The new Midnight M3 MacBook Air won’t be as much of a fingerprint magnet, according to Apple

(Image credit: Apple)

Though the powerful chip and AI functionality of the new lineup of M3 MacBook Air computers are certainly headline-worthy, Apple has finally fixed one of the range’s long-suffering problems — making it less likely to attract fingerprint marks on its most smudge-prone color.

If you’re a fan of the Midnight MacBook Air but worried about how vulnerable it is to fingerprint smudges, Apple’s M3 MacBook Air press release announced “a breakthrough anodization seal” that will reduce the visibility of such marks. Curiously, this seems to only get applied to the Midnight models but, as someone who purchased the Silver M1 MacBook Air in 2020, I’ve never had a fingerprint problem so this distinction makes some sense.

Given this will likely be the best Mac for most people, it makes sense that Apple wouldn’t want any colors to have drawbacks like the smudges you could find in previous Midnight devices.

An Apple problem

Not only are the Midnight MacBook Airs, and my 2019 MacBook Pro, a fingerprint magnet but the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a bit of an issue here too. Back, when it launched, some users reported discoloration problems around its edges when they went without a case. In a Support post, Apple says ”the oil from your skin might temporarily alter the color of the outside band. Wiping your iPhone with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth will restore the original look.” Though the iPhone 15 Pro Max discoloration is only a minor annoyance, a report from last week, catching up with the widely criticized FineWoven case, tells another story.

In that report, Joanna Stern of The Wall Street Journal took to X to report on the state of her case, which has, in only a handful of months, started to peel at the edges and discolor in the center of the device where the MagSafe component lies. Due to this poor quality, Amazon put a “frequently returned item” banner on the product.

This new coat on the Midnight M3 MacBook Air range, if it proves to be successful, is a step in the right direction for a company that once prided itself so highly on aesthetic details. As Apple’s branding is so clean, a few too many smudges can seriously harm that squeaky clean look. We’ll have to get our hands (and fingers) on it to find out how well this new coat works in real life.

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James is a staff writer and general Jack of all trades at iMore. With news, features, reviews, and guides under his belt, he has always liked Apple for its unique branding and distinctive style. Originally buying a Macbook for music and video production, he has since gone on to join the Apple ecosystem with as many devices as he can fit on his person.

With a degree in Law and Media and being a little too young to move onto the next step of his law career, James started writing from his bedroom about games, movies, tech, and anything else he could think of. Within months, this turned into a fully-fledged career as a freelance journalist. Before joining iMore, he was a staff writer at Gfinity and saw himself published at sites like TechRadar, NME, and Eurogamer.

As his extensive portfolio implies, James was predominantly a games journalist before joining iMore and brings with him a unique perspective on Apple itself. When not working, he is trying to catch up with the movies and albums of the year, as well as finally finishing the Yakuza series. If you like Midwest emo music or pretentious indie games that will make you cry, he’ll talk your ear off.