Apple introduced the MacBook Air 15 a week ago, a device that is aimed at those users who need a screen that offers a larger workspace, but who do not want to have to make significant sacrifices in terms of mobility. This new notebook comes configured with a Apple M2 SoCand uses a system of passive coolingwhich makes it totally silent.
Passive cooling systems not only have the advantage of not making any noise, they also suffer less with the passage of time and the accumulation of dust and dirt, but as is evident they do not have the same heat dissipation capacity than an active system based on one or more fans. This means that manufacturers must be very careful when choosing one or the other system, since their choice may not be enough to dissipate heat efficiently.
In the case of the new MacBook Air 15, Apple opted for install a passive cooling system. This decision was not by chance, those from the block wanted to keep the weight as low as possible and minimize the noise level, but in the end this decision has not been entirely correct, because it has been confirmed that it does not have the necessary refrigeration capacity to maintain truly optimal working temperatures.
According to the analysis of the MacBook Air 15 that they have carried out in The Verge, this laptop uses a passive cooling system that does not prevent heat from escalating when the equipment is used intensively. Yes, the laptop gets hot, so hot that the whole area of the keyboard gets quite hot, and the temperature is even higher in the area of the function keys. This only happens when the Apple M2 SoC is asked for power, that is, in basic usage scenarios the temperatures of the MacBook Air 15 remain at very cool levels.
Despite the increase in working temperatures They have not detected any stability problemsand also not a serious case of performance loss from thermal throttling, so the MacBook Air 15 runs at a high temperature but within normality.
It is also important to take into account that heat affects the performance of the M2 SoC, and that in the end a good cooling system allows it to develop a higher level of performance. That is why the cooling system of the MacBook Pro 13, which is of the active type, makes an important difference both in the working temperatures and in the final performance of the equipment.
