Apple could bring back the iconic backlit Apple logo to its MacBook range.
Apple removed the backlit logo back in 2015 when it refreshed the Mac range to save on space and lower costs, but a new report suggests that the company is looking at a way of bringing back the popular feature. Apple filed a patent in May and it was published last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, confirming that Apple wanted to bring back the backlit logo.
The patent discusses “Electronic Devices With Backlit Partial Mirror Structures” with an illustration that looks just like the backlit logo we’re used to.
In the patent, Apple says: “An electronic device such as a laptop computer or other device may have a housing. Components such as a display and keyboard may be mounted in the housing. The rear of the housing may be provided with a logo.
“The logo or other structures in the device may be provided with a backlit partially reflective mirror. The mirror may provide the logo or other structures with a shiny appearance while blocking interior components from view. At the same time, the partial transparency of the mirror allows backlight illumination from within the device to pass through the mirror.”
“One or more thin-film layers may be configured to provide the partially reflective mirror with desired visible light reflection spectrum, a desired visible light transmission spectrum, and a desired visible light absorption spectrum. The reflectivity of the mirror may be configured so that the mirror serves as a one-way mirror for the logo or other structure. The mirror may have a neutral color such as light gray or may have a non-neutral color such as gold,” it added.
