Sometimes, the best features of a new operating system aren’t flashy to air during a keynote These are subtle improvements that naturally fit with how you use your device and make the experience even better. One of these appears to be coming in the next macOS update. The dev beta of Tahoe 26.2 includes a feature that basically lets your computer screen act as a ring light during a video call.
It’s called Edge Light and it illuminates a rectangular band around the edge of the screen. Apple’s Neural Engine will position the light based on where it detects your face in the video frame. There are some controls for warming or cooling the light, and it can be set to turn on automatically when the brightness of your environment dims. Edge Lite doesn’t cover the top menu bar, and even when the cursor hovers over it, it’ll move out of the way so you can use your laptop normally while on a call.
macOS update
Edge Lite will only be available in MacBooks running on Apple’s silicon starting in 2024. It might not be a true replacement for a ring light, but it’s probably a step up from opening a bunch of blank Google Docs to try to light yourself up for a last-minute meeting.