It will be even less useful/applicable to beefy systems, each module removes only 5W of heat.
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M2 MacBook Air Gets Speed Boost With This Novel Cooling System
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I'm sure there are! It was very much a personal comment related to my usage.
If it was happening to me, I'd agree. But I'm suggesting the actual proportion of owners who care might be modest.
The technology is super awesome, but it doenst make sense in a machine thats doing everything its supposed to do (light workloads) just fine. It would make much more sense in an iPad Pro, using the speaker holes as vents, enabling the chassis to house a M3 Pro. Thats something I could imagine Apple adopting it for.
As is, they need to find a way to make it scale for it to be relevant - otherwise it's DOA (hence why I think it's just a proof of concept to keep getting funding and eventually clients).
You can distinctly hear the AirJet’s air flow when it’s revved up (from the Zotac reviews) (I mean, it’s genuinely an air jet), but it’s still quite low-volume, so I would guess that the ultrasound portion won’t be loud either. Dogs in close vicinity may still be annoyed.
No, because forcing a substantial airflow through the assembly is significant.
It is DOA - they've been trying to push it for a while already, this ad campaign is the largest one. No one is interested. Fan is cheaper, more reliable, smaller, uses less power to remove more heat.
I’m sure they would have already pitched this technology to Apple (and others).
It’s good for small companies to innovate and develop new technologies. Even if the numbers are not so impressive now, with a few years of development it could be more interesting.
Still, stories like this are meaningless ad drivel. There’s a lot more that goes in to system design.
For Apple, I think that being fanless is a deliberate design feaute of the MBA, even if it results in lower performance for intensive workloads. Fans are obviously available, and they could have built them in to the MBA if they wanted to.
It’s good for small companies to innovate and develop new technologies. Even if the numbers are not so impressive now, with a few years of development it could be more interesting.
Still, stories like this are meaningless ad drivel. There’s a lot more that goes in to system design.
For Apple, I think that being fanless is a deliberate design feaute of the MBA, even if it results in lower performance for intensive workloads. Fans are obviously available, and they could have built them in to the MBA if they wanted to.
$500 😳 = $1800 for a machine with 8gb of RAM 🤣
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air doesn't have a fan, and instead uses a passive heat spreader to conduct heat away from Apple's energy efficient M2 chip. Curious to know if performance could be further improved with an active cooling solution, Frore Systems installed its own novel solid-state active cooling system into the laptop and subjected it to several benchmarks, with some impressive results.
Frore Systems is a startup with $116 million in funding, and its flagship product is the AirJet Mini, a virtually silent thermal solution with a piezoelectric cooling chip that its makers claim performs better than fans. Inside the AirJet are tiny membranes that vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies, pulling air into inlet vents at the top of the AirJet that exits through the bottom as high-velocity pulsating jets.
As shared by The Verge, head-to-head benchmarking tests initially showed the 15-inch MacBook Air with the AirJet Mini installed performed only slightly better than a standard MacBook Air, but the modified laptop pulled ahead significantly as the tests wore on and the fanless MacBook Air's throttling kicked in to keep the temperature down.
Despite its slight dimensions, the 2.8mm thick AirJet took some work to install into the MacBook Air's slim chassis. Frore had to mill 0.3mm off from the laptop's lid to create adequate space for the airflow system, and also removed the speakers, Wi-Fi antenna, and internal keyboard connector in the process. For the rest of us, buying a MacBook Pro with a fan is definitely an easier option.
Another issue that wasn't addressed in the tests was the real-world impact of such a system on battery life. The Verge says the AirJet Mini drew five watts from the MacBook Air's USB-C port in the makeshift setup. Frore says its AirJet Mini chips require one watt of power when properly integrated into a laptop, and the system draws as little as 0.1W or 0.2W when idle, with the AirJet Minis themselves staying turned off until or unless they need to blow.
The AirJet system will debut in a $499 barebones Zotac mini-PC that requires constant connection to a power source, a use case in which battery life won't be an issue. But the startup has also prototyped 4K webcams, doorbell cameras, LED light bulbs, and more. It's too early to tell whether Frore's cooling system will be the next big thing in PC cooling tech, but the startup says the AirJet Mini is already in mass production, with larger and smaller versions in development.
Article Link: M2 MacBook Air Gets Speed Boost With This Novel Cooling System
Milling down the thickness of the lid 😳
This start up is going down the pan, it's certainly not a product that will be picked up by the consumers, their only hope is that a manufacturer picks it up? However, the reason it's not in cheap lap tops is because of the cost and I'm sure a fan solution is a fraction of the cost
The reason they don't cool the Air, is because of cost and it's not for real pro users, just the type of "pro" user who still thinks a smart phone can replace a computer
I think they should have done this with a MacBook Pro and removed the current fan system and replaced it with this. Lighter and "just" as good as that system. Would be of more interest to me personally. Plus maybe, they wouldn't need to remove the keyboard and other parts of the system to make it work. This is cool stuff (pun intended). I hope they get Apple to look at it.
Well, this was a bit of a silly mod, but whatever...
I specifically picked the Air because it didn't have a fan. Have been wanting a fanless computer since the 486 days, and will never own a laptop with a fan again (if I can help it), no matter how quiet it is.
I specifically picked the Air because it didn't have a fan. Have been wanting a fanless computer since the 486 days, and will never own a laptop with a fan again (if I can help it), no matter how quiet it is.
I have 3 M2 MacBook Airs and none of them run slow or hot. I guess it's because I don't use them as if they're MacBook Pros, so I am not pushing them to unrealistic limits while still getting a ton of work done.
I can see this technology in more powerful MacBook Pros that already require fans, and just about every PC laptop out there as they all seem to run hot and need to be plugged in to use its full potential.
I can see this technology in more powerful MacBook Pros that already require fans, and just about every PC laptop out there as they all seem to run hot and need to be plugged in to use its full potential.
I have a masters degree in management of technology and understand the simple fact that technology improves over time and iterations of improvement must happen, much like how the first iPhone did not have all the features or performance of the iPhone 15, should I go back to school?
It would also increase the price and reduce the battery life, for a product that is intended for light users, who mostly google and do some light work, like me when compiling. It's very good for the category it fits.
I keep the fan in my MBP running at a medium speed 100% of the time. Barely audible. It's not a performance issue; it's about longevity. Remember, kids, heat kills.
...or, you know, Apple could stop intentionally crippling MacBook Airs and install decent cooling systems in them.
Apple is sitting on a pile of cash the size of Mt. Everest - they have more resources than any other company on the planet. The fact that LTT and some little startup can easily outdo Apple's cooling systems goes to show that this is not Apple being lazy - it is them intentionally crippling the MacBook Air. The only conceivable motivation for doing that is profit (by not cannibalizing sales of MBPs).
ItsASpider is correct. Apple will be Apple.
Apple market is as devoid of fan noise:
"And a fanless design means it stays silent even under intense workloads"
MacBook Air 13-inch and MacBook Air 15-inch
MacBook Air laptop with the superfast M4 chip. Built for Apple Intelligence. Lightweight, with all-day battery life. Now in a new Sky Blue color.
www.apple.com
For me, having no fans, is what I want. I'm even wiling to pay extra for it.
The great thing about a fanless computer is the impossibility of hearing fan noise no matter what you do.
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This company sounds like it might be an apple acquisition target. (I haven't read the full article yet, just the headline.)
I guess they never heard of Peltier Devices. Apple knows this stuff and abandoned it after the G5 (I had a Quad G5, it could shed impressive amounts of heat). I saw a project (here on MacRumors I think) of a guy who took the entire back off a MacBook and installed a gigantic backplate of one big Peltier Device. After mods, it required external power for the thermoelectric cooling.
Macbook Air is desirable BECAUSE it's silent. The more solid-state, room temp, low-voltage cycles, the better for people and energy consumption.