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This looks like uneven backlighting. It's hard to diffuse the backlight perfectly, and the design gets especially difficult as the top gets thinner and the space above the hinge gets smaller.
 
Black gradient pinch

To me this is a little too much, do you think Apple will accept a return?
 

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^Whoa! That just looks bad, if I were you I would return it :(.
I am not experiencing this at all with my 13'' MBA i5, LG screen.
 
does this look gradient? tried many color profile cal but still there, kinda bothers me :confused:
 

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does this look gradient? tried many color profile cal but still there, kinda bothers me :confused:

The bottom looks like it and the sides slightly as well. Calibration doesn't affect that kind of an issue. It looks like it's either a backlight or an assembly problem.

If it bothers you, ask if it can be fixed or exchanged. Of course the problem could to be that it's such a common problem that exchanging doesn't really change things much. But if everyone lets this slide, because it's a "feature" (it's not, a display should be evenly illuminated), Apple will never do anything about it, because they don't have to. If enough people make returns because of this issue, they are forced to pay attention to it.
 
If it bothers you, ask if it can be fixed or exchanged.

i guess i'll try my luck calling them tomorrow. I ordered it online. unlike in us, there aren't any apple stores here in hong kong where i can go in and exchange bcuz they r all resellers, so the policy are a bit different. if they don't let me exchange, i guess ill just have to get use to it =/
 
does this look gradient? tried many color profile cal but still there, kinda bothers me :confused:

is that how it looks like at full brightness also? and is that what the others are calling the gradient issue? i def don't see that on my screen (samsung).
 
To me this is a little too much, do you think Apple will accept a return?

is that how it looks like at full brightness also? and is that what the others are calling the gradient issue? i def don't see that on my screen (samsung).

Okay, that pinch is not what we are talking about- that's not the common "gradient" - that's totally unacceptable and you should return it and there should be no questions asked at the Apple Store.
 
is that how it looks like at full brightness also? and is that what the others are calling the gradient issue? i def don't see that on my screen (samsung).

That's like 4 blocks from full brightness.

I called them up and they say I can exchange, but I'll have to wait bout a week or more since I ordered it online and there aren't any local apple store. I'm still thinking bout that cuz air is the only computer ATM, i manage to sold my 2010 mbp at a fair price. Also the fact that there's no guarantee the next one wont have that issue. They said they'll contact the factory and call me back tomorrow
 
Exactly the same problem

Sadly, I have exactly the same problem on my MBA 11inch 2011 version with samsung display and samsung SSD.

Actually the one I am using right now is what I got for replacement of a previous one which had key board issue....

My point is: it's really annoying and it seems to be more common and obvious on 11 inch MBA than 13 inch. I came to Apple Store and saw gradient on other 11 inch MBAs. I am not sure if there is a difference on severity of this problem, but when I view safari in full screen mode, and some text is on the bottom of the screen, the dark bottom is quite obvious and annoying..........

I am a student and I paid nearly 1200$ for my MBA11, the quality of the display really disappoints me....

On the other hand, I will do much coding work in daily use. Also I will need to take it with me all the time. So I care much about its performance and rigidness. From my current experience, it's perfect on those aspects.

All in all, it's a ultraportable workstation, just use it and take as much as you can from it. Performance is good, display sucks. It's an "OK" investment.
 
Hope to see more follow-ups on this problem...Since my MBA is still in its 14 days period................
 
Hope to see more follow-ups on this problem...Since my MBA is still in its 14 days period................

My 2011 13" MBA (Samsung display) has the gradient at the bottom but I don't never notice it unless I pay close attention, so I don't mind. However, I had a 2011 11" MBA (Samsung display as well) at one point and the situation was way worse. It had grandients on all four edges but the they were as thick as on the 13", so they were much more noticeable.
 
Mine has it (11", LG display) I don't really notice it unless there is something bright at the bottom of the screen (Like this forum in fullscreen mode).

If I lean the display back a little bit farther it goes away. Basically if I am looking down on the screen I can see it, but if the screen is parallel to my eyes it is not there.
 
Mine has it (11", LG display) I don't really notice it unless there is something bright at the bottom of the screen (Like this forum in fullscreen mode).

If I lean the display back a little bit farther it goes away. Basically if I am looking down on the screen I can see it, but if the screen is parallel to my eyes it is not there.

Since I use full screen browsing quite often, it bothers me when I do it...
 
Saw this same gradient issue on the 13" Samsung-panel at the store. Doesn't bother me. I only pay attention to it when working with text documents that flow to the bottom of the screen.
 
I've been in two Apple Stores and checked almost all Macbook Airs on display, and they have ALL got this backlight issue, some more, some less. It looks like a wavy strip at the bottom of the screen and it's more visible, if you use Lion's spaces gesture (four finger swipe). Then you can even see, that the whole screen is subject to uneven backlight distribution (it looks like a cloudy layer in front of the screen).
 
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