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Teardown reveals how Apple’s touchscreen MacBook Pro logo glows
Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook Pro brings back its glowing logo, using a new lighting system because its OLED display has no backlight. The teardown also highlights how the redesigned laptop’s thin, lighter build comes with limited repairability.
iFixit found a strip of four LEDs behind the display, with a diffuser directing light through an Apple logo coated to look reflective when unlit. Apple removed the glowing logo in 2016. The new model also uses less aluminium and a slightly smaller trackpad to reduce weight, and has a redesigned hinge to limit screen wobble. However, replacing USB-C ports requires removing the logic board, while memory and the HDMI port are soldered in place.
In short
- Four LEDs illuminate the logo through the OLED display.
- The reflective logo is designed to look metallic when off.
- The lighter laptop remains difficult to repair.
Explained simply
The MacBook Pro is Apple’s laptop aimed at people who need a portable computer for work such as video editing and software development. Apple stopped making its logo glow on the screen lid in 2016; the feature had been lit by light from behind the display.
The new model uses an OLED screen, which makes its own light rather than relying on a backlight. The logo therefore needs a separate lighting system. iFixit is a repair guide publisher that takes devices apart to examine how they are built.
Laptop design involves trade-offs between size, weight and ease of repair. Some parts in this model are soldered to the main circuit board, and replacing USB-C ports involves removing that board, which can make repairs more involved.
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Originally published by Engadget as “iFixit teardown shows how Apple’s glowing PROLED MacBook logo works”.