Is Light MacBook Air Defect Heavy?

I learned of the problem overnight via Twitter. BetaNews founder Nate Mook tweeted about problems with a new MacBook Air. Nate had observed subtle, horizontal lines across the display. He returned the MacBook Air for refund yesterday.

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I've known Nate for nearly a decade. He knows his technology and has long used Mac products. Besides, Nate runs a successful technology news and enthusiast site. The point: Nate knows his stuff. I interviewed him over IM late this morning about the MacBook Air defect, if it can be called one.

Nate's story is similar to many others told on Mac support forums. Subtle, horizontal lines spread across the MacBook Air display. Perhaps not everyone would notice the lines. "It's like the FedEx logo. Once you see the arrow you can't ignore it," Nate explained.

"I have these as well," one poster on Apple Support forums lamented. "It's driving me completely nuts; it looks like everything is on laid paper stock."

Nate's description reminds me of the Power Mac G4 Cube. I bought one in the summer of 2000 with flat-panel display, paying about $3,600. After a few days, I noticed subtle lines in the molded plastic. I wrote a story for CNET News.com about the so-called mold lines that marred Cube's beauty. People paying premium price for a computer art product expect perfection; the lines represented flaws.

Nate's Air had a second problem: The trackpad was raised on one side compared to the other, causing an unusually loud clicking noise. "Both are minor issues, perhaps, that most people wouldn't notice," he acknowledged. "But when you spend $2,500 on a computer, even a minor issue is a big one."

Nate had purchased the newer "Rev. B" MacBook Air, with 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, 128GB sold-state drive and 256MB nVidia GeForce 9400M graphics.

Other forum posters, particularly MacBook Air buyers outside the United States, reported four-finger gesture problems with the laptop's trackpad. So forum posters are reporting at least two separate, seemingly unrelated problems.

"I've returned my Air back to Apple today for replacement," wrote another poster to Apple Support forums. "This is because of the lines and no four-finger swipe. First time I've ever returned something." In response another poster piped: "I also returned mine for a replacement today because of the display problem and the missing four-finger swipe! Years ago [I] had the same display issue with a Powerbook 1.67GHz with the hi-res display."

Threads at Apple Support forums and MacRumors forums start on Nov. 3. Nate bought his MacBook Air "the first day it was shipping to stores. Most stores hadn't even received them yet." His purchase date: Oct. 31. "But my hopes were dashed. Could I learn to ignore the lines on the screen? Possibly. But for $2,500, that seems like an absurd requirement."

Yesterday, one MacBook Pro user posted to MacRumors forums about his troubling Air buying experience. The buyer had heard about the display problems, but saw good Airs on display in an Apple Store. An employee said the buyer could purchase the laptop, open it in the store and "return it if the screen was not to my standards." The poster explains what happened:

When I opened it up and turned it on, though, the 'texture' was immediately visible on the gray startup screen, and I knew I'd gotten a bad display. There has been some concern that people can't tell which displays are affected and which aren't, and, indeed, the Apple Store employees who all came around to look confessed that they hadn't heard of or noticed the problem before. From an average viewing distance, it definitely carries the appearance of a texture/grain more than horizontal bars, as they're slightly angled and have a granulated, pixeled appearance...

Everyone had a different way of describing the issue. I thought the 'recycled paper' descriptor was pretty accurate. One employee described it as looking like 'parchment.' A customer at the Genius Bar with me was able to spot the issue immediately without it being pointed out to her, and she said it looked as though the screen was dirty. I think all of these are true to some extent...

Once the manager came over, we chatted a bit; I showed him the issue, and he acknowledged that something was happening there, and it was definitely not up to the standards of my pristine MacBook Pro display. He suggested that it might be a difference in the integrated graphics versus the dedicated graphics, but when I observed that the floor MacBooks did not have the same issue, he seemed genuinely puzzled.

The lines were a "deal breaker" for the poster, as they were for Nate. I couldn't reach Apple for comment about this issue; of course, I tried. So comment comes second hand from a forum poster who returned his MacBook Air to Apple and later received a phone call explaining that the lines are "expected behavior."

The behavior was unexpected to Nate and the many MacBook Air buyers posting about the horizontal lines.

"This is a widespread issue; the question is whether it's important enough for Apple to fix it moving forward, or offer replacements to early adopters," Nate said. "But if the posting on the forums is correct and Apple considers this 'expected behavior' that may not happen."

While disappointed by the apparent MacBook Air flaw, Nate praised Apple customer service. He didn't open up the Air right away, and when he had the return date had passed. "I never did anything with the MBA, except take it out of the box and notice the lines," Nate said. At the Apple Store, "the Genius noticed it immediately, too—I didn't have to convince him of anything." The official return date ended Nov. 14, but "the Genius said they had extended return periods for the holidays." A more cynical person might see the extension as acknowledgement the Apple Store Genius had seen the problem before.

"The Apple store manager and Genius recommended I just get a refund, because it was unlikely any new one they gave me would be without lines," Nate said. "Apple had no problem offering me a full refund."

Perhaps on another laptop from another computer manufacturer the lines wouldn't cause much reaction. But Apple sells premium notebooks for premium prices. Appearance matters: It's one of Mac laptops' major features. Like the Cube mold lines eight years ago, today another kind of line mars a trendy Apple computer.

"It would be unfortunate if they just try to sweep it under the carpet like the Cube problems," Nate said. But he remained optimistic that Apple would do the right thing. "Hopefully your post will spark some more discussion."

[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com].

Posted by Joe Wilcox on December 1, 2008 1:27 PM