Fun fact about the M4 iPad Pro: it’s the first device to support and use Apple's new Secure Indicator Light (SIL) mechanism. When using the microphone or camera, the corresponding indicator dot is effectively rendered in hardware, making it a lot less likely that any malware or user space app would be able to access those sensors without the user’s knowledge.

@_inside Is this enabled by the display controller in M4? (As in, does it operate at that level?)

@_inside @stroughtonsmith wasn't macbook pro touchbar first one to have that too, physical indicator on the camera that is on when the camera is on, cannot be turned on by software separately ?

@_inside I remember they said that about the MacBook Pro 😭

@_inside can they change the position of the dots if they want or are they now stuck with this design forever?

@hboon That was different. Macs actually have a physical LED light for the camera. This uses areas of the display itself as the LED.

@_inside how does that work with orientation?

@siguza it just works™

@_inside I thought this was advertised on iPhone 14.

@_inside How exactly is the dot "rendered in hardware" on the display? If it's on the device's main screen, then what stops a 3rd party app from drawing colored dots in that area?

@_inside do you mean the indicators are directly wired to cam/mic power lines? or otherwise what protects them against a kernel call primitive triggering exclave downcalls?