Bring back the glow: MacBooks lost their soul when the Apple logo went dark

With Apple reportedly redesigning the M6 MacBook Pro, it’s time to bring back the beloved glowing Apple logo on the back of the laptop.

Not only is it an iconic look, reviving a signature feature from the MacBooks of old would be a statement that Apple has returned to making laptops as good as the ones made back in the days when you could easily recognize a MacBook from across the room by its glowing Apple logo.

Back when the world was young and MacBooks had a glowing Apple logo

For those too young to remember, the first Apple laptop to feature a glowing Apple logo was the third-generation PowerBook G3, introduced in 1999. To be clear, that’s not hyperbole — the logo on the back of the lid would actually light up when the laptop was powered on.

The design continued through Apple’s laptops for more than a decade and a half, until 2015.

MacBook’s biggest design mistakes including killing the glowing logo

And that’s when MacBooks started to go off the rails. In addition to on to ending the glowing logo, Apple brought in the “butterfly” keyboard in 2015 — a super-slim design with little key travel and a tendency for keys to get jammed by even the tiniest speck of grit.

2016 started the “Dongle Era.” Apple removed almost every specialized port and replaced them with USB-C. It was the end of the HDMI port, an SD card slot and even MagSafe.

It’s no coincidence that the illuminated Apple logo got cut in this same time period.

Then, for too many years, MacBooks were a triumph of form over function. They were wonderfully slim and gorgeous, but burdened with a problematic keyboard while forcing hubs or adapters on practically every type of accessory. And our beloved glowing logo was nowhere to be seen.

The MacBook revival

Fortunately, Apple turned the MacBook around. It was actually a while ago: the butterfly keyboard was gone by 2020, and the next year saw the return of an HDMI port, the SD card slot and MagSafe charging to the MacBook Pro line.

The MacBook Pro has kept to that same 2021 design ever since, but a significant revamp is on the way. Leaks and rumors tell us that the highlights will include an OLED display, a touchscreen, the Apple M6 processor and a thinner/lighter chassis.

In a sea of identical laptops, the glowing Apple logo made MacBooks iconic

The return of the glowing Apple logo to the back of the M6 MacBook Pro would be a clear sign that its newest model harks back to the brilliant laptops it made a decade or more ago.

In those days, that illuminated logo was an instantly recognizable symbol of creativity, craftsmanship and confidence. It turned every open MacBook into a signpost that here was someone serious about being a designer, developer, artist, filmmaker… whatever.

A fresh design for a new era

The original glowing logo was literally just an Apple-shaped hole in the back of the MacBook covered with white plastic. The glow came from the LCD screen’s backlights. That won’t work with the M6 MacBook Pro — its OLED display won’t have backlights because each pixel glows on its own.

But with modern LED and power efficiency advances, Apple could reintroduce the glow in a way that’s elegant, energy-conscious and unmistakably MacBook.

Giving the glowing Apple logo its own light source could let people change the color to make the MacBook Pro match their personal style. Or turn the glow off when it’s not appropriate.

You can’t argue that this is a crazy idea considering Apple filed a patent in 2022 on a method to add a backlit logo to a device.

Think how great it would be to look across classrooms, studios, coffee shops and conference halls around the world and see illuminated Apple logos again. Each would be a shining beacon showing that we’re as proud to use our MacBooks as Apple is to make them.

Ed Hardy

Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.