with a single hand. The weight difference, while not huge, gets noticeable if you hold it for a while. I also find the tapered design aesthetically more pleasant, although obviously, this is subjective.
Performance-wise...too early to say. I do not consider myself a light user (I'll use this mostly for programming, running VMs, perhaps some infrequent video editing, etc), but I'm not expecting this thing to handle the more complex workloads like a breeze. I've been trying a mix of things and seems plenty powerful so far (mind it, I did get the 16GB upgrade).
I do still question my decision of getting this VS the Pro, but here are the reasons I'm leaning towards keeping it:
- The no TouchBar version is outdated, and was out of the table since the beginning.
- A TouchBar-enabled equivalent configuration (256GB SSD, 16GB RAM) was about $400 more
- I saw not having the TouchBar almost as a plus - not that it bothers me, but I've barely used it, and getting the Esc key back is nice.
- The Pro seems to have some heating/noise issues, caused by the 4-core chip. The extra performance would be great, but I do care about noise and heat.
- I'm concerned the current Pros might be replaced sooner rather than later. It seems to me like the Air will last longer until the next update happens.
Will I keep it? Not sure yet! but if it can handle my workloads comfortably, most likely.
The display seems bright enough. Sure, the MBP's is brighter, but honestly, not by a huge amount.
Colors do pop out more on the MBP, but I don't think it's as dramatic as many people are making it out to be, especially if you tweak the color profile. It's not a perfect, A+ display, but it's still a great one.
I already knew this, but I prefer the MBA's form factor. Edges are not as sharp, and it's easier to pick it up with a single hand. The weight difference, while not huge, gets noticeable if you hold it for a while. I also find the tapered design aesthetically more pleasant, although obviously, this is subjective.
Performance-wise...too early to say. I do not consider myself a light user (I'll use this mostly for programming, running VMs, perhaps some infrequent video editing, etc), but I'm not expecting this thing to handle the more complex workloads like a breeze. I've been trying a mix of things and seems plenty powerful so far (mind it, I did get the 16GB upgrade).
I do still question my decision of getting this VS the Pro, but here are the reasons I'm leaning towards keeping it:
- The no TouchBar version is outdated, and was out of the table since the beginning.
- A TouchBar-enabled equivalent configuration (256GB SSD, 16GB RAM) was about $400 more
- I saw not having the TouchBar almost as a plus - not that it bothers me, but I've barely used it, and getting the Esc key back is nice.
- The Pro seems to have some heating/noise issues, caused by the 4-core chip. The extra performance would be great, but I do care about noise and heat.
- I'm concerned the current Pros might be replaced sooner rather than later. It seems to me like the Air will last longer until the next update happens.
Will I keep it? Not sure yet! but if it can handle my workloads comfortably, most likely.
Good summary I feel the same way with my MBA I have now and I have a MBP too 2018 for both...... hard to beat the MBA for now...
The Air screen looks a little washed out and I think it's because the display doesn't have a wide gamut like almost every other Apple product with a screen.
The pro's have it, the iMac's have it, the phones have it, many of the iPads have it....
I remember when the iPad mini first went retina---it lacked the same color gamut as the larger iPad (not DCIP 3, however) and it looked washed out in comparison. That's what's happening here I think.
The pro's have it, the iMac's have it, the phones have it, many of the iPads have it....
I remember when the iPad mini first went retina---it lacked the same color gamut as the larger iPad (not DCIP 3, however) and it looked washed out in comparison. That's what's happening here I think.
The screen on the new Air is nice. Unless you are big into photo editing and the like you won’t notice anything. Had mine since launch and love it. Nice saving the money over the higher line Pro models and getting a hi-res screen. The MacBooks just don’t have enough HP and this is a great middle ground.
I bought a 2018 mbp 15" a few months ago and a 2018 mba a few days ago. I used the air for a few days everyday. Boy it's so much lighter than my mbp and it's very easy to lug it around. The portability factor is a win for this machine. The iconic wedge shape design is also one of a kind and no other competitor does it better than apple. I will give it that.
At the end I returned it b/c I had intermittent random beachballs while doing mundane tasks and it was getting a little frustrating. It's only got a dual core cpu and cpu is already outdated by today's standards when my mbp is hexa core and we have octo cores in desktops. In 2 years, we will have 12-core desktop machines and octo core laptops becoming more mainstream.
At the end I returned it b/c I had intermittent random beachballs while doing mundane tasks and it was getting a little frustrating. It's only got a dual core cpu and cpu is already outdated by today's standards when my mbp is hexa core and we have octo cores in desktops. In 2 years, we will have 12-core desktop machines and octo core laptops becoming more mainstream.
What were these "mundane tasks"?
I ask, because I've been using the MBA for six months and haven't once seen a beachball.
yeah I understand, I had the MBA for a week and really did love it! But It did have some sluggish aspects at times (yes having like 8-10 windows going).... but a stellar machine otherwise! I did return it due to Best Buy having the sale the ended yesterday on $400 of on Touch Bar MBP in Silver (yes I am s weird one who likes silver
. pretty happy with it! Just wish the 15" was lighter for my arthritic hands! lolThe usual - checking emails, watching youtube, emptying the trash can, word processing in ms word, etc. There were several instances where emptying the trash took a good few seconds. It is instant on my mbp regardless of how many files I was deleting. Installing apps definitely takes longer on the mba than my mbp. I usually have about 15-18 apps open simultaneously but most of them are stock apps and I don't do any graphical intensive work like video or photo editing at all and performance felt jittery at random times. I use chrome a lot w/ 8 - 12 tabs but that's pretty much the only thing that would tax it. The mba I returned was a bto too, 16gb ram/512gb ssd.
yeah I understand, I had the MBA for a week and really did love it! But It did have some sluggish aspects at times (yes having like 8-10 windows going).... but a stellar machine otherwise! I did return it due to Best Buy having the sale the ended yesterday on $400 of on Touch Bar MBP in Silver (yes I am s weird one who likes silver
I'm a sucker for silver as well. My mbp is silver, the mba I had was also silver. My old 2012 rmbp 15" which is 7 years old now is of course silver.
I just picked up the air today. I am enjoying it but I'm having a few quirks with the OS. It won't capitalize letters after a period and sometimes it doesn't add the apostrophe in a word.
I also notice the edges are sharp on this thing and it starts to hurt my wrists as I type for longer periods of time. Maybe it's the way I type or sit or hold my wrists while typing because it has been a long time since I used a laptop as my main computer. I have been using my iPad for many years, so the laptop is something I will have to get used to again.
I also notice the edges are sharp on this thing and it starts to hurt my wrists as I type for longer periods of time. Maybe it's the way I type or sit or hold my wrists while typing because it has been a long time since I used a laptop as my main computer. I have been using my iPad for many years, so the laptop is something I will have to get used to again.