The midnight color variant for the laptop will not be as bad a fingerprint magnet this time around. ‘Scratchgate,’ as it was called back in 2022 with the M2 MacBook Air, came about due to the midnight blue version being particularly vulnerable to both fingerprints and scratches.
According to Apple, the new M3 version features a “breakthrough anodization seal to reduce fingerprints,” similar to the space black M3 MacBook Pro, which was the first of Apple’s laptops to receive such a coating.
Apple seems to have the solution in hand
Considering how prominent ‘Scratchgate’ was with the M2 MacBook Air, it’s good to see that Apple has properly dealt with the issue by adding this new coating to better protect the chassis of the M3 version. Especially since buyers are investing in this new product and deserve to have one that maintains its aesthetics.
Hopefully, once the preorders are released and people start getting the laptop into their hands, the coating will be more than sufficient to protect the outside from fingerprints. However, from what those with the Pro have said, the anodization seal does seem to be as effective in reducing the amount of fingerprints as Apple is claiming, which is good news for the midnight Air M3. There also haven’t been any major complaints about scratches on the chassis, which is also a good sign.
Fingers crossed that this coating will be the ultimate solution to this problem and that Apple won’t allow such an issue to occur again, as quality and aesthetics are two of the tech giant’s biggest selling points.
