My wife (who has not been looking at Apple MacBook Air marketing photos for a month) saw the Midnight at the Apple store with me yesterday and her response was, “That looks cheap. Not like an Apple laptop.”
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Saw Midnight Today - Not a Fan
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The fingerprints being a bit “sticky” shall we say has been a thing folks have observed.
My friends wife had similar opinions about her new 14” MBP.
The aesthetics of the new laptops definitely lost some of the “sex appeal” if you will.
They are a lot more generic and utilitarian looking now. It bums me out a bit.
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That’s a great point. I wonder if it’s the shape more than the color that she was responding to.
I think it's the shapes honestly..
The wedge and even just the sloping edges (on previous MBPs) had real visual interest and distinction to them. It also visually distracted and had a "thinning" effect. Even if it was mostly illusion, it was brilliant design.
The loss of that combined with the very prominent "feet" now ... just really lost a lot of the svelte attractiveness -- at least to many peoples eyes.
you mean... the macbook pro went from being a rectangle to being... a rectangle?
i (mostly) love apple's aesthetics, but i buy a macbook because of it's functionality, and style... and of course, mac OS. why would someone care about the 'sex appeal' of a laptop?
Indeed, is it too much to ask for a Product RED MacBook?
I feel bored of it after 1.5 years of owning my M1 MBA. I will get silver next time, unless there is a true Matt black
I got my midnight base M2 Air and it arrived yesterday and I love the color. My wife and I went to the Apple store today to check out the other colors--she was interested in Starlight--and she came away thinking the midnight is still the better color. (Though ultimately, she would still prefer the gold on the older M1 Air.) Also, for those saying it's just another version of grey, I have to disagree. In any bright light it is very obviously a dark blue. In low light it does look black. Fingerprints are just a thing with dark colored metal tech so that's not a big concern for me. (Also, I carry a microfiber cloth in my case so I can wipe them off every now then.) But, this is of course just my opinion. Everyone should get the color they like. Neither is really any better than another.
It’s a very nice blue. Most people I know with 13 pros have it. And the rest bough theirs later and got the green instead. Kinda fun to have the “latest” color, but also fun to have a color at all. certainly better than going with the white/silver/grey/black options no matter how how they’re branded.
I went to the Apple Store today to see all the colors as well. This particular store is in an outdoor "lifestyle center" and is all glass on two sides, so the lighting is really excellent. The new Airs were near the windows, and tons of natural light was streaming in; in that light, the Midnight MBA looked really good, considerably more blue than most photos of it that I had seen. Fingerprints were very noticeable, but frankly not as bad as I'd expected, given all of the fuss that's been made about the issue online. I don't think I'd find it hugely problematic day-to-day.
At some point in the 10 minutes I was there, however, the sun went behind the clouds, and then the Midnight appeared to be just a very dark gray, which I, personally, found much less appealing. At this point, the lighting in the room was probably closer (though still much brighter) than that in most people's homes, so I suspect that this grayer appearance is what most people are going to see most of the time. It's not bad in the least - if you like dark gray, you'll be very happy, but I much prefer it when it appears blue.
A Starlight model was right next to the Midnight one, and I'm now very glad I finally settled on Starlight last week. To my eye, it is a very warm silver. It looks understated, classy and, dare I say, expensive.
At some point in the 10 minutes I was there, however, the sun went behind the clouds, and then the Midnight appeared to be just a very dark gray, which I, personally, found much less appealing. At this point, the lighting in the room was probably closer (though still much brighter) than that in most people's homes, so I suspect that this grayer appearance is what most people are going to see most of the time. It's not bad in the least - if you like dark gray, you'll be very happy, but I much prefer it when it appears blue.
A Starlight model was right next to the Midnight one, and I'm now very glad I finally settled on Starlight last week. To my eye, it is a very warm silver. It looks understated, classy and, dare I say, expensive.
First congrats to all who pulled the trigger on the latest and greatest coloured laptop ever built.
Second I've now definitely decided to wait for the 17" version Air, which according to confirmed reliable rumours oozing from Chinese Macbook-Influencers could be coming as soon as May 2026. Then the wedge (which I btw loooove!) will be back and there will be no notch! The reliability of this info is based on possible soon to be filed patent applications and leaked photos of an entirely new wireless(!!!) MagSafe charging port. However, the real bombshell will be mirror-like Mirage finish! This entirely new finish will boast fingerprint resisting coating. There will also be a large polishing cloth within the box.
Also, and I must say this particular piece of information is unconfirmed, there will be some kind of special virtual sunglasses in the box too. The glasses are designed to be used when using the new Air and they mimic different lighting conditions. Apparently there is a setting referred to as "midnight", which will make everything almost completely dark. With "midnight" turned on the mirrored Mirage Air will look completely fingerprint free and almost black! Those influencers who have seen this finish through the glasses with "midnight" turned on claim that it is the most beautiful thing they've ever seen. One influencer from Shanghai had even taken his wife with him to see the photos in some shady influencers' den, and there his wife had said: That thing looks like something out of my dream!
Second I've now definitely decided to wait for the 17" version Air, which according to confirmed reliable rumours oozing from Chinese Macbook-Influencers could be coming as soon as May 2026. Then the wedge (which I btw loooove!) will be back and there will be no notch! The reliability of this info is based on possible soon to be filed patent applications and leaked photos of an entirely new wireless(!!!) MagSafe charging port. However, the real bombshell will be mirror-like Mirage finish! This entirely new finish will boast fingerprint resisting coating. There will also be a large polishing cloth within the box.
Also, and I must say this particular piece of information is unconfirmed, there will be some kind of special virtual sunglasses in the box too. The glasses are designed to be used when using the new Air and they mimic different lighting conditions. Apparently there is a setting referred to as "midnight", which will make everything almost completely dark. With "midnight" turned on the mirrored Mirage Air will look completely fingerprint free and almost black! Those influencers who have seen this finish through the glasses with "midnight" turned on claim that it is the most beautiful thing they've ever seen. One influencer from Shanghai had even taken his wife with him to see the photos in some shady influencers' den, and there his wife had said: That thing looks like something out of my dream!
The Midnight was the favorite for preorders but I think the Starlight will be the sleeper hit. That said, I also ordered the Starlight but found a Midnight in my configuration yesterday at a store so snapped it up. The Apple cloth (which I got with my nano Studio display) works well. My Starlight order should arrive in a week or so. I’ll decide then but am leaning toward keeping the Midnight.
I have the Midnight but also really like the Starlight. I actually preordered Starlight because of the shorter delivery window but managed to find a Midnight in my configuration at a store yesterday. They had the Midnight and Starlight on display side-by-side. Both looked nice and more classy than the silver M1 model they had next to it.
I agree Midnight looks dark gray/black in low light, and is better looking in bright light. As for Starlight, I think it looks much better on the Mac than it does in the iPad, and unlike the Space Gray (which everyone else has copied) and Silver looks distinctly Apple. It’s a great choice.
My Starlight is supposed to arrive in about a week. I’ll decide then which one to keep.
Congratulations on finding your configuration in stock. Good luck comparing colors and making a decision.
I work at a school and we will be in session in about five weeks, so it will be interesting to see which colors the new students opt for. Over the last few years it has been lots of gold and some space grey, with very few silvers. Of course, about half of the student put them in cases/skins.
It’s just not as good as silver. Nothing too bad about it except it seems to be the default for tech companies. Every MacBook I’ve had bought for me is space gray, all my friend’s iPads are space gray, it’s like they forgot silver was an option. Space gray is probably “safer” but silver is so much better IMO
Yeah I don’t get it, I think people pick space gray because of groupthink. It used to be cool because it was recently introduced (so long ago) but it doesn’t have that going for it anymore.
That’s also my theory for why people want midnight. Space gray was edgy dark silver, midnight is darker therefore edgier.
Did something I'd never expect I'd do. Went to the Apple Store to check out the new colours. I've had Midnight on order (with a delivery next week for 24GB/2TB) as I love the idea of a blue Mac. Sadly it's very grey and not much blueish.
Now, I wouldn't say it looked BAD in the store. But honestly I was disappointed after spending some time with it. The fingerprint thing is real. I was in the store 15mins after it opened early Sunday morning, so there were very few customers. All the devices were freshly cleaned and the Midnight Macbook looked horrid. You can see every print. The shop personal actively tried to discourage me from buying it as they were tired of wiping it already.
Next to it they had Starlight. Now, while I am not a fan of silvery Macs (if anything I loved the yellow Gold of the 2017 Macbook I owned), the Starlight one looks like fine jewlery next to the Midnight. You can't see prints and the colour has something that just says value.
In contrast after spending 10 mins with the Midnight model and stepping away and towards it, it reminded me of a generic PC laptop. Guess it doesn't help I owned Thinkpads 20 years ago...
So off I went, canceled my online order and made a new one for Starlight. Sadly now it's a 3 week wait instead of 1 but I don't regret it one bit.
Now, I wouldn't say it looked BAD in the store. But honestly I was disappointed after spending some time with it. The fingerprint thing is real. I was in the store 15mins after it opened early Sunday morning, so there were very few customers. All the devices were freshly cleaned and the Midnight Macbook looked horrid. You can see every print. The shop personal actively tried to discourage me from buying it as they were tired of wiping it already.
Next to it they had Starlight. Now, while I am not a fan of silvery Macs (if anything I loved the yellow Gold of the 2017 Macbook I owned), the Starlight one looks like fine jewlery next to the Midnight. You can't see prints and the colour has something that just says value.
In contrast after spending 10 mins with the Midnight model and stepping away and towards it, it reminded me of a generic PC laptop. Guess it doesn't help I owned Thinkpads 20 years ago...
So off I went, canceled my online order and made a new one for Starlight. Sadly now it's a 3 week wait instead of 1 but I don't regret it one bit.
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you mean, people can't choose space gray or midnight because they personally like it? i like midnight because... i like it. i like space gray too... same reason.
i don't care if it's trendy, popular, or everyone else wants one. i can think for myself.