Will MacBooks ever get the glowing logo back?

[theluggage]

But then in 2011 Apple brought Thunderbolt to the world with the USB-C form factor connection and battery operation was rapidly improving, obviating the engineering reasons for use of MagSafe.

USB-C & the removal of MagSafe came to the 12" MacBook in 2015 and the whole MacBook Pro range in 2016. A 2016 i7 MacBook Pro with Radeon Pro supposedly ran for "up to 10 hours of wireless web" or, in this universe, a lot less than that for anybody actually running the sort of workflow that would justify buying a high end MBP... Then there's the problem of the 2-port MBPs where simply plugging in the charger wiped out half of your I/O and display connection capability... Sorry, no, the dropping of MagSafe in favour of a universal connector which was still years away from being useful on laptops/desktops was just a dumb idea all round...

USB-C is a relatively loose connection in terms of a person or pet pulling a laptop off its table.

Pretty sure I could pull my Mac Studio off the table by a USB-C cable (forgive me if I don't test the theory - for obvious reasons) - those sockets are pretty tight. Even MagSafe 1 wasn't a guarantee - my 2011 MBP took a dirt nap courtesy of a dog and over-clingy MagSafe. Magsafe 2 was a bit looser...

I think a better justification might have been that laptops were getting so light that even MagSafe 2 would happily pull them off the table...

Pro photog evolved past slow SD a long time ago, but apparently consumer demand at the lower end is strong for SD.

Drones, Dashcams, GoPros, nanny cams, Raspberry Pis...

and anyway my max M2 MBP will easily run all day without being plugged in

Yup, ...8 years after Apple first tried to foist all-USB-C laptops on the world, certainly now that Apple Silicon has made the claims of "all-day battery life" almost plausible, with USB-C becoming the industry standard power connector it might be time to re-assess the idea of an all-USB-C computer. Maybe make sure that even the lower-end MBPs can support at least 3 ports, though... Creating an unnecessary bottleneck by combining unrelated functions like display, I/O and power into a single socket on anything larger than a tablet is still a dumb idea, though - but at least it's now a better supported dumb idea with slightly cheaper hubs/docks..
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[teknikal90]

Like what you want to like, and don’t let me tell you otherwise, but don’t confuse an irrational emotion with quantifiable value. Your choice to feel emotion toward a hollow corporate brandmark is in no way equal to me, somewhat at random, aligning my message board username around cats. To be honest, it was a bit of an accident. I usually choose a random name/avatar combination. This one I happened to re-use in a handful of places. But if MacRumors told me I had to change it, I would in an instant. A message board name is disposable. It has no value. Just like glowing corporate brand marks.

I’m sure owning a cat is totally rational as well 😂

 

[DCIFRTHS]

It was a waste of power and resources just to “look good” to others. Why on earth would I care what other people think? Their opinion is not the basis for my identity or value as a human being. I’m glad that glowing logo on the back is gone.. it was nothing more than a status symbol to begin with.

Agreed. Additionally, I didn’t even like the way it looked. Felt it was kind of tacky.

 

[redheeler]

It's unlikely. The glowing logo was illuminated by the LCD backlight of the screen but with the XDR displays we no longer have one continuous backlight panel but instead we have local dimming zones. This would cause the logo to be lit unevenly unless you were displaying something that lights up the entire screen.

Best reasoning of the entire thread for it not coming back in the future, especially since the goal is ultimately to switch to OLED when it becomes feasible. That being said, the 2016 models did remove it for purely aesthetic purposes as this wasn't a concern yet.

 

[fwmireault]

I can understand the nostalgia but I don't see that happening. I don't think in retrospect it looks as good as the design they have now. Also, as others pointed out, the display technology wouldn't allow the logo to glow evenly.

 

[MallardDuck]

They were only illuminated by the screen backlight, so no additional power involved.

Which is why they won’t come back - completely different display tech now.

 

[Reason077]

Anytime Apple removes something for whatever reason, it’s unlikely that tight-wad Tim would re-introduce it. Now, they were forced to re-introduce MagSafe and the SD Card slot because of consumer out-cry. 😐

If they can bring back a pointless and wasteful feature like MagSafe (which does mean Apple can sell a new generation of expensive proprietary cables), surely they can bring back the glowing Apple logo!

 

[Reason077]

And FireWire

FireWire is still there, they just renamed it to Thunderbolt now days.

 

[TracerAnalog]

Anytime Apple removes something for whatever reason, it’s unlikely that tight-wad Tim would re-introduce it. Now, they were forced to re-introduce MagSafe and the SD Card slot because of consumer out-cry. 😐

You can make your point without resorting to childish alliterations. Backlit Apple logos were cool once, now, not so much.

 

[tridley68]

It should come back it was a cool feature and they should bring it over to the phones as well back in the day when I used to jailbreak all my phones I did a conversion and had a glowing Apple on the back of my phone 😎

 

[scrapesleon]

hopefully they do seeing they added back MagSafe

 

[Piplodocus]

Nope.

Looked cool but was lit by the big display backlight and got ditched when the backlight tech changed and displays improved. So without putting extra LEDs in there (ain't gonna happen for a lid designed to be as thin as possible), that'll likely continue to be a no.

Was actually semi-useful once when my display packed up and you could shine a light through it and see there was still a picture there and it was just the backlight had failed, not the whole display or the laptop not booting properly.

 

[zorinlynx]

The glowing Apple logo was absolute genius marketing. How many photos have we seen of events where the DJ is using a Macbook with the glowing logo? It would show up super visible in TV shows, coffee shops and so on, increasing the awareness of the Apple brand.

The landscape has changed, though. Everyone knows about Apple now. A glowy logo just adds complexity to manufacturing at a time when companies are trying to simplify.

I miss it too, but it's a relic of the past. Look to the future rather than dwell on that.

 

[MBAir2010]

Who needs a skinking logo that glows when a cat can meow instead!

viva el gatos!

 

[snak-atak]

It was… just to “look good” to others.

True that. Back then, Macbooks were not as popular as they are today. Now that pretty much everyone either owns one or knows about it, there’s no need for that marketing ploy. It’s kinda like the Rivian flashlight. It was a gimmick to get people talking.

 

[ghanwani]

No, never coming back. You could have put a poll.

 

[nathansz]

No

Oled displays don’t require a backlight

 

[sleeptodream]

I’d love for it to come back with it’s own gently lit LED, my gaming laptop has a lid seemingly thinner than my MBA, and it has a lit logo.

What if they had just the outline of the logo lit? I think that would look pretty sick and modern, esp on the darker colors. Would also be less distracting than fully lit, be able to be turned off to save power, and could maybe pulse gently for notifications when the lid is closed

 

[GuruZac]

Anytime Apple removes something for whatever reason, it’s unlikely that tight-wad Tim would re-introduce it. Now, they were forced to re-introduce MagSafe and the SD Card slot because of consumer out-cry. 😐

I mean, you're not wrong, but props to Apple for bringing the ports back. Not a typical move by Apple but super appreciated.

 

[sleeptodream]

That is the antithesis of "value." The Apple Bat Signal design had no functional utility (nonsensical protestations that it's a "diagnostic tool" to the contrary) and cannot have value. It is a marketing tool, an attractor, that seeks to distract people from making purely value-based evaluations. Is this feature something I will use? Should I pay more for this or for that? Do I need this model or that model? Those are value questions. Twee design baubles like a light-up logo have nothing to do with value. They are distractions from value.

Design can absolutely have functional value: The weight, the shape, affordances to practical need. Here's a simple example: The little wings that used to pop out of the back of the smooth surface of a MacBook Pro power brick. Simple, functional, thoughtful design that helped you wrangle the power cable back when it was captive. Unnecessary now with detachable, standardized USB-C power cables, but back then, It made Apple's otherwise heavy and impractical power adapters more functional without sacrificing the clean, smooth, design-forward appearance. It was part of the menu of little affordances that did, and do, give Apple products value.

People will twist and protest six ways to Sunday to insist that by lurving the precious Apple logo nightlight so very much they aren't also being manipulated by a "cute marketing gimmick" (props to Allen_Wentz). But you were, and you are. Apple is not your friend and wants nothing more than your money. Marketing through non-functional design affordances is one of the many arrows they use to get it. Rather than falling victim to a lay-up, make them earn decisions of value through function, not flash-and-bang nonsense.

Do you think art has value? Any appreciation for whimsy? I enjoy things that light up, and that happiness is valuable to me. I also like colors. If I could buy a pink macbook, I would pay extra for it, because the enjoyment would be valuable to me.

Should all cars look like the Prius because it’s the optimal aerodynamic shape, and be only white to reduce a/c use? The colored paints add nothing of “value”, it’s just a waste of pigment, same as the Space Black and Midnight macbooks, right? Just adds cost with no tangible benefits, they should all be bare aluminum I suppose

It sounds to me like in your world the iMac G4 and G3 would have never existed, and that would be very sad imo

 

[seek3r]

It was a waste of power and resources just to “look good” to others. Why on earth would I care what other people think? Their opinion is not the basis for my identity or value as a human being. I’m glad that glowing logo on the back is gone.. it was nothing more than a status symbol to begin with.

It used the backlight from the screen, there was no wasted power....

And at least personally I always just liked the look, it wasnt about other people, I liked it personally

 

[seek3r]

Do you think art has value? Any appreciation for whimsy? I enjoy things that light up, and that happiness is valuable to me. I also like colors. If I could buy a pink macbook, I would pay extra for it, because the enjoyment would be valuable to me.

Should all cars look like the Prius because it’s the optimal aerodynamic shape, and be only white to reduce a/c use? The colored paints add nothing of “value”, it’s just a waste of pigment, same as the Space Black and Midnight macbooks, right? Just adds cost with no tangible benefits, they should all be bare aluminum I suppose

It sounds to me like in your world the iMac G4 and G3 would have never existed, and that would be very sad imo

Just imagine what that dude would think of the old super colorful SGI boxes

 

[sleeptodream]

value

Just imagine what that dude would think of the old super colorful SGI boxes

Wow I didn’t know these were a thing, so cool!!

 

[profcutter]

Just imagine what that dude would think of the old super colorful SGI boxes

Probably never would have seen them since they were about $150k in 1994 dollars.

 

[Spidder]

0% chance

Looked cool back then, but from todays perspective it just looks tacky.