The M2 MacBook Air was released in July with an all-new design and fresh colorways, but there are some concerns about the durability and upkeep of the Midnight color. Midnight has appeared on other Apple products, namely the iPhone and Apple Watch. It isn’t quite a matte black but rather a dark blue that can appear either more blue or more black based on lighting conditions. While choosing what color of a product to buy is essentially a personal preference, there are durability factors to consider when purchasing a new device. Generally, darker colors will show wear more prominently than lighter colors. But is there anything to worry about with the M2 MacBook Air in the Midnight colorway?
Apple’s release of an upgraded M2 MacBook Air completes what was essentially a two-year redesign of the MacBook Air with Apple Silicon. After the company announced the switch to its in-house systems-on-a-chip (SoCs), one of the first products to make the swap was the M1 MacBook Air. Though Apple ditched the Intel processor for an M1 variant, the entire exterior and chassis were left unchanged from the Intel MacBook Air. Now, the M2 MacBook Air features only incremental performance gains with the inclusion of the M2 system-on-a-chip but receives a complete redesign — including two new colors.
The M2 MacBook Air was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference, which typically focuses on developers and software. However, since the Apple Silicon announcement was made at WWDC 2020, hardware releases have been announced at the keynote event yearly. This year’s conference marked the first hybrid event since the COVID-19 pandemic, with credentialed media attending the event in person and getting hands-on access to the just-announced products. Right from the start, reports began emerging about the durability of the Midnight colorway. Just about everyone with hands-on access to the M2 MacBook Air in the Midnight color noted how visible scratches and fingerprints are on the laptop — and these were the showroom units.
Should Users Worry About Scratching?
In his first impressions video with the M2 MacBook Air in the Midnight color, YouTuber Marques Brownlee showed off the new look of the ultra-portable laptop — and its flaws. Fingerprints are more noticeable on the Midnight color than any other, and users worried about visible fingerprints are better off purchasing a Silver or Starlight MacBook Air. However, the more concerning issue is with scratches. The showroom units that Brownlee tried out had evident scratches around the USB-C ports, and since the Midnight color is so dark, these scratches were noticeable.
Regardless of the color and coating on each MacBook Air, they are all made out of an aluminum unibody casing. If a MacBook is scratched deep enough, the aluminum body will show, which tends to have a silver hue. Since the Midnight color is a very dark blue, scratches that pierce through the colored finish will appear to be silver. Compared to the rest of the dark blue laptop, these scratches will be much more apparent to the user than in other colors. The Midnight color of the M2 MacBook Air won’t scratch any easier than the other colors, but there is a better chance of the scratches blending in with the Space Gray, Silver and Starlight colors than with the dark blue Midnight color. Though looking after the Midnight MacBook Air — especially around the USB-C ports — can thwart concerns about scratches, users overly concerned about the issue should purchase one of the other color options.
