Apple brought back one of the most recognizable features of its older MacBooks with the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display: the glowing Apple logo on the lid of the notebook. A new teardown reveals the secret to how it works.
Plus, the teardown shows the details of the beautiful tandem OLED display, rates the repairability of the new notebook and more.
How Apple resurrected the glowing logo on its new MacBook Pro
The glowing logo became iconic on Apple notebooks way back in 1999, and stayed around for the next 16 years. But it was phased out over a decade ago, and had become a relic of the past.
But when the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display was unveiled in October, the glowing Apple logo returned — and there was much rejoicing.
The earlier models used the LCD’s backlight to illuminate the logo. Light from the display passed through a translucent Apple-shaped cutout in the aluminum lid. When the display was on, the logo glowed.
A teardown of the new version done by iFixit shows Apple accomplished the trick this time in a very different way, which is necessary because the OLED MacBook Pro doesn’t need backlights. Each pixel glows on its own.
Apple solved the problem with a separate LED lighting assembly behind the display. According to iFixit’s teardown, it contains a strip of four small LEDs positioned along one edge of the logo.
The LEDs shine light onto a reflective layer, which directs it through a diffuser. That spreads the light evenly across the Apple-shaped logo, producing the familiar glow rather than four obvious points of light.
The outside of the logo has a reflective, mirror-like coating. That gives it a polished appearance when the lights are off, while allowing it to glow when the MacBook is powered on.
Photo: iFixit
A potential repair problem
Still, the clever lighting arrangement comes with a potential repair headache. The LED assembly sits behind the tandem OLED panel, making it quite difficult to access.
“This is an insane repair path for reaching the glowing logo. If yours ever goes dark, you might see if you can live with a regular Apple,” wrote iFixit’s Elizabeth Chamberlain in her description of the teardown.
MacBook Pro boasts a tandem OLED display
Apple emphasizes that the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display uses a tandem OLED display panel. When iFixit disassembled the new notebook, it examined the hardware.
“There are actually two light-emitting layers in this OLED, one behind the other,” said Chamberlain. “Together they can deliver the same brightness with less current needed for each, or push the display to a higher peak. That’s what makes this a ‘tandem’ OLED.”
Stacking two OLED light-emitting layers on top of each other reduces stress on the individual pixels, potentially extending the panel’s lifespan and reducing the risk of burn-in.
MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display: More repairable
The teardown also revealed other interesting details about Apple’s new MacBook Pro, including how Apple managed to make the touchscreen-equipped laptop lighter than the previous model: much of the weight came out of the chassis and the lid assembly.
All in all, iFixit judged this new model to be somewhat easier to fix than its predecessor.
“The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR earns a 5 out of 10 for repairability, one point up from the M5 MacBook Pro,” said Chamberlain.
Watch the full video of the iFixit teardown of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display for more details:
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
