The effect design may have on your MacBooks software and/or hardware

I just purchased a new MacBook. Never having purchased an apple product for myself, due to preference, there is alot I do not now and understand. One big concern is that my MacBook does not have a fan, therefore overheats very fast. To the point it is very hot to the touch. I know overheating is not at all good for an electronic, much less a laptop. It is a serious problem that can cause permanent damage to the Macs hardware and/or software. So what can you do to compensate for this expensive laptop not having a fan and most importantly why did apple choose to make a laptop with no fan Brand new laptop should not overheat to the point where I am getting horizontal color lines in the screen and where it becomes so hot that it actually hurts when laid on my lap. I find this very concerning due to the damage it can cause to the device's hardware and/or software or even the possibility of the battery exploding. I mean is its possilefor a device tom overheat som much that it could actually explode. I have never encountered a device that has heated up to half as much as my brand new MacBook. Had I known I would have never purchased this laptop. I would have never considered asking the salesperson if the device has a built in fav, as I thought all devices had one and if it did not have a fan, then something that would resort in the laptop heating up so much

Posted on Aug 28, 2023 5:09 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 30, 2023 12:43 AM

To come up with Apple Silicon processors, Apple scaled up designs from the iPhone and iPad. Like MacBook Airs, iPhones and iPads run off batteries, and do not have fans. Low power consumption, low waste heat generation, and high efficiency (in terms of computing work done per watt) are all important in the iPhone and iPad environments. When the M1 came out, not only were its single-core Geekbench CPU scores very good, but its power consumption was very good compared to that of its Intel competition.


Given the low power consumption of the base M1 and M2 chips, it's entirely practical for the M1 and M2 MacBook Airs to run without fans. Yes, if you load down a M1 MacBook Air with heavy work for five minutes solid, the thing might start throttling the CPU speed a bit. But what you're describing sounds like a defective machine – not like a functioning-to-specification instance of a defective design.


Note that the 14" and 16" M1/M2 {Pro/Max} MBPs do have fans. They have more CPU cores, and more GPU cores, and I suppose their mini-LED screen backlighting might generate more waste heat than the regular backlighting in the MacBook Airs.


Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 30, 2023 12:43 AM in response to kdswhelan

To come up with Apple Silicon processors, Apple scaled up designs from the iPhone and iPad. Like MacBook Airs, iPhones and iPads run off batteries, and do not have fans. Low power consumption, low waste heat generation, and high efficiency (in terms of computing work done per watt) are all important in the iPhone and iPad environments. When the M1 came out, not only were its single-core Geekbench CPU scores very good, but its power consumption was very good compared to that of its Intel competition.


Given the low power consumption of the base M1 and M2 chips, it's entirely practical for the M1 and M2 MacBook Airs to run without fans. Yes, if you load down a M1 MacBook Air with heavy work for five minutes solid, the thing might start throttling the CPU speed a bit. But what you're describing sounds like a defective machine – not like a functioning-to-specification instance of a defective design.


Note that the 14" and 16" M1/M2 {Pro/Max} MBPs do have fans. They have more CPU cores, and more GPU cores, and I suppose their mini-LED screen backlighting might generate more waste heat than the regular backlighting in the MacBook Airs.


Aug 29, 2023 8:49 AM in response to kdswhelan

You should use the Mac on on a smooth hard surface to facilitate cooling.


"Why" questions are the domain of Apple programmers and the R&D department and Apple is famously silent on their decisions.


It was your decision to buy the device you did; full specs are right there on the website for your inspection.


You sound more like a Windows type user. This community recognizes not all people are cut out to use Apple products. if you think Windows is better, then you should have a Windows box.

Aug 30, 2023 12:52 AM in response to ku4hx

ku4hx wrote:

"Why" questions are the domain of Apple programmers and the R&D department and Apple is famously silent on their decisions.


I doubt if the software engineers made the fan decision. More likely this was a decision either by the hardware engineers, or by the marketing department …


Do any Intel-based MacBook Airs have fans? I can't think of a single one, and Apple made those from 2008 to 2020. My 12" Retina MacBook doesn't have a fan, either. (Granted, it has a Intel Core M processor with a TDP that might be lower even than the M1's.)


This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

The effect design may have on your MacBooks software and/or hardware

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.