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antisomnic

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
351
423
Rochester, NY
On my previous MacBooks, I've gotten shell-style cases and keyboard covers to protect them. However, with this MacBook Air I just got a few days ago, the beauty of the device seems too great to cover up with plastic. What are y'all doing?
 
Did not use any protection for my 2012 Air and neither for this latest one. The old one still looks fine (no scratches or dents).
 
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I never run cases on my MacBooks.

They're made of aluminium and durable enough. My 2011 and 2015 machines still look pretty good.

If you're throwing your machine around to the point where the aluminium shell is getting damaged, I don't think a case will help. I think it is more likely to compromise cooling however - aluminium will radiate heat to the atmosphere better than plastic.

I do use a bag to carry it (along with the peripherals, USB sticks, dongles, etc.), but that's it.
 
I had a hard shell case for my 2011 MBA.

On my 2018 and 2020 Airs, I've used dbrand laptop skins and have been extremely happy with it. No issues at all, and the skins protect against normal wear and tear as long as you're not banging it into walls or dropping it often.
 
I ended up getting a hardshell case, keyboard cover, and sleeve, for minimal protection but mainly for style. I am very happy. I went with wine red.
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Be careful about the keyboard covers. Since they add thickness, there is a significant chance that the keys will cause an imprint in your screen that you won't be able to fix/wipe off. It happened to me on my old MacBook Pro Retina, luckily I was able to get the screen replaced due to some other issues that laptop had.
 
I've used skins from BestSkinsEver for my MBAirs through the years. They don't call out the 2020 model, specifically, but the one for 2019 fits just fine. I get the matte full body coverage and just don't install the trackpad skin. The matte finish is almost invisible and I avoid scuffs on the body.
 
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I've used skins from BestSkinsEver for my MBAirs through the years. They don't call out the 2020 model, specifically, but the one for 2019 fits just fine. I get the matte full body coverage and just don't install the trackpad skin. The matte finish is almost invisible and I avoid scuffs on the body.

gonna try it. i tried a hardshell case for a day and it cracked the first time i took it off. not a fan
 
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I've always used clear hardshells on my Macs, but for this one I switched to a Thule case for transporting the laptop. I had an awesome skin that used a graphic I had created for my old 2012 13" MBP, and I'd love to recreate it for this machine, but I can't remember who I ordered it from.
 
I find cases on laptops as strange as cases on the Apple Watch.

Its not like a phone where you have it in your hand as you use it. It’s put on a flat surface like a table. Seems very unnecessary.
 
I personally did it because I liked the look of it. The top and bottom shell are pretty pointless, however the keyboard cover is not. I drink coffee a lot when I'm using my MacBook and it's good to protect the keyboard and internals from any possible spills.
 
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