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Have you tied calibrating your panels guys and gals? It would be interesting to hear back your conclusions if there is any perceived change after calibrating.

Yeh there's no way to calibrate unevenness out really.

That said, it looks fine to me. I see the problem... but it's not much of a problem.
 
Is there anyway to find out the display and drive manufacturer without opening up the box and booting up?
 
Have you tied calibrating your panels guys and gals? It would be interesting to hear back your conclusions if there is any perceived change after calibrating.

It has nothing to do with calibration, unfortunately (I wish it was!), it's definitely something that is based on assembly and design.
 
My 2010 11” has the exact same gradient effect (made a post about it the other day), though I didn’t notice it until I upgraded to Lion and started using the full screen apps. I decided to stop by the local Apple store and checked out two 11” models and both of them exhibited the same thing. As others mentioned, I’m guessing it’s just the way the screen is designed and manufactured, and that there are more MBAs with this problem than without. While I’d like a perfect panel, overall it’s not a big deal and it’s a much better screen than my last notebook (I’m looking at you, Alienware M11x).
 
My 2010 11” has the exact same gradient effect (made a post about it the other day), though I didn’t notice it until I upgraded to Lion and started using the full screen apps. I decided to stop by the local Apple store and checked out two 11” models and both of them exhibited the same thing. As others mentioned, I’m guessing it’s just the way the screen is designed and manufactured, and that there are more MBAs with this problem than without. While I’d like a perfect panel, overall it’s not a big deal and it’s a much better screen than my last notebook (I’m looking at you, Alienware M11x).

Given the fact that 2010 Macbook Air's are having the same issue since upgrading to Lion, I'm going to assume that the issue is software, not hardware related. I'm believe that the same displays were used on 2010 and 2011 models. So I don't believe it's an issue with the display. The problem affects both 2010 and 2011 models, as shown above, so I'm think that the problem is related to Lion and can be fixed in future updates. What do you think?
 
Given the fact that 2010 Macbook Air's are having the same issue since upgrading to Lion, I'm going to assume that the issue is software, not hardware related. I'm believe that the same displays were used on 2010 and 2011 models. So I don't believe it's an issue with the display. The problem affects both 2010 and 2011 models, as shown above, so I'm think that the problem is related to Lion and can be fixed in future updates. What do you think?



I'm starting to question if anyone reads threads before posting. Really? I said earlier that this is not software related. It was the same way in Snow Leopard. I used to have my dock hidden and my white Safari pages extend to fit the whole screen, as well as used fullscreen games with white backgrounds in Snow Leopard. It was there in Snow Leopard - it is not a Lion issue and not a software issue. It is a hardware "issue" (a slight one at that) and has nothing to do with faulty display panels - it is about design and assembly. Is this clear enough now?
 
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I'm starting to question if anyone reads threads before posting. Really? I said earlier that this is not software related. It was the same way in Snow Leopard. I used to have my dock hidden and my white Safari pages extend to fit the whole screen, as well as used fullscreen games with white backgrounds in Snow Leopard. It was there in Snow Leopard - it is not a Lion issue and not a software issue. It is a hardware "issue" (a slight one at that) and has nothing to do with faulty display panels - it is about design and assembly. Is this clear enough now?

I've owned a 2010 since launch and have never seen this. What level of brightness do you view it under?
 
I've owned a 2010 since launch and have never seen this. What level of brightness do you view it under?

Have you used fullscreen apps with white backgrounds? That's when it's visible. Granted, mine is very slight, so there may be different levels of intensity with this, but it's definitely noticeable when looking down there. Mine is most visible in the bottom corners and with brightness halfway. This has to be an issue of assembly because I can assure people that I do not have a faulty display panel. It is worse and better depending on various viewing angles.

If I had to guess, this is because of varying pressure on the edges of the panel by the tight, compact assembly of the bezel and top case. I believe this is the same problem of assembly that some (or most) iPad 2s are experiencing, but this is to a much lesser degree.
 
I brought up Safari full screen and am trying to see it, but I can't. Trust me, I look for it ever since I had bad experiences with iMac screens. It wouldnt surprise me that build quality may be an issue on some and not on others.
 
I’ve now stopped at two Apple stores in Tokyo and every single 11” and 13” MBA that I saw (around 8 in total) exhibited this problem. I’m pretty sure it’s hardware related and that many, like me, didn’t notice it before the full screen apps in Lion. From my brief, unscientific observations, it seems that most have this problem and if you don’t you got lucky. While it’s disappointing, it’s really not that bad (though one may be worse than another) and only noticeable on light colored backgrounds. Everything else on this little computer is so fantastic that personally I can forgive a relatively minor design flaw. I’ve decided I’m not going to spend my energy worrying about it and will just continue to enjoy my MBA!
 
We go through this every time there is a refresh of any notebook model - Apple is a large company that wants to save as much money as possible and as a result, the LCD panels and backlight design they use are cheap.
 
I received my base 13" yesterday (Samsung display). Before reading this thread, I had used the MBA for a couple hours and hadn't noticed the "bottom gradient".

After reading the thread, I noticed it right away. It doesn't bother me in the least though. Would it have been at the top, it would have been annoying because there's the menu bar, but at the bottom it's OK. Almost like it actually.

It's not a Lion issue since even while booting, at the gray screen, the gradient is already there.

I still have my late 2010 13" (Samsung display too) and compared it with the mid 2011. To my surprise, the 2010 has this gradient as well! Never noticed it the whole time I've had it.

I took pictures of both side by side. Same brightness level (5 bars), but the 2010 was plugged while the 2011 was on battery. 2010 on the left, 2011 on the right:



 
One thing I quickly noticed after browsing in Safari full-screen, there is a very apparent gradient effect at the bottom of the display. I've owned the 2010 Air and never noticed this bad of a viewing angle, so I'm unsure if the problem might only be with the new model.

I tried my best to photograph the issue. It's about a half an inch in height at the very bottom display.

[url=http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/60/img0973zs.jpg]Image[/URL]

I have the same problem on my MBA 2011 11". At first I thought it was related to viewing angle but it is not the case. When brightness are at half or lower it is really obvious. In the lower corners of the screen the background lighting show black areas. It is also present at all the way across the lower end of the screen.
 
Mine is there but BARELY noticeable. I have to get about 10" from the screen to see it, and it extends by about .5" from the bottom. Sounds like a manufacturing issue, like others have mentioned.
 
Apple screens

I have a 2010 macbook air and the screen was good, but I scratched it by accident. Well done to apple they replaced the screen for free, but the new one has smokey effect along the bottom also, but patchy.
I am willing to live with it as it is not terrible and much better than a scratched screen.

My experience with apple is poor displays in laptops.

The first macbook air I got in 2010 I sent back due to the thin white lines issue across the screen.

A macbook pro screen I have in 2009 also has the tiny white horizontal lines across the screen also, creating a card like effect close up.

Looks like lots of faults and issues with apple screens, probably due to pumping out such a high volume of products.


Interesting to see this smokey "gradient" issue is common with the 2011 airs, I must have got one of the screens from a 2011 replaced on my 2010 - it is bearable and I am please as it was replaced for free, but they should improve screen quality at apple.
 
i really don't see this gradient effect some have been mentioning. another thread mentioned that it's real noticeable when you have safari on full screen. i have safari on full screen 90% of the time. i have the samsung panel, and i've also calibrated if that makes any difference.
 
hello! I've just come back from the apple store in Liverpool and came confirm that the three 13 inch mba's and the three 11 inch mba's on display all had this issue! My 13 inch i5 inch has it, I'm actually on my second mba the first one i had exhibited a problem with the speakers producing a metallic sound! That mba also had the gradient problem. So in total i've seen 8 mba screens that have all had the same issue, so if it's not on every single machine, it's certainly very common!

I don't really find the issue too bothersome, I do however have apple care on this machine. Say for example in 6 months time the issue is resolved and every display is gradient free, would i be entitled to get my machine changed to one without the screen gradient?
 
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