Apple explains how to turn off the new MacBook Pro’s glowing logo

The illuminated Apple logo has returned on the new MacBook Pro models featuring PROLED XDR displays, which launched at the end of October 2026 and began arriving to customers on November 6, 2026, according to GIGAZINE and MacDailyNews. Apple phased out the glowing logo starting with the 12-inch MacBook released in March 2015, with the last models featuring it being the October 2016 MacBook Pro and the WWDC 2017 MacBook Air update. Unlike older models where light passed through from the display backlight, the new OLED-based PROLED XDR display uses a separate illumination system managed in software through the CoreBrightness framework. MacRumors noted that Daring Fireball's John Gruber was told Apple engineered a custom light source so the logo could glow again without adding thickness to the lid, quoting an Apple representative who said, 'Because it's awesome.'

Apple explained that the logo is always lit whenever the Mac is awake, automatically adjusting its brightness based on the built-in screen and ambient light sensor. According to GIGAZINE and MacDailyNews, the logo is dimmer in dark rooms and brighter in well-lit areas, and looks like polished metal when the laptop is closed. Because Apple did not include a toggle in System Settings, users must use the Terminal application to disable it. GIGAZINE and MacDailyNews detailed that users can enter a specific command in Terminal, provide an administrator password, and turn off the illuminated logo immediately. The change applies system-wide to all user accounts and carries over during data migration to a new Mac.

Third-party software has also emerged to offer alternative controls for the logo. Designer Juan Buis created a free app called "Backglow" that allows users to manually set the logo brightness, turn it off with one click, or use a "Breathe" mode, as reported by MacRumors. The Pro version of the app costs nine dollars for a limited time or fifteen dollars later, and includes a "Music" mode that pulses the light to the beat and an "Agents" mode that blinks when Claude Code needs attention. MacRumors stated that the logo is lit by a white LED that does not change colors.