Ended up grabbing a different spec'd MBA but in silver as it was in stock this time around...
1. There may be a real usability difference with respect to the keyboard and what have you, due to the greater contrast.
2. Holy f*ck Space Gray is just a bad color combo, I don't think the lighter shade has ever looked bad, maybe old to some, but kinda interesting how stark it is.
3. Uhhhh is the display lottery just a perennial fact of life + 50% nocebo/placebo? I would acknowledge susceptibility to the latter. Though, this screen is... near perfect? I feel like the white balance is much better, as in, white is actually present and well distributed. And contrast seems better? Same settings as usual. Again, this could also just be due to the contrasting color psychological ramifications, but it's hardly unreasonable to posit a screen is 5-15% brighter in these margins (e.g. 360 nits vs 390) or has a different profile in subdomains like white balance, contrast, etc.
4. Again in tow with the silver contrast commentary on the utility axis, the difference in keyboard visibility *at evening* or in low lighting more generally is even more salient IMO. It completely slipped my mind how visible keys used to be on the old MBP's after years darker MacBooks or Windows laptops with similar colors or poor backlighting. It's like an entirely different model.
Anyways, kind of interesting. Irrespective of the display QC lottery's existence or practical relevance (yes I realize it's a cesspit of never-ending search, not my impetus for any of this) it is interesting how much more enjoyable silver is to *use* over space gray because of keyboard contrast.
And of course it pays homage to the older MacBooks of yore that started the whole CNC aluminum iconic look.
1. There may be a real usability difference with respect to the keyboard and what have you, due to the greater contrast.
2. Holy f*ck Space Gray is just a bad color combo, I don't think the lighter shade has ever looked bad, maybe old to some, but kinda interesting how stark it is.
3. Uhhhh is the display lottery just a perennial fact of life + 50% nocebo/placebo? I would acknowledge susceptibility to the latter. Though, this screen is... near perfect? I feel like the white balance is much better, as in, white is actually present and well distributed. And contrast seems better? Same settings as usual. Again, this could also just be due to the contrasting color psychological ramifications, but it's hardly unreasonable to posit a screen is 5-15% brighter in these margins (e.g. 360 nits vs 390) or has a different profile in subdomains like white balance, contrast, etc.
4. Again in tow with the silver contrast commentary on the utility axis, the difference in keyboard visibility *at evening* or in low lighting more generally is even more salient IMO. It completely slipped my mind how visible keys used to be on the old MBP's after years darker MacBooks or Windows laptops with similar colors or poor backlighting. It's like an entirely different model.
Anyways, kind of interesting. Irrespective of the display QC lottery's existence or practical relevance (yes I realize it's a cesspit of never-ending search, not my impetus for any of this) it is interesting how much more enjoyable silver is to *use* over space gray because of keyboard contrast.
And of course it pays homage to the older MacBooks of yore that started the whole CNC aluminum iconic look.
