How to Use Your MacBook’s Screen As a Ring Light
Sometimes you need a little more light during a video call, especially if you’re in a dimly lit room. The latest macOS update (26.2) has a trick for this: you can use the edge of your screen as a light ring.
The feature, which adds a rounded white rectangle to your screen, is called Edge Light. The rectangle takes up part of your screen but will become partially transparent if you move your mouse pointer over it, meaning you can mostly use your computer normally.
You can use this feature by clicking the camera icon in the menu bar during a call and enabling the option Edge light option. You can also adjust the brightness and color of the edge light from here.
Credit: Justin Pot
I tried this in a well-lit room and didn’t notice much difference, which makes sense. However, in a completely dark room, this proved extremely useful. This is what I looked like without Edge Light:
What do you think of it so far?
Credit: Justin Pot
As you can see, I’m barely lit by the laptop itself. This is what I look like with the feature enabled:
Credit: Justin Pot
It’s much easier to make out my face, but whether that’s a plus or a minus is a matter of opinion. Try this feature if you find yourself on a video call with the lights off. Note that it is only offered on devices with Apple Silicon.
