Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
If you recently purchased a new 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro, you might have noticed the return of the iconic glowing Apple logo on the display lid. Learn how to turn off or re-enable the backlit Apple logo on your Mac using a quick Terminal command, along with the fascinating history behind this beloved feature.
Once a common sight across university lecture halls and local coffee shops, the illuminated emblem featured on the lid of Apple notebooks launched in the early 2000s was a signature hardware detail. Now, Apple has officially brought back this much-loved design element on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with PROLED XDR displays.
The updated glowing Apple logo lights up whenever your Mac is awake. It also works dynamically with your environment, automatically dimming or brightening based on your screen's brightness level and the ambient light in the room.
Image credit: MacRumors forum member sniffies
How to Turn Off the Glowing Apple Logo on MacBook Pro
If you would rather keep the logo dark during presentations or low-light work, Apple has provided a way to turn off the illumination. Unusually, there is no simple toggle switch inside System Settings. Instead, controlling the logo light requires entering a short command in the Terminal app.
If using Terminal sounds intimidating, do not worry. It is a single line of text that you can quickly copy and paste. Note that this command only works on MacBook Pro models featuring a PROLED XDR display.
Step-by-Step Terminal Instructions
- Open Terminal on your Mac. You can find it by navigating to your Applications folder, opening Utilities, and double-clicking Terminal. Alternatively, press Command + Space to open Spotlight search, type "Terminal", and press Enter.
- Type or paste the following command into the window and press Enter:
sudo defaults write com.apple.CoreBrightness LEBacklightMode -int 0 - When prompted, type your administrator password and press Enter. Terminal does not display characters on screen while typing your password.
After completing these steps, the glowing Apple logo turns off immediately with no system restart required. This change applies across all macOS user accounts on the computer. It also carries over if you start up from macOS Recovery or migrate your settings to a new Mac in the future.
How to Relight the Glowing Apple Logo
If you later decide you want to turn the logo illumination back on, restoring it is straightforward. Reinstalling macOS automatically resets the light to its active default state. However, you can also re-enable the light manually at any time using Terminal.
To turn the logo back on, open Terminal and execute this command:
sudo defaults delete com.apple.CoreBrightness LEBacklightMode
Remember to press Enter after typing or pasting the command. The glowing Apple logo will immediately light back up whenever your laptop screen is active.
The History and Origins of the Backlit Apple Emblem
The first Mac laptop featuring a glowing Apple logo was the third-generation PowerBook G3, released in 1999. The lit emblem proved to be a mainstay across consecutive Apple laptops for the next 16 years.
The only major design tweak during that 16-year period was flipping the orientation of the symbol upright. Originally, the emblem was placed so it looked right-side up to the user when closing the lid, but upside-down to onlookers when the laptop was open in public.
According to former Apple employee Joe Moreno, the initial upside-down design was intentional. Apple's design group noticed that users frequently tried to open their laptops from the wrong end when the logo was oriented toward them.
Former CEO Steve Jobs initially prioritized the owner's immediate physical experience over the perspective of public onlookers. However, Jobs later reversed this design decision after evaluating how the laptop looked when opened.
As Moreno explained, opening a laptop from the wrong side is a self-correcting problem that lasts only a few seconds. Viewing an upside-down logo in public, on the other hand, is an aesthetic distraction that lasts indefinitely.
The earlier orientation, seen in Sex and the City (Image: HBO/Everett/Rex Features)
Why Apple Removed the Logo in 2015
In 2015, Apple began removing the illuminated emblem across its notebook line, starting with the ultra-thin 12-inch MacBook. That model featured a polished metal logo integrated into the casing, matching the design aesthetic of iPads before it.
In 2016, a redesigned generation of MacBook Pro models continued the unlit metal logo trend. Apple did not launch another laptop with a lit insignia for years, until returning the feature to the latest MacBook Pro hardware.
Whether you prefer keeping your laptop lid lit up or turned off, adjusting the glowing Apple logo takes only a moment using Terminal on supported MacBook Pro models.
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