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Honestly I was going to return mine but the prints aren't really showing up like they did when I first got the unit. I've cleaned it a few times in the last 2 weeks. I guess after handling it and wiping it a few times it isn't as prone to the prints, probably something to do with oil buildup.
 
I think it looks great. For me, the bigger worry would by nicks and scratch that would be more visible with the midnight color. But honestly, this is much to do about nothing. People should just get what they like and enjoy. Use it and don't worry about it.

I just finished doing the teak on my 51 year old sailboat. It looks great from 10 feet away, but with close inspection, it definitely is not perfect. I could spend a few days sanding and varnishing to try to make it perfect.....but, I would rather just go sailing.
 
The reactions from people are so funny to me. Look it is a dark anodized finish. All dark anodized finishes are going to show fingerprints-period. Some finishes are better at hiding them than others but they all show fingerprints. I have a Lenovo Laptop with a lighter blue sandblasted finish which does remarkably well at hiding fingerprints while the Midnight shows them more. However I have had dark grey laptops like the Samsung galaxy book2 360 and it shows fingerprints worse than the midnight finish on the M2 MBA. I don't see tons of people complaining about the Samsung.

If you want a darker color then you have to live with more visible fingerprints. Simple as that. If you don't like them use a non water based gentle cleaner like a propylene glycol based cleaner and microfiber cloth and wipe it down.

Otherwise this is a non issue. Most die hard Mac owners I am assuming have had silver laptops and because of this they aren't used to seeing many fingerprints. Then they have this bias that the Midnight color is a fingerprint magnet and awful or dirty. Your silver finish has the same amount of fingerprints as the midnight it is just you can't see them. Use a UV light and you will see how "dirty" your laptop is.

The solution is just regular wipe down or get a light color that doesn't show them as much.

Personally I love blue as a color in general and the midnight is fantastic because it shifts the shade of blue depending on the lighting which I love. I have never liked the huge contrast between the black keyboard and silver or even space grey on Apple laptops and midnight there is no stark contrast between the keyboard and laptop deck which I love.

Just get what you like.
 
The reactions from people are so funny to me. Look it is a dark anodized finish. All dark anodized finishes are going to show fingerprints-period. Some finishes are better at hiding them than others but they all show fingerprints. I have a Lenovo Laptop with a lighter blue sandblasted finish which does remarkably well at hiding fingerprints while the Midnight shows them more. However I have had dark grey laptops like the Samsung galaxy book2 360 and it shows fingerprints worse than the midnight finish on the M2 MBA. I don't see tons of people complaining about the Samsung.

If you want a darker color then you have to live with more visible fingerprints. Simple as that. If you don't like them use a non water based gentle cleaner like a propylene glycol based cleaner and microfiber cloth and wipe it down.

Otherwise this is a non issue. Most die hard Mac owners I am assuming have had silver laptops and because of this they aren't used to seeing many fingerprints. Then they have this bias that the Midnight color is a fingerprint magnet and awful or dirty. Your silver finish has the same amount of fingerprints as the midnight it is just you can't see them. Use a UV light and you will see how "dirty" your laptop is.

The solution is just regular wipe down or get a light color that doesn't show them as much.

Personally I love blue as a color in general and the midnight is fantastic because it shifts the shade of blue depending on the lighting which I love. I have never liked the huge contrast between the black keyboard and silver or even space grey on Apple laptops and midnight there is no stark contrast between the keyboard and laptop deck which I love.

Just get what you like.
I still have a hard time processing that people were actually returning the laptops over the fingerprints showing on the outside lid. The same lid that you can't see when you're actually using the laptop. The entire situation was asinine.

This obsession a lot of people seem to have with products looking 100% pristine/unused forever, is something I've only ever come across in the Apple community.
 
I still have a hard time processing that people were actually returning the laptops over the fingerprints showing on the outside lid. The same lid that you can't see when you're actually using the laptop. The entire situation was asinine.

This obsession a lot of people seem to have with products looking 100% pristine/unused forever, is something I've only ever come across in the Apple community.
Agreed. Nothing stays new forever. Devices are basically consumables, you want them to last but in 10 years you're gonna replace it anyway.
 
I still have a hard time processing that people were actually returning the laptops over the fingerprints showing on the outside lid. The same lid that you can't see when you're actually using the laptop. The entire situation was asinine.

This obsession a lot of people seem to have with products looking 100% pristine/unused forever, is something I've only ever come across in the Apple community.
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just the outside lid. The trackpad and the palm rests are the same as the outside and show skin oils and fingerprints just as easily, so if you noticed excess fingerprints on the outside they were 100% on the inside too.

My space gray 2016 Pro used to get pretty bad (I think my skin is oilier than average) but my starlight Air never shows any signs of fingerprints. For what people are paying for these machines and how long they plan to have them, I think it’s totally reasonable to get something that you’re going to like the look of in the long run.
 
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I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just the outside lid. The trackpad and the palm rests are the same as the outside and show skin oils and fingerprints just as easily, so if you noticed excess fingerprints on the outside they were 100% on the inside too.

My space gray 2016 Pro used to get pretty bad (I think my skin is oilier than average) but my starlight Air never shows any signs of fingerprints. For what people are paying for these machines and how long they plan to have them, I think it’s totally reasonable to get something that you’re going to like the look of in the long run.
I'm sure they did show inside as well, still a silly reason to return a laptop IMO, but we can agree to disagree on that. I wrongly assumed that most people would spend more time looking at the actual screen, rather than obsessively analyzing every inch of the pad for prints, but I stand corrected.

If you go look at the one of the many threads that popped up shortly after release, the majority of the people were mostly complaining & uploading pics of the outside lid specifically. People were even complaining about it before the official release, because of fingerprints showing in one of the Youtube reviews. To say it was a very interesting time to be on this forum would be an understatement.
 
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I'm sure they did show inside as well, still a silly reason to return a laptop IMO, but we can agree to disagree on that. I wrongly assumed that most people would spend more time looking at the actual screen, rather than obsessively analyzing every inch of the pad for prints, but I stand corrected.

If you go look at the one of the many threads that popped up shortly after release, the majority of the people were mostly complaining & uploading pics of the outside lid specifically. People were even complaining about it before the official release, because of fingerprints showing in one of the Youtube reviews. To say it was a very interesting time to be on this forum would be an understatement.
I think the main point as with everything in life there are trade offs. If you want any color other than silver that is a bit fun it is going to show fingerprints. It is like a scale. The darker you go the more fingerprints are visible.

I would have loved the iPad Air purple on the M2 MBA and am totally willing to deal with any fingerprints to get such a beautiful color.

At the end of the day Macs have been pretty boring in color choice for a long time in the laptop space and it is nice to be able to change it up.

YouTube reviewers have really put a beating on the M2 MBA from the get go. It is unfortunate because it is one of the best laptops Apple has made in a long time.
 
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