Technology1 min read

Apple should have made the MacBook logo RGB

By · Via The Verge · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Apple CEO John Ternus introduced the PROLED MacBook Pro featuring an OLED touchscreen, a lighter chassis, and the first illuminated lid logo since the design was fully phased out in 2018. An iFixit teardown revealed that four white LEDs synced to display brightness power the cutout, bypassing the opportunity to install customizable RGB elements. Attempting to reach the LEDs resulted in a broken, delaminated screen, leaving DIY hardware tweaks out of reach on the $3,000 laptop. Users must instead rely on Terminal commands or third-party utilities like LogoLight to adjust or animate the existing white glow.

Key points

  • The PROLED MacBook Pro limits users to single-color illumination despite hardware changes…: The PROLED MacBook Pro limits users to single-color illumination despite hardware changes that technically enabled multicolor RGB lighting.
  • Severe disassembly risks prevent consumers from safely performing aftermarket hardware mo…: Severe disassembly risks prevent consumers from safely performing aftermarket hardware modifications on the laptop's display assembly.
  • Owners wanting customization must rely on Terminal commands or third-party applications l…: Owners wanting customization must rely on Terminal commands or third-party applications like LogoLight to animate or disable the illumination.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

When Apple CEO John Ternus announced the first touchscreen Mac last month, the biggest reaction in the room wasn’t for the PROLED MacBook Pro’s OLED touchscreen or the thinner and lighter chassis; it was for the illuminated lid logo. It’s a throwback to the light-up logos on the old MacBooks, which Apple started phasing out in 2015, and which were completely gone by the 2018 MacBook Air redesign. It’s a nostalgia play, but boy did it work. It’s fun!

Apple should have made the MacBook logo RGB

The PROLED MacBook Pro’s logo is lit with boring white LEDs. Missed opportunity.

Apple should have made the MacBook logo RGB

The PROLED MacBook Pro’s logo is lit with boring white LEDs. Missed opportunity.

Just like in the old days, the new logo’s brightness is linked to the screen’s: The brighter or dimmer the screen, the brighter or dimmer the logo. But the light-up logo on the old MacBooks was illuminated by the screen’s backlight, and an OLED display doesn’t have one. Thanks to iFixit, we now know it’s lit by four white…

Technology