This is neither of those, it’s pretty much a large, white, mildly lit insert. On the apron.
About as annoying as the white light on an old Bally that told you there was more credits on the game. I have not noticed it once when playing, not once.

I look at the QR reader and system as something that is just part of a Stern Pinball machine nowadays.
I have still not noticed it during play.
And I mean really, this is Pinside, the freaking epicenter of all modding. People make fuckin mods for EVERYTHING!
But somehow this has baffled everyone!
But somehow, nobody can figure out how to turn it off or cover it with a mod?
Give me a break, the whiners are just throwing a fit to be difficult and try to get people on their side.
What next, a big thread complaining about the quarter mechs and bright ass coin slots that we don’t use? Or perhaps a call to arms for a setting to disable the tilt mech?
What a joke of a complaint, and then people playing stupid like they can’t figure out life if Stern doesn’t address this “issue”