Here's my guess, I used an alcohol-based solvent to clean my keyboard and then closed the machine. Now I have stains of the oleophobic coating coming off in the places you'd expect it ... where the keys manage to come in contact with the screen.
So I suppose it's my fault, but I have a Lenovo T440s here with a beautiful matte screen that has no need for a fancy oil-resistent coating that comes off when you breath cleaning solvent on it.
As an owner of a huge number of Apple products, but not an exclusive Apple-user, I think some of their products are extremely practical.
The problem I've always had is that blemishes and usability issues have been common for their hardware, even going back to the easily-scratched metal backs of old iPods. It seems like every generation of iPhone has had some major defect.
None of these things are that big of a deal. If Apple is using cutting-edge manufacturing processes, I'd expect these things to happen.
The problem is that Apple has (in my experience) systematically denied that the problem exists, is widespread, and is their fault. It really takes something like staingate.org before they'll own up to something they should be willing to fix.
It's crazy: they do some things like MagSafe is fantastic, it's so simple but very effective. It solves a problem which has killed two of my previous laptops. Then you have the fantastic battery life and a suspend function which works consistently well (so long as you don't use Parallels).
But then they screw up on the simple things: a screen coating which is extremely easily damaged, and no stress relief on their power supplies which dooms them to cable failure within 1-2 years.
BTW I resolved the screen issues by installing a matt screen protector. It has the added advantage of making the screen readable in sunlight. The downside is you lose a little clarity (or gain it if the streaks are really bad).
Apple could fix these problems easily, and - especially in the case the stress relief - it would cost them a fraction of a cent per unit.
> If Apple is using cutting-edge manufacturing processes, I'd expect these things to happen.
These are expensive devices, we're paying a premium for them. For the prices Apple charge I expect them to have worked out these kinks before hitting the market.
I understand where you are coming from, but stand back for a minute and contemplate how ridiculous this sounds:
> don't be surprised if rubbing tap water on your glossy screen screws it up.
I used tap water to remove e-cigarette refill fluid (an oily substance) that I spilled on a non-Apple glossy screen, using a dirty rag. Unsurprisingly the screen is still absolutely perfect and handled the highly corrosive water just fine.
Off topic but if there's oil in your e-liquid, you may want to find a new vendor. Should only be glycerine/glycol, nicotine, and miniscule amounts of flavor extracts/concentrates.
The main point is that it wound up on a screen and that screen is just fine. I didn't use mine for too long and didn't much research into it because it was merely a quitting aid :)
One of the reasons I just love the new Zenbook UX305. Thinner than the new macbook, higher res screen/webcam, 3 usb3 ports, hdmi and sdcard and fanless... and a damn matte screen for $699.
And can I also add to this that, while I appreciate widescreen monitors on laptops due to form factor, the fact that monitor manufacturers just up and stopped making square displays is endlessly frustration too.
My 13" MB Air does not have this pattern. I've used a microfiber cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol (no smears / spots) to clean the screen quite a few times without any problems. I don't think the alcohol is a problem (though the solvent could be -- I used lab-grade isopropanol).
I use a RadTech felt pad that I keep between the keyboard and the screen when the laptop is closed. It shouldn't be necessary, but I found the oils from the keys were leaving marks on the screen when I'd carry my MBP in a bag. This pad prevents it completely.
The fact that you have to carry around such accessories for a PC you should be able to use anywhere without much thought about stuff like the above is frustrating.
So Apple has to figure out how to stop people from using abrasive cleaners on their computers that would also cause issues if it came in contact with switches/circuitboard or anything else in a laptop?
1. They aren't abrasive, they are polar. Abrasive makes them sounds like they have gritty particles. They do not.
They are just solvents.
Most of these solvents will not harm switches/circuitboards (well, maybe apple ones, depending on what kind of protective coating they use).
2. The amount of effort it takes to have a coating that is resistant to almost all cleaners is completely and utterly trivial to a company like apple.
It's not a hard problem. It's not even a problem.
To put this in perspective for you, I can walk 1000 feet from my house, and get stuff that will function as an optically clear anti-reflective coating that is resistant to almost all chemicals.
(These things are portable to other coating types, too.. The wood end table i spray finished sitting next to me could be dipped in acetone, denatured alcohol, whatever, and it wouldn't affect the finish)
So yeah, i'm going to go out on a limb and say "apple has to figure out how to use coatings that resist these kinds of things", because it's 100% cheap and trivial.
None of the scratches on my MBP are from cleaners. They are 100% from the keyboard touching the screen.
Here's a photo (http://i.imgur.com/gnAqDqk.jpg). First you can see the main scratch is a very straight line. Not something that would come from wiping. Second below the man scratch you can see a pattern of small scratches about every 1/2 inch in pairs corresponding to the corners of keys on the keyboard.
I'd be happy if there was just way reasonably priced way to get it re-coated.
Stopping small amounts of fluid is a solved problem for laptops - the keyboard sits in a tray, and ports and speakers are reasonably sealed. You have to spill a lot of fluid to make it past these basic protections.
Here's my guess, I used an alcohol-based solvent to clean my keyboard and then closed the machine. Now I have stains of the oleophobic coating coming off in the places you'd expect it ... where the keys manage to come in contact with the screen.
So I suppose it's my fault, but I have a Lenovo T440s here with a beautiful matte screen that has no need for a fancy oil-resistent coating that comes off when you breath cleaning solvent on it.
Color me unimpressed, Apple.