Long gone are the days when you could spot a Mac from a mile away. That big half-bitten glowing logo knew how to grab attention. Entering a coffee shop and everyone is just sitting and “thinking differently”. Definitely helped Apple to increase brand awareness.
If it worked so well, why did they remove it? Let’s uncover this mystery.
Why Apple Removed Glowing Logo From MacBooks?
The glowing logo was Apple’s trademark and in 2015, they released their first Mac that didn’t have a glowing logo on the back. The 2015 Mac was the thinnest MacBook they have created. It was 13.1mm thick(the previous model was 17.3mm thick). Why did they do that?
4 Reasons Why Apple Removed The Glowing Logo
- Thinner and more Lightweight(They made room)
- Light Transmission (glowing logo shinning through creating a hotspot in the center of the screen)
- Prevented Mac from bending
- Aesthetics
They created a thinner and lighter MacBook, but they had to make some compromises – a glowing logo at the back. People wanted a thin, lightweight Mac, in order to accomplish that they needed to make some sacrifices.
If you had a Mac with a glowing logo and you have a strong light behind your laptop you probably did notice that there was a hotspot in the middle of your screen, and the glowing Apple logo was shining through. A small inconvenience, but Apple is all about perfection, and this caused color inaccuracy, and the designers, and artists weren’t too happy about it.
Apple made their devices much thinner and that increased the possibility of bending, so it made sense to replace the weak spot and eliminate the structural weakness.
Aesthetics. Apple has a very clean design, very simple, but elegant at the same time and a big glowing Apple logo is just flashy and for some too much. Back in the day when they introduced the glowing Apple logo in the late 90s, they were struggling with brand awareness and reputation and it was a bold move from Steve Jobs. You can barely spot the Apple logo on their devices now, but they have this unique design, that you know anyways that it’s an Apple product.
Makes sense to do this, right? They are the market leader, no need to be flashy. Arguably they are the biggest tech company in the world and people know their products without seeing the logo, that’s how good they are at brand awareness.
Which MacBooks Have a Glowing Logo?
The glowing logo trend started in 1999 when they released PowerBook G3 Bronze Keyboard (3rd gen) to the market and it was the first Mac ever that contained a glowing logo at the back.
The last MacBook Pro with a glowing logo was made in 2015. There are still some stores where you can buy it and there are people certainly selling their old Macs if you want to get your hand on this classic.
Verdict
The glowing logo at the back of your laptop won’t change how we use them. It’s a brand awareness thing.
Apple is a market leader for almost all products they are selling and they want to increase their brand awareness without a doubt, but they don’t want to be flashy, they want their product to speak for themselves and honestly, I think they have made it happen.
If you owned a MacBook with a glowing logo and feel nostalgic and hope they will bring it back – you’re not the only one. There’s even a Reddit thread about apples glowing logo.
Will they bring it back? Perhaps. In 2016 Apple released a touch bar on their Macs and told their users that it was the future, but after some negative feedback from their clients, they went back on that and returned to tested values. Perhaps one day we will see the glowing apple logo returning to MacBooks, but I doubt it.
I love tech and all about it. I'm interested in finding ways how they can make my life more productive, and I share my knowledge with my blog readers. I'm an iPad Pro, iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch user, so I know a thing or two about these devices and try to write helpful content around these topics.