A new “Backglow” app created by designer Juan Buis lets you customize the illuminated Apple logo on the lid of new MacBook Pro models.
The free version of the app lets you manually adjust the brightness level of the Apple logo, regardless of the brightness level of your MacBook Pro’s display. You can also turn it off completely with a single click, rather than having to use Terminal.
Another free option is the “Breathe” mode which gently pulses the logo light similar to the sleep indicator light on older MacBooks.
A one-time payment unlocks the Pro version of the app: $9 for a limited time or $15 thereafter. This gives you two additional modes: “Music” mode makes the logo light move to the beat of the music you play on your Mac, while “Agents” mode makes the light pulse as Claude Code works and flashes when your attention is needed.
here’s what it can do: – manually set the brightness of the logo (apple doesn’t let you do this)
– breathe slowly, like the old mac sleep light
– pulsates to the rhythm of your music
– you blink when claude needs you
– turn off the logo light with one click, try it here: — juan (@juanbuis) November 6, 2026
Apple began phasing out the glowing logo on MacBooks in 2015, but brought the feature back with new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with PROLED XDR displays released Friday. On older MacBooks, the logo was illuminated by the display’s backlight, but OLED displays have no backlight, so a new method was needed.
Daring fireballJohn Gruber was told that Apple designed a “custom light source just to allow the logo to shine once again, without adding additional thickness to the lid.” Why? “Because it’s great,” he heard an Apple representative say.
By default, Apple says the logo is illuminated whenever your Mac is active. Automatically brightens or dims based on the brightness level of the screen and the ambient lighting conditions detected by the computer’s ambient light sensor.
Buis said the logo is illuminated by a white LED that does not change color.
