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Comment by CodeWriter23 | Hacker News Reader

> Covering the built-in camera might also interfere with the ambient light sensor and prevent features like automatic brightness and _True Tone_ from working.

Literally saying a Mac camera is an always-on device, regardless if the LED is illuminated or not.

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It’s literally not. Cameras and ambient light sensors are different things.

You skipped right over “True Tone” which has to use the camera. Because color.

From https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208909:

The True Tone technology in Mac computers, Studio Display, and Apple Pro Display XDR uses advanced multichannel sensors to adjust the color and intensity of your display and Touch Bar to match the ambient light so that images appear more natural.

Find reveals 0 matches for the word “channel” on that page.

That’s because the word is “multichannel”. Safari on iOS, at least, doesn’t find “channel”. Not sure about other browsers.

True and that’s weird.

Because Safari is shit. Real browsers find it fine.

Nope, it uses the light sensor.

It uses a multichannel ambient light sensor, which is not a camera. https://www.ifixit.com/News/54122/macbook-pro-2021-teardown

Please quote the text you are referring to. I was unable to find any reference to. “multichannel light sensor” or anything that supports your above assertion. I would also point out a camera is in fact a “multichannel light sensor”.

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