Apple’s new MacBook Air line removes the cosmetic problem that recently plagued it

Before Apple introduced the new sky blue M4 MacBook Air, there was another new color that made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The M2 MacBook Air from July 2022 was the first product to come in Apple’s blackish-blue color called midnight. The dark aluminum finish has a look that was the closest to black at the time. It also had an ugly problem that customers were quick to put their finger on: the new color was a magnet for fingerprints and oils from skin.

Even the most careful handler of the midnight M2 MacBook Air had to accept that using it meant living with a smudged surface most of the time. It was a sacrifice we were willing to make for a near-black notebook.

Nearly two years later, Apple used the M3 MacBook Air press release to announce a “breakthrough anodization seal to reduce fingerprints” on the midnight version. Problem solved… for the most part.

The anodization seal resolved the issue for the M3 MacBook Air, but the fingerprint problem wasn’t fixed for the whole MacBook Air line.

That’s because Apple continued to sell the midnight M2 MacBook Air for $100 less than the M3 version. If smudges all over your laptop bothered you, the midnight M2 MacBook Air was the one to avoid.

Starting this week, Apple no longer sells a midnight MacBook Air without the anodization seal, making overly grimy Apple notebooks largely a thing of the past.

Apple replaced both the M2 and M3 versions with the new M4 MacBook Air, complete with a fresh sky blue color option, the good version of the midnight color, and a new $999 starting price.