Alcantara. NO or GO?

[lanakaryatna]

No, u want your device look dirty? How to clean it?

 

[k1s23]

No, u want your device look dirty? How to clean it?

the website below is the official alcantara website, which lists suggestions on how to clean alcantara cloth.

Stain removal & Cleaning | Alcantara

 

[GG002]

People keep talking about the feel of the Alcantara keyboard and I just dont get it.

The top of the keyboard where the keys are feels so dry and plain. There is no feeling to it. Nothing. And i've seen others complain about this.

The back of the keyboard, you can actually feel the material but it's still not what I thought it would be based on all the advertisements and the cost.

Honestly, I expected more. Not to mention mine has gotten dirty. I tried an alcantara cleaner but it didn't help .

It seems like a photo accentuates the dirtiness because it doesn't look this bad in real. But i still notice it in person

View attachment 135922

Mine doesn't look like that... Last time I cleaned, using water, soap and an old sock (yup), I got off basically all of the dark stains.

However, if I bought one of the new ones, I would buy a blue one. I think it looks amazing, and I also think dirt will show less.

 

[LawdNikon]

Hey guys Venture Beat actually did a spill test on them. The tl;dr is basically everything comes off w/o staining if you get to it quickly. Long term palm sweat they are unsure of though.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/12/how-to-stain-a-microsoft-surface-laptop/

 

[k1s23]

Hey guys Venture Beat actually did a spill test on them. The tl;dr is basically everything comes off w/o staining if you get to it quickly. Long term palm sweat they are unsure of though.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/12/how-to-stain-a-microsoft-surface-laptop/

thanks lawdnikon for this link. i like how they did things to this keyboard that i wouldnt attempt to do since i dont dare eat near my electronics and wash my hands before using my keyboard. they do have a point about long-term staining on the alcantara due to hand sweat though. sweat from your body is hard to clean, whether from bare feet on carpet or your neck rubbing on a shirt, so whoever uses this better make sure to periodically wipe down the keyboard fabric. it sure is a unique problem to worry about for a laptop.

 

[onlysublime]

I also have an alcantara keyboard for my Surface Pro 4. Like anything, it stains. Even desktop keyboards stain. I've never seen a pristine device that gets used religiously no matter how fastidious you are.

I'll say this. I have multiple keyboards for my Surface Pro 4 (teal, blue, and my alcantara gray) and multiple keyboards for my Surface Pro 2 (cyan, magenta, black, and purple). And my alcantara has been the most resistant to stains. I've spilled mango, juices, coke, etc. on it the most but it has the least stains of my other keyboards. In fact, my purple and teal keyboards have undergone the most damage even though I don't use them that often.

And pics of dirty keyboards don't mean all keyboards are dirty. Keyboards of all brands get dirty over time:

 

[k1s23]

I also have an alcantara keyboard for my Surface Pro 4. Like anything, it stains. Even desktop keyboards stain. I've never seen a pristine device that gets used religiously no matter how fastidious you are.

I'll say this. I have multiple keyboards for my Surface Pro 4 (teal, blue, and my alcantara gray) and multiple keyboards for my Surface Pro 2 (cyan, magenta, black, and purple). And my alcantara has been the most resistant to stains. I've spilled mango, juices, coke, etc. on it the most but it has the least stains of my other keyboards. In fact, my purple and teal keyboards have undergone the most damage even though I don't use them that often.

And pics of dirty keyboards don't mean all keyboards are dirty. Keyboards of all brands get dirty over time:

View attachment 135960

View attachment 135961

View attachment 135962

View attachment 135963

hey onlysublime, thanks for your post and the pictures too. extremely valid point about all keyboards getting dirty. its easy to overlook damage to other keyboards but have concern about it for the surface laptop because the material on the keyboard is fabric, which is totally different from plastic/metal and has never been done before (maybe?). good to read that in your situation the alcantara fabric has held up very well to stains even though its taken the most "damage" out of all the keyboards. what products created the most irreversible stain damage?

also its somewhat unrelated but im curious to know why you have so many keyboards. :shocked:

 

[onlysublime]

I like to accessorize. I have the red, champagne, and silver pens (though I gave the red one to my cousin).

That's why I was hoping that the Surface Pro would also come in colors.

But for the Surface Pro 2, I started with purple. Then I picked up the power keyboard (for extra battery life). Then I got the cyan and magenta ones new for dirt cheap when people had moved on to the Surface Pro 3 (which I skipped because I was happy with the SP2 and because the SP3 had throttling issues). Thought it be good to have extra when SP2 supplies are long gone. I plan to keep the SP2 for a long time because it's built like a tank and it's a good machine.

For the Surface Pro 4, I started off with the teal. Started getting dirty faster than my SP2 keyboards even though it's the exact same materials. So I picked up the alcantara because it seemed to stand up to the abuse more. But it's pretty ugly. I pull out the teal or blue keyboards when I'm with friends. But most of my work is with the alcantara keyboard.

the magnesium on the Surface Pro machines scratch easily so I ordered a new skin to cover the new machine. I covered all my machines when I saw scratches on the black magnesium of the SP2. Pristine surfaces since I covered my SP2 and pair of SP4 machines. So people don't want to cover their machines but I'm not a fan of gray/silver at all. I would kill myself if I had to live with the silver MacBook machines.



And my skin for my new machine:



My current SP4 machines (both have almost the same skin but with slightly different blue):


My current SP2:

 

[Rainar Angelo]

I like to accessorize. I have the red, champagne, and silver pens (though I gave the red one to my cousin).

That's why I was hoping that the Surface Pro would also come in colors.

But for the Surface Pro 2, I started with purple. Then I picked up the power keyboard (for extra battery life). Then I got the cyan and magenta ones new for dirt cheap when people had moved on to the Surface Pro 3 (which I skipped because I was happy with the SP2 and because the SP3 had throttling issues). Thought it be good to have extra when SP2 supplies are long gone. I plan to keep the SP2 for a long time because it's built like a tank and it's a good machine.

For the Surface Pro 4, I started off with the teal. Started getting dirty faster than my SP2 keyboards even though it's the exact same materials. So I picked up the alcantara because it seemed to stand up to the abuse more. But it's pretty ugly. I pull out the teal or blue keyboards when I'm with friends. But most of my work is with the alcantara keyboard.

the magnesium on the Surface Pro machines scratch easily so I ordered a new skin to cover the new machine. I covered all my machines when I saw scratches on the black magnesium of the SP2. Pristine surfaces since I covered my SP2 and pair of SP4 machines. So people don't want to cover their machines but I'm not a fan of gray/silver at all. I would kill myself if I had to live with the silver MacBook machines.

View attachment 135965

And my skin for my new machine:

View attachment 135966

My current SP4 machines (both have almost the same skin but with slightly different blue):
View attachment 135968

My current SP2:
View attachment 135967

Calvin and Hobbes :') #CLASSic

 

[GG002]

View attachment 135963

I have seen SO many Macbooks in this condition, which is why am nothing but befuddled when people think Alcantara fabric is any worse than fading/wearing/dirtying/oxidating magnesium or aluminium machines are any better.

 

[Richard Toft]

It sounds great so its a go from me based on its looks only time will tell if its truly durable.

 

[TennisGuy45]

For a type cover, which is removable and replaceable, I'm fine with it.

For the surface laptop where it is non replaceable and permanent, heck no I'd never buy it.

 

[LIEBER]

I am unhappy with the standard Type Cover of the SP4. Why?
* After 5 minutes of use, it feals like my hands are "sweating"/getting slippy on the cover.
* I hope this can be avoided with the alcantara version -- if so, definitely worth a try
* I would perhaps have preferred the "skin-like" feel of the best ThinkPad keyboards, but perhaps the alcantara turns out to be as good.

 

[Biff Henderson]

I am certain that it feels nice. However, keeping it clean is a concern. I guess, if it gets dirty, I will simply toss it and buy a new one. Planned obsolescence?

 

[DjeTe]

I myself love the feel of it. Mine is not dirty at all but I'm not a very dirty person so to speak. Of course if you sit and eat hamburgers, pizza slices etc well. Things gets messy.

 

[midnightfrolic]

No thanks. I like easy maintenance.

 

[alanSJ]

Microsoft, if you're listening please give your fans an option next year between metal and fabric. I love the look of the SL, especially the burgundy one, but the Alcantara fabric makes me skip this generation and wait for the next one in hopes of a metal keyboard option. I've spent a lot of time at my local MS store checking out the SL. Now, in terms of ease of cleaning, though I'm still a little skeptical I'm going say it's a tie since some people on this thread with prior Alcantara experience have vouched for it and maintained it's just as easy to clean as metal. However, in terms of durability, there's no way anybody can convince me that a fabric such as Alcantara is more durable than metal. And lastly, this is strictly subjective here, I think polished metal has a more premium feel than fabric. If Alcantara becomes a hit with the consumers, I bet you Apple will eventually jump on the bandwagon with some slight modifications and claim they invented it

 

[John20212]

Absolutely not a fan of this material on the laptop or surface keyboard. The laptop would be much better with clean aluminum/metal surface, and there is no benefit to having this material on the type cove compared to the old one; and bring back the damn touch covers for Surface.

 

[Msolok]

I've had the SP4 Signature cover since it was launched and I carry my SP4 with me everywhere I go. It has stayed remarkably clean and is as easy as using a cloth with a bit of water to clean off any dirty marks as they occur. I think it's a great material for the Surface Laptop.

 

[darrell reimer]

I think it feels great; i've had a Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro for the past 3 years, and one of the reasons (among many) that i chose it was because it did not have the usual metal/plasticy/slippery palm rest area; it has an excellent 'fabric' that is so comfortable and awesome. It is black, however, so you can't see any dirt; it looks exactly the same as it did 3 years ago. That's the only thing i would change with the Surface Alcantara fabric - make it black; then you wouldn't see the 'dirt' like in the picture above....