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Comment by muro | Hacker News Reader

Also: if they could create a gap between the screen and the keys, so the screen is not always smudged after closing the MacBook. Aka, if you use your MacBook as a laptop, the screen will be dirty even if you are careful to never mistakenly touch it.

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For at least one gen of MacBooks (maybe the ill-fated 2016 MacBook Pros?), this was actually a design fault. In the battle for thinness there was not enough separation between screen and keys when closed, leading to damage to screen coating over time. Newer versions had a slightly larger rubber lip on the screen to increase the separation - as I noticed after getting a replacement for a damaged model

This can happen on other laptops, especially to cat owners.

I now have the M1 MacBook Pro and it still has that issue.

On the brightside, if you ignore it until you can’t see your screen properly it’s like the heavens have opened once you finish cleaning it.

Have you tried putting gravel in your socks at the beginning of the day? It feels great when you get home and finally take them off.

You win. I chuckled. You know I was making a bit of a joke too, right?

I had an M1 pro and have an M1 air, both with screen protectors (that are matte but quick to show smudges) and haven't noticed this.

I have the M1 MacBook Pro and I don't have this issue (I also didn't have it on my 2019, 2017, 2012, etc MacBooks Pro).

Do you put your laptop in a bag where it gets squished between books and other stuff to cause the display to be pushed in?

I haven't had a much trouble with this on my MacBooks, but based on observation (relatively small sample size, so take with grain of salt) this is exacerbated by tightly packing them in e.g. a bag with books/tablets/etc or stacking things on them. As long as I've avoided those situations I don't get key tracks.

I always put something between the screen and the keys when I close it - not only finger grease, but eventually you get damage on the screen from grit on the keys or the hard edge by the track pad. A sheet of A4 paper was the thing for a while, but then I got some of the material you get in new laptops and use that now (it's made from recycled PET, and black).

Bad design, imo.

Do the keys also scratch the screen like on a Dell or HP?

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