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Macbook air 2018 screen brightness
- Thread starter SoApple
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Pretty sure the MBP has the same exact keyboard and some models might still be on the older one that has issues. Good screen is subjective. There are dozens of user reviews on Best Buy and most of them are very positive without mentioning a bad screen.
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The MBP with touch bar has the same (3rd) generation keyboard indeed, but the MBP without touch bar still ships with the 2nd generation. Why?
To be honest : I played in the store with the new MB Air and liked the screen. Now that I read its dimmer than some other screens (why again, the one on the thinner MacBook with smaller battery is even brighter) and whites are not so white, I'm not so sure about the screen anymore and will compare it to the other screens.
Why? Because the MBP without touch bar didn't receive an update this year. You should realize that 2nd gen is the one with the problem and 3rd generation is the supposed 'fix'. The new Air has the improved keyboard and I expect when the others are refreshed they'll get it too.
Yes, I read that the screen is 'dimmer' too but as I said a couple hundred very positive consumer reviewers on the Best Buy website do not mention the screen being bad. I trust reviews from 'regular' people over the opinions of people on internet forums who are a little more obsessive than the average Joe. The opinions here very often do not reflect reality. Sure if you compare it next to a MBP screen it may be dimmer and slightly less colorful, but does that really mean anything in real world usage? For most people it certainly will not and the screen will be wonderful.
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I plan to buy a 2018 MacBook Air next week. I have viewed the display models in 3 different stores on several occasions and I can't really see much difference between the MBA and MBP display models while in the store. I have also viewed numerous videos and read numerous web pages - part of my pre-purchase research - and I don't see anyone making such a huge deal after unboxing and reviewing the devices. Yes, some say the screen doesn't get as bright as the MacBook Pro's, but they don't make a huge deal about it.
Of course, comparing an "Air" class machine to a "Pro" class machine, one will always find problems with the MBA.
I think some people see the number of nits on the MBA, compared to the number of nits on the MBP, and then head straight into panic mode. My question is, how many nits is required for the human eye to actually notice a distinct change?
Power of suggestion can ruin anything.
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Yes, I do wish people would stop comparing the MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro.. apples and oranges as far as I'm concerned. There's a reason the word "Pro" doesn't appear in the MacBook Air title.
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Apple isn't "forcing" anything. This all has to do with your definition of "good". From the research I've conducted, the 2018 MacBook Air will be my next laptop.. it's my definition of "works for my needs".
For myself, the difference in brightness is huge between the 2018 MBA and MBP when viewing video. Everything else I would be okay with, even photos. But videos look too dim for my personal taste at the highest setting, regardless of color profile. You probably didn't notice much because retail stores have bright lighting.
A dim screen in a brightly lit room would look worse. That's why our phones increase screen brightness in bright rooms.
It's not that it's dim in that regard. The MBA is perfectly viewable, but it's lack of max brightness is revealed when it fails to bring out the vibrance and saturation of videos. Compared to the MBP, the difference is very noticeable. Something most will not notice at a glance when in a brightly lit setting.
I have just bought MBA even though I never wanted to. My 3yr old accidentally spilled a cup of juice over my 2015 MBP. Although it powers on the USB is goosed and charging is intermittent. I’ve currently got it drying out on silica gel packs and the airing cupboard.
However I need my computer daily. So the MBA was the cheapest way to do it with a 13” screen. They didn’t have any 2017 MBP in the store and I can’t stand the TouchBar at the moment
In short I am pleasantly surprised with the machine. Adjusting the white point to 7250 has made it nigh on identical to my 2015 MBP (to my eyes anyway)
This MBA will go to my wife once I either fix the 2015 MBP or I get 2019 MBP after WWDC this year.
But over the last 4 days I’ve not had any issues in terms of wanting a brighter screen or more power/RAM. I often find the screen is on around 2/3 brightness and using the shift+option and the brightness up and down keys I can fine control the screen to suit. But. 99% of the time I leave it set on Auto.
I got the 256/8GB version. Battery is awesome and closing the lid on Christmas Eve and opening up today has only used 2% of the battery. My MBP would use around 10% and they are now identical in terms of apps and settings.
I didn’t do any Time Machine restore. I updated straight away to 10.14.3 Beta 2 and as I use iCloud Drive and One Drive all my docs and data were there to use.
The only gripe I do have is how crap the FaceTime camera is. But it’s extremely rare I use it on the MBA as generally use the XS Max or IPP 10.5. My wife never uses it on hers.
For anyone who mainly uses iWork or Office apps and rarely does photo/video editing I think the MBA is perfect.
One thing I did find good was the file vault encryption/decryption is instantaneous due to the T2 chip. On my MBP it used to take a few hours to do!
However I need my computer daily. So the MBA was the cheapest way to do it with a 13” screen. They didn’t have any 2017 MBP in the store and I can’t stand the TouchBar at the moment
In short I am pleasantly surprised with the machine. Adjusting the white point to 7250 has made it nigh on identical to my 2015 MBP (to my eyes anyway)
This MBA will go to my wife once I either fix the 2015 MBP or I get 2019 MBP after WWDC this year.
But over the last 4 days I’ve not had any issues in terms of wanting a brighter screen or more power/RAM. I often find the screen is on around 2/3 brightness and using the shift+option and the brightness up and down keys I can fine control the screen to suit. But. 99% of the time I leave it set on Auto.
I got the 256/8GB version. Battery is awesome and closing the lid on Christmas Eve and opening up today has only used 2% of the battery. My MBP would use around 10% and they are now identical in terms of apps and settings.
I didn’t do any Time Machine restore. I updated straight away to 10.14.3 Beta 2 and as I use iCloud Drive and One Drive all my docs and data were there to use.
The only gripe I do have is how crap the FaceTime camera is. But it’s extremely rare I use it on the MBA as generally use the XS Max or IPP 10.5. My wife never uses it on hers.
For anyone who mainly uses iWork or Office apps and rarely does photo/video editing I think the MBA is perfect.
One thing I did find good was the file vault encryption/decryption is instantaneous due to the T2 chip. On my MBP it used to take a few hours to do!
Yes, compared to a pro-class machine, a non-pro class machine will be found lacking. These are two different classes of machines targeted at two different demographics. I do wish people would stop comparing apples and oranges. Don't buy the product if you don't like the product.
But, when you stop comparing things that shouldn't be compared, and take the MacBook Air on its own merits.. you'll find that it's a wonderful machine and it gets the job done.
I have researched the 2018 MacBook Air for over a month - including numerous visits to different stores - and it suits my needs perfectly. You can complain all you want but it doesn't change reality.
When you compare it to say an XPS 13 which is similarly if not cheaper priced and that has a 400+ nit screen, and then there are other 400+ nit laptops in the same price region, I don’t think we can just say “Well it wasn’t meant to compete with the Pro lineup”.
That still doesn’t explain why it has to be less vibrant and dimmer than the 12” MacBook, it looks like they either cheaped out on the panel or it is a much more energy efficient display than the 12” MacBook, resulting in the difference.
It is telling that I don’t remember anyone complaining about the 12” MacBook, but there are many unhappy with the Air.
I think part of the problem is expectations. I've never owned an Apple laptop before. And perhaps that is why I have no complaints with the 2018 MBA?
I wonder how people would see the MacBook Air 2018 if they went into it with zero expectations.
Well expectations aren’t wrong are they. I’d expect given the price, it has a screen comparable to the competition and definitely would not expect it to be worse than an older product (MacBook 12”).
I value doing research in person rather than going into a situation with certain expectations. Expectations without proper research are the main cause of consumer remorse. I've been researching the 2018 MBA for a month and, in my opinion, there is no issue with screen brightness, screen color or nits. Why do I not see an issue? Because I've evaluated the device myself without regard to the competition.
To answer your question; having expectations without proper research is indeed wrong.
Except with Apple, everything is a catch 22.
The Macbook is more compact, thinner, and has a more vibrant display. But the specs are basically garbage for it's price.
The Macbook Air has better battery life, better specs, and most reasonable priced. But worst display of the whole MacBook lineup and no 15 inch version.
The Macbook Pro 13 inch, has no 6 core CPU option, discrete GPU, nor DDR4 memory vs on the 15 inch. So I don't see what's so Pro about the 13 inch, but at least the display is better than the Air.
Are you assuming those of us who are disappointed in the screen decision by Apple didn’t do proper research while you did?
Perhaps you think your opinion is more objective than others, but it really isn’t.
Did you spend hours on the machine, spread over multiple visits, in different stores? If you did and have decided that the screen is not bright enough, then this machine isn't suited for your needs.
Frankly I fail to understand why this screen brightness discussion continues. If you're not happy with the product then don't buy it. Your disappointment is not going to change the current product, it's only going to rob you of resources that could be spent looking for something that does work. I have found that it is much better to focus my resources on what will work instead of what doesn't work.
I feel that the 2018 MacBook Air is a wonderful laptop.. and I'll be buying one next week.
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I can do you one better than that.
I own the new Air, well I gave it to my wife now. For my personal use (my review is here somewhere) the brightness was not at all an issue for me, I usually don’t use computers in bright rooms and I naturally prefer a dark screen. So the Air, was 100% usable for me.
I am however talking from an unbiased position when I criticise the screen. Given the price of the machine, I can’t see why it can’t at least equal a 12” MacBook. If they gave 6GB RAM instead of 8GB, the machine would still be perfectly usable for most people too, but if Apple made that decision, I would also criticise it.
You may only notice that the colours are worse if you compare it to another, but just because you are not noticing it doesn’t mean you are not getting a compromised experience. You might also not notice if your machine was faulty and was refreshing at 50HZ instead of 60HZ, but it still is an inferior experience.
The screen may have worked for me but it isn’t a value for money screen - and it also means the screen is no longer satisfactory to other people who would otherwise would be satisfied if it at least met the 12” MacBook standard. The screen would have also worked for me if it was a 250 nit screen, or a lower resolution - it goes back to what the competition are offering and the value proposition of the machine.
I am not sure why Apple chose this path. I can see why they chose the 7W processors but not the screen choice.
So I've never used a MacBook Air. But after reading these forums I had to go check one out at Best Buy. It was right next to the new Pro models, so I had them both on full brightness and I'll be honest, I didn't think the Air was bad at all.
One thing that surprised me, was I preferred (in my limited time) the MacBook Air Keyboard OVER the Pro...it was more silent and seemed easier to type on. Could of been in my head tho.
One thing that surprised me, was I preferred (in my limited time) the MacBook Air Keyboard OVER the Pro...it was more silent and seemed easier to type on. Could of been in my head tho.
If you compared it to the 2017 MBP, it’s not in your head, that one doesn’t have a silicone membrane.
I see a lot of people comparing the screens, both on full brightness. But, after dismissing the MBA because it's dim, they turn down the brightness on the new MBP when they go to work on the machine. Go figure.
I quite like the new keyboards, they are a bit quieter. They're also much more useable than the kb on the 2012 MBP I use at work.
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If the screen is an issue for someone, then I would advise them to avoid using that product. Problem solved.. time to move on and find what does work. Continuing to discuss this doesn't really serve any valid purpose.
Forums are a place where people discuss and have opinions, that is the valid purpose of these forums - it gives insight to people of what other people think of Apple’s products and services and that itself is valuable.
You wouldn’t say the same to someone who made a positive post about the new screen - but anyone can argue that is equally as valid as one that criticises it. Don’t fall into the trap of validating your purchase because you’re happy with it and others are criticising it.
It’s kind of ironic that you claimed you did better research than others but you never owned other models of macbook before, only did research on macbook air and loved mba by itself.
Basically, you checked out MBA and loved it. Nothing wrong with that. But your “better than others” research is not only due to lower expectations, but also lack of experience and information. So your research is kind of a garbage in garbage out situation.
But the real issue here is, your conclusion and false confidence would mislead other potential buyers.
You're assuming I only did research on the MBA? From where comes that assumption.. because it's wrong. If that portion is wrong, perhaps the rest of your post is in error as well?
Please show where I stated "I did better research than others did". I don't want to see your interpretation of what I said.. I want to see where I said "I did better research than others did". I think you're twisting words to support your own point. Please go back and read what I posted rather than what you wanted to see.