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Apple Researching 'Deployable Feet' to Enhance MacBook Pro Cooling
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That’s why manufacturers switched from the term laptop to notebook. “We never promised you could use it on your lap...”"You're holding it wrong."
That's actually the official line. Apple, being too thin-obsessed to use adequate air cooling, uses the bottom case as a heat sink. You're not supposed to use it on your lap, you're supposed to use it on a desk so that the LRF can elevate it enough to get airflow underneath it.
No, nobody actually does that at home. But ideally you should use something like Macs Fan Control (https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control) or smcFanControl (https://www.eidac.de/) to kick up the fan speed if you want your computer to last longer, because Apple is not just obsessed with thin, they're also obsessed with quiet. (Offer void on M1 MacBook Air, without a fan it's just going to cook itself.)
I have an old late 2011 MBP that I sometimes use, it too sounds like an airplane about to take off, and gets incredibly hot.
The term 'laptop' wasn't coined for no reason, and I fail to see how this would work in your lap.
What's new about this? My PowerBook Duo 210 had these little swivel feet in the back circa 1993.
The Duo also had a terrible keyboard, makes the MBP butterfly seem fantastic by comparison.
The Duo also had a terrible keyboard, makes the MBP butterfly seem fantastic by comparison.
Remember back in the day when Jobs wanted to remove moving parts to help eliminate breakdowns/wear hazards?
Open it up and vacuum it out, and replace the thermal paste. These can make a big difference in temps.
You do realize Apple designed their computers with roadmaps and promises from Intel that they would not be on 14nm for years right?
Angling the keyboard in this manner actually makes it less egronomic and causes more wrist strain. Human hands/fingers have a naturally downward-curved resting position. That's why well-designed mice are convex on top, with the buttons mounted on a the part of the surface that is downward-sloping away from the wrist. This drawing shows the keyboard sloping upward, which means the wrist would have to rotate backward to match the angle. Not comfortable or healthy.
This feels a bit like the old story about NASA spending millions of dollars to build a pen that could write in space, and Russia just using a pencil.
Yes, you can do crazy stuff to raise the computer up so that it gets better air circulation through the vents on the bottom. Alternatively, you could use some common sense, and not put all of the vents on the bottom.
Recent Macs are a thermal nightmare when you use them on beds or soft furniture, because they vent all the hot air through the bottom, and it really doesn't take much to reduce the airflow enough to cause thermal throttling. And that's on the 15" and 16" Pro models. Don't get me started on the (Intel) Air.
Previous Mac laptops vented a lot more of their heat upwards in front of the screen or through the keyboard, or sideways through ports in the sides. They don't do any of those things in current designs, and I really don't understand why. It's as if some industrial designer said, "Users don't want to see the vents. They just want things to work like magic" or something. (Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the keyboard being a bit more splash-resistant, and maybe that's a good reason not to vent in front of the screen, too, but the sides are fair game.)
Yes, you can do crazy stuff to raise the computer up so that it gets better air circulation through the vents on the bottom. Alternatively, you could use some common sense, and not put all of the vents on the bottom.
Recent Macs are a thermal nightmare when you use them on beds or soft furniture, because they vent all the hot air through the bottom, and it really doesn't take much to reduce the airflow enough to cause thermal throttling. And that's on the 15" and 16" Pro models. Don't get me started on the (Intel) Air.
Previous Mac laptops vented a lot more of their heat upwards in front of the screen or through the keyboard, or sideways through ports in the sides. They don't do any of those things in current designs, and I really don't understand why. It's as if some industrial designer said, "Users don't want to see the vents. They just want things to work like magic" or something. (Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the keyboard being a bit more splash-resistant, and maybe that's a good reason not to vent in front of the screen, too, but the sides are fair game.)
No way Apple uses anything like this for cooling enhancement - it screams cheap solution to me.
Maybe a better solution to keeping the electronics cooler, would be to put them behind the screen of the laptop and include vents top and bottom, to allow for natural airflow and heat evacuation when the screen is opened (heat rises...). Even if the electronics did get hot, you wouldn't be resting your hands on them, or having them on your lap, as they are now.
Obviously this would require the screen to be thicker, more like an iPad Pro thickness, but you would keep the batteries in the base where you want / need the weight, and it could shrink in thickness so the overall laptop would remain the same thickness when closed. There would be other issues to overcome with additional cabling and heat management for the screen.
Maybe a better solution to keeping the electronics cooler, would be to put them behind the screen of the laptop and include vents top and bottom, to allow for natural airflow and heat evacuation when the screen is opened (heat rises...). Even if the electronics did get hot, you wouldn't be resting your hands on them, or having them on your lap, as they are now.
Obviously this would require the screen to be thicker, more like an iPad Pro thickness, but you would keep the batteries in the base where you want / need the weight, and it could shrink in thickness so the overall laptop would remain the same thickness when closed. There would be other issues to overcome with additional cabling and heat management for the screen.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Oi, oi, oi! We're not in a PC forum. How dare you imply that Mac users can do this?! That's what the Genius Bar is for!
But seriously, just cleaning things inside (without having to mess with the processor) could be a big help.
I'm reticent to disassembling more than I need to, and on my older MBPs I'd have to damn near take THE WHOLE THING apart just to get to the socket.
I thoroughly cleaned things (the fan in particular) and temps got to where they needed to be.
YMMV, tho.
The paste is a big issue. It drys out and quits transmitting heat from top of the chips to the heatsink.Oi, oi, oi! We're not in a PC forum. How dare you imply that Mac users can do this?! That's what the Genius Bar is for!
But seriously, just cleaning things inside (without having to mess with the processor) could be a big help.
I'm reticent to disassembling more than I need to, and on my older MBPs I'd have to damn near take THE WHOLE THING apart just to get to the socket.
I thoroughly cleaned things (the fan in particular) and temps got to where they needed to be.
YMMV, tho.
The goal is to make technology better. As that happens it allows for more horsepower in the same amount of space/power (what you would want) or a decreasing of space/power requirements while maintaining performance (which is what the other person wants). This is not an either or proposition, advancement would allow for both to happen, just not in the same machine. So if everyone wants the goal of "better" than you then would pick your preferred implementation of "betteR". If you expect Apple to favor performance over style, then I suggest you migrate to a different brand as that will not happen.
I was thinking the same exact thing!! If it was something that didn't get in the way and even added a slight angle, I would love it!!
The portable computer was actually called a notebook as the idea was to make it the size of a notebook and under 5 pounds. From there things obviously went in a lot of different directions. I think everyone mentioning "it wouldn't work in a lap" needs to remember is that these devices work several purposes. You don't always need accessory ports, but when you do, they are present. You don't always use your "laptop" on your lap and so when you are on a flat surface, the feature would help. If everyone is worried about how it would feel or tilt while in your lap, I think basing those concerns off a patent render is a bit premature as these represent the initial concept and not the actual implementation. Grain of salt people, grain of salt
It likely depends on what the laptop is used for. If it’s for heavy duty applications, then yes thicker and more power makes sense. If it’s a laptop I carry in a bag every day and used for light applications, then I want it paper thin and light as much as possible.
LRF? I'm aware of the all powerful RDF but not the LRF? I've missed a few meetings....."You're holding it wrong."
That's actually the official line. Apple, being too thin-obsessed to use adequate air cooling, uses the bottom case as a heat sink. You're not supposed to use it on your lap, you're supposed to use it on a desk so that the LRF can elevate it enough to get airflow underneath it.
No, nobody actually does that at home. But ideally you should use something like Macs Fan Control (https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control) or smcFanControl (https://www.eidac.de/) to kick up the fan speed if you want your computer to last longer, because Apple is not just obsessed with thin, they're also obsessed with quiet. (Offer void on M1 MacBook Air, without a fan it's just going to cook itself.)
"You're holding it wrong."
That's actually the official line. Apple, being too thin-obsessed to use adequate air cooling, uses the bottom case as a heat sink. You're not supposed to use it on your lap, you're supposed to use it on a desk so that the LRF can elevate it enough to get airflow underneath it.
No, nobody actually does that at home. But ideally you should use something like Macs Fan Control (https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control) or smcFanControl (https://www.eidac.de/) to kick up the fan speed if you want your computer to last longer, because Apple is not just obsessed with thin, they're also obsessed with quiet. (Offer void on M1 MacBook Air, without a fan it's just going to cook itself.)
Ahh, but there are no vents on the bottom. They tried to hide the vents in the area behind the hinge. 5* for creativity, but 2* for thermodynamics. It assumes that the lethargic fan, and physics, can overcome the bottom of that hinge gap being blocked by 'fluffy things', and such that can block that bottom inlet to feed air upwards. The wife was using her MacBook on her bed, and the duvet was blocking that gap, and that poor thing got so hot, we could smell it. The fans running at 150% wasn't much of a clue. *shrug* They needed to use a larger area, and have more than one area to exhaust that heat. But anyway... Decades ago a company put a real desktop processor into a notebook, and the heat was incinerating. The power drain was huge too. Heat is an industry wide problem. Many companies have dealt with this issue, so Apple should be able to pick more brains and come up with a better solution, one would think...
Hear they're doing great things with liquid sodium for reactor cooling.....