The sleeping light - because what all hardware requires is blindingly bright LEDs that are always on. Even when that hardware is asleep
My desk was at the end of my bed. The MacBook with sleep light was always on that. It was never bright at night. Dimming half a second after I turn the light off. Even if the lid was closed.
Oh, also, you can swap batteries of Macs during sleep if it has a removable battery, without losing state.
This is why Apple is Apple.
That era is long dead and gone, regardless of the current state of such a light.