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Considering the gold model; any issues with chipping?

happyslayer

happyslayer

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 3, 2008
1,033
579
Glendale, AZ
Hey all,

I switched from the 2016 Silver MacBook 12 to a late 2016 Silver MacBook Pro 13 with TouchBar. (My wife poured coffee into her Air and she needed a replacement... so I snagged a pro and gave her the MacBook.) Anyway, while it is a great laptop, I miss the smaller size and weight of the 12" MacBook so I think I'm going to switch back. I have a buyer for the 13.

A question:

I have always purchased the silver models because they are kind of classic Mac. But I was checking out the gold models in the store (not Rose Gold aka pink) and thought it looked kind of nice. Also, it will help distinguish who's is who's at my house. But do the gold models chip over time? Or does the gold color wear off on the palm rests and such? Just wondering how good the anodizing process is. I used to run a lot of car stereo equipment and the anodized coatings on the amps would chip without much effort.

Thanks in advance.
 
Why not consider Space Grey? It's subtle, sleek and elegant and definitely not silver, but still harkens back to the long line of silver Macs which have preceded it. The darker color would serve to differentiate it from the silver of your wife's machine. (Another way of differentiating, of course, is to have different desktop wallpaper and such, too, rather than going with the standard one which Apple provides; open the machine and one look immediately tells the story!) Something else which will differentiate it right from the get-go is that like the current MacBook Pros, the 2017 MacBooks start up when one lifts the lid -- now THAT was a surprise to me, as I hadn't expected it! I also do something else to make each of my machines unique and special and definitely mine: I change the default icon of the system's primary drive to a photo of the actual device (rather than of an ugly old hard drive) and rename it as well. So your wife could have hers named whatever she chooses and you could have yours named whatever you choose -- and each have a different icon image indicating the drive......

Getting back on topic, though and addressing your concerns: while I don't know anything about the gold, I can say that my 2016 space grey machine has shown no signs of color wearing off, serious scratches, etc. I am moving to the 2017 rMB because I wanted the 16 GB RAM and also the somewhat-changed keyboard, etc. Loving it so far!
 
Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear that yours shows no signs of chipping or wear. And I am considering the Space Gray. Though I already have a space gray Apple Watch and iPad and have had similar colored iPhones. My buddy has the space gray Pro and (please don’t take offense) my first thought is that it looks a bit like a Dell XPS from a distance. Both being gray. That’s not a bad thing.

But having actually looked at and held the gold (maybe called champagne?) color, I kind of liked it. It’s definitely different than any previous Mac I’ve owned. So I thought I might get all rowdy - - and try gold. Also, I never seem to keep my laptops for longer than 18 months without selling them so I can always pick a different color next time.
 
Oh, no doubt about it, the gold IS pretty......and obviously it's calling your name.....so GO FOR IT! :)

Yeah, I've had Space Gray iPhones since forever and also iPads. My Apple watch is a Space Black and my iPhone 7 Plus is a Jet Black, so haven't strayed too far from the darkness theme.....LOL! I'm considering replacing my first-generation Apple watch with a new Apple Watch 3 and guess what color it will be?! (Mainly because I love the elegant look of the Space Black watch and matching link band, so want to put my link band right on the new watch.)

It's really neat that Apple offers us these choices now in laptop colors -- makes for a fun user experience!
 
Get it - it's a great looking color and a lot more unique than the other color offerings IMO. In lower light conditions, it looks almost like bronze. In brighter light, it looks more like a champagne color. Considering the other Mac laptops are not available in it, that makes it even cooler.

I think the gold finish is as robust or more robust than the space gray and rose gold colors. Scratches are not nearly as visible as they are on the SG and rose gold models (although scratches are obviously least noticeable on silver).
 
Thanks for all the replies. The sale of my existing MacBook Pro was final today and I pulled the trigger and ordered a Gold 2017 MacBook 12" with i7, 16GB RAM and 256 HD. (I don't keep a lot of data on my laptops so the 512 GB wasn't necessary.) Should get it next week! Very excited. Thanks again.
 
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My space gray 2017 rMB is 3 hours old and already has some nice and chips on the bottom edges somehow... I'm not thrilled.
 
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I've had my Space Gray MB since October and there's not a mark on her, not a chip or anything else.... She's not only been around the house with me and outdoors on the deck, she's also gone on a trip, too.

Adam, do you think the chips were already present on your MB at the time you bought it or when it was shipped to you?
 
Clix Pix said:
I've had my Space Gray MB since October and there's not a mark on her, not a chip or anything else.... She's not only been around the house with me and outdoors on the deck, she's also gone on a trip, too.

Adam, do you think the chips were already present on your MB at the time you bought it or when it was shipped to you?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure unfortunately... it could have happened when I test fit the MacBook in the tablet pocket of my bag. It may have barely grazed the zipper, but I was super careful I thought. (It is weird that only the bottom tray has the nicks and nothing on the lid whatsoever. I now have a better way to diagonally slide the MacBook into and out of the pocket avoiding the zipper at all cost... Still feels like it wasn't enough contact to cause the mark...)

For as careful as I was, it seems ABSOLUTELY crazy the nick on the bottom panel edge. These edges are definitely razor thin. I feel a slight rounding on them (even ever so slight) could make a big difference from stopping these noticeable nicks.

I guess I am stuck with the marks already. Bought it from BHphoto, who while an authorized seller, basically has no return policy it would seem for open electronics.
 
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