Towering reports of MacBook Air cracked-screen issues can be found on Reddit and Apple’s Community forum (opens in new tab), followed by a flood of “same here” responses from users who are perplexed over this purported problem (via FrontPageNews).
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M1 MacBook Air cracked screen issue reports are piling up
In a thread titled, “MacBook Air M1 screen crack for no apparent reason,” an Apple Community forum member (opens in new tab) with the alias “laura8lx” expressed frustration over their alleged self-destructing screen on a MacBook Air they purchased six months ago. “I left my computer on the top of my desk during the night and the next day I opened it the screen had 2 small cracks on the right, which damaged the functioning of the screen,” laura8lx said. They went on to say that they contacted Apple to rectify the issue, but the company said that the warranty could not cover the repair because it is likely a “contact-point crack.” In other words, Apple concluded that a small artifact left between the screen and the keyboard caused the crack. “It is absurd,” laura8lx said. “I have nothing like [this] on my desk and the computer was properly closed as usual and didn’t move the whole night. More than the price of repairing it, it is frustrating that Apple doesn’t believe its customers.” Others chimed in reporting the same issue: “Same thing happened to me. The laptop was sitting on my desk and when I opened it was broken, and showing bars,” scoobany said. “Happen to me as well !!!!” another said. “They are not willing to take responsibility ! I am not planning to give up. Doesn’t make any sense that a computer that is brand new and sitting on the desk can break this way. If they have problems with the retina screen, they just need to admit that.” A Reddit user posted a similar issue, stating that their M1-equipped MacBook screen cracked a week post purchase, which also prompted an inundation of “me too” reports. “Just had this happen to me upon opening my M1. It hasn’t moved from my desk since purchase and it’s only 15 days old,” xxcherrillxx said. “Same thing happened to me,” another Redditor said. “I opened my laptop earlier this month and there were colored lines across the bottom and right side of the screen. Their latest models of Airs are absurdly sensitive, it seems.”
Is this the advent of another displaygate?
This isn’t the first time Apple’s been in hot water for its faulty displays. In early April, we reported that a federal judge alleged that Apple knowingly sold MacBook Pros with defective displays, and as a result, he decided that a class-action lawsuit against Apple had sufficient merit to move forward. This display fiasco was dubbed “flexgate.” Flexgate was a PR disaster for Apple that involved some 2016 (and later) MacBook Pros that suffered display backlighting issues due to thin, easy-to-break flex cables. It was an expensive redesign mistake that prompted Apple to launch a free repair program for flexgate victims. If more M1 MacBook Air owners come forward with the same display issues recounted by the Apple Community forum member and the Redditor, Apple could be headed for another dreadful cycle of class-action lawsuits, reputation-damaging PR and repair programs. Prominent Apple leaker Jon Prosser, on the other hand, doesn’t buy the screen-cracking claims, adding that the owners must’ve closed the unit in a damaging manner or allowed dirt to get pressed into the display. “I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that some of these ‘reports’ are from users who shut their MacBook screen onto a keyboard with a bunch of Doritos crumbs stuck in it,” Prosser said.
