You probably don’t think too much about the hinge in your laptop, you know, the bit that allows the two sides of the machine to pivot open. Who does?
But did you know that a) Apple have been putting sensors in the hinges in their MacBook series since 2019 and b) you can transform the hinge into a creaking door, and even a theremin?
No? Well, one developer, Sam Henri Gold, a man who quite possibly has too much time on his hands, has been beavering away and has written some code that allows you to do just that. And, inevitably, he’s gone kind of viral with his discovery.
This is his creaking door MacBook…
Did you know your MacBook has a sensor that knows the exact angle of the screen hinge? It’s not exposed as a public API, but I figured out a way to read it and make it sound like an old wooden door.
— @samhenri.gold (@samhenri.gold.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T13:09:26.808Z
And then a little while later we got theremin mode. (Of course, the theremin, notoriously, is the only instrument you play by not touching and you’re adjusting the pitch here by moving the laptop. But anyway, it’s impressive, isn’t it?)
you know what? fuck it. theremin mode. github.com/samhenrigold...
— @samhenri.gold (@samhenri.gold.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T13:09:26.651Z
It seems that at present those two sounds are the only ones on offer. But clearly, there’s potential there to have as many sounds for opening your MacBook as there are ringtones.
If you are impressed (and, crucially, if you have a MacBook) you can pick up the code for the creaking door from GitHub, by clicking https://github.com/samhenrigold/LidAngleSensor.
And the one for the theremin at https://github.com/samhenrigold/LidAngleSensor/releases/tag/1.0.3.
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