The Truth About The M2 MBA Thermal Management System

[Toratek]

It turns out iFixit and the other youtube grifters were all wrong. And people like us are all victims of the MaxTech/iFixit grift.

The MacBook Air M2 actually uses an advanced graphite/graphene-based heat spreader, using technology developed by Panasonic, a pyrolytic graphite sheet with nearly the thermal conductance of diamond, 5 times that of copper, and far more advanced than the simple metal heat sink in the M1 based MacBook Air.

It is actually a stunning example of technology and design elegance, and so advanced that it was missed- or deliberately ignored- by these youtube “experts”, shilling for clicks.

The material dismissed by the grifters at iFixit and MaxTech as “black tape” turns out to be one of the most innovative passive heat management systems in any laptop, and many of you bought their story hook, line, and sinker.

Apple has truly cast pearls before swine here. At least they follow through on some of their innovations.

This is actually one of the first consumer-facing mass produced and effective uses of up till now, over-hyped Graphene technology yet available. Even ArsTechnica missed it with their latest article which took IFixit at their word- and one they are now backpedaling on.

Apple’s 2015 patent described in a 2017 article:

Fresh Apple Patent Shows New Graphene Heat Dissipator, That Could Get Rid of Potential Overheating | GSMDome.com

Fresh Apple Patent Shows New Graphene Heat Dissipator, That Could Get Rid of Potential Overheating - In reltion with: anti overheating Apple patent, anti overheating iPhone, Apple patent, Apple patent graphene heat dissipator, graphene heat dissipator, graphite sheets, overheating prevention

www.gsmdome.com

Panasonic’s data sheet:

Thermal protection sheet (Graphite Sheet (PGS)/PGS applied products/NASBIS) - Panasonic

Product information and news of Thermal protection sheet (Graphite Sheet (PGS)/PGS applied products/NASBIS), Panasonic.

industrial.panasonic.com

Now, to be fair, Apple shares in some of this rampant misinformation, insofar as they have deeply buried references to this advanced system in their press releases and white papers on the subject. Expecting youtube “experts” and cheap Chinese tool shills to actually read what is available is clearly a bridge too far. (I did expect better from ArsTechnica.)

 

[Soybomb]

What is the evidence these products are in use in the air?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

To be fair, when Max Tech added thermal pads the temperature was significantly reduced so whatever Apple is using doesn’t seem to be that great or used sparingly.

 

[Toratek]

To be fair, when Max Tech added thermal pads the temperature was significantly reduced so whatever Apple is using doesn’t seem to be that great or used sparingly.

The youtube grifter simply did a brainless modification that would push the heat to where it is potentially dangerous to the end user, and possibly damaging to other components of the machine. There are rules in place for how hot a device is allowed to get- rules which Apple follows carefully.

 

[4743913]

Quit giving clicks and subs to lazy benchmarkers. I have watched every M2 Air video I could find and Brian Tong did one of the best jobs of spending legitimate time on real world applications and use of the M2 Air for video editing.

 

[Shirasaki]

While that's an amazing technology, I wish someone can factually verify it independently (thermal performance, heat map, temperature, sustained performance etc) rather than seeing a patent filed by Apple and assume they are doing just that in M2 Air. Not to say engineers in Apple were faking their work to earn six figures, but I trust Apple as much as I trust a stranger, and third-party objective assessment would be more than welcome.

 

[BanditoB]

I'm not saying that this graphene sheet theory is true, but it would explain why there is a black plasticky sheet applied all over the surface of the motherboard. We haven't seen anything like this on previous boards that I can recall.

 

[Spankey]

The youtube grifter simply did a brainless modification that would push the heat to where it is potentially dangerous to the end user, and possibly damaging to other components of the machine. There are rules in place for how hot a device is allowed to get- rules which Apple follows carefully.

Don't give them more ideas for more videos!

Not even saying your "heat spreader" theory is 100% tru but these desktop engineers think they understand heat dissipation better than Apple's engineers. Sure, void your warranty and possibly damage your laptop (and burn your lap) by adding thermal pads because a YouTuber told you to.

 

[NotApplicable]

I ordered an m2 air on day 1, am by no means an apple conspiracy theorist or hater.

But, patents often never see the light of day in a mass produced product. Is there even 1 shred of evidence that this patent is in use in the M2 air?

 

[JPack]

I'm not saying that this graphene sheet theory is true, but it would explain why there is a black plasticky sheet applied all over the surface of the motherboard. We haven't seen anything like this on previous boards that I can recall.

We've seen graphite sheets on iPhone as early as iPhone 4 (marked a and b below). OP hypes it like the second coming of sliced bread, but this is nothing new. Every smartphone uses it on hot areas like the SoC and baseband. Graphite helps reduce hot spots better than metal and an air gap alone.




M2 MacBook Air has a much thicker pad because it's actually layered with thermal insulation. Again, it's nothing new. Dell has been using it in their XPS notebooks for the past 4 years (linked below). It helps redirect the heat across the heat spreader to avoid the bottom chassis and palm rests from become too hot. M2 is a 30W chip and convection can heat up the chassis significantly.

GORE® Thermal Insulation for Mobile Devices

Meet growing thermal management challenges in mobile electronic devices using GORE® thermal insulation. Learn more about Gore thermal solutions.

www.gore.com

In previous gen MacBook Air, Apple stuck black mylar insulation directly to the chassis. But this was not for thermal insulation but simply electrical isolation. We see this same type of mylar sheets on most notebook PCs covering the memory and M.2 slots.

 

[XboxEvolved]

Yeah, I don't know why anyone listens to Max Tech anyways. There seems to be other YouTubers even that actively call him out on his crap on Twitter and the like.

 

[JPack]

What is the evidence these products are in use in the air?

If you read the actual patent application, it doesn't even apply to the MacBook Air situation.

Apple's patent application is literally titled "Parallel heat spreader."

In other words, if a device is so thin, a metal heat spreader on top of the chip is not possible, this is what the patent is for. The heatsink would sit next to the heat source. The graphite sheets would be wrapped around the heat producing object, which would direct the heat elsewhere. This not even close to what MacBook Air is like. This would be valuable for situations like cooling chokes in VRMs, but not chips.

OP was too excited to even read the actual patent application.

 

[IsaacM]

Source?

 

[Slartibart]

what is MaxTech?

 

[blackberrycubed]

who is max tech!

 

[Madhatter32]

who is max tech!

He's a YouTuber with almost a million subscribers who specializes in Apple product reviews.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

OP hypes it like the second coming of sliced bread

I’ve never heard this expression before but it’s my new favorite.

 

[exoticSpice]

M2 is a 30W chip and convection can heat up the chassis significantly.

Then don't get the M2 MBA then you going to fully load the M2 for >10 minutes then get the MBP.
M2 does not use 30W when you are web browsing and watching youtube and taking a zoom call.

The M2 Air is fine for casual and light use.

 

[FattKingHugeman]

The M2 doesn't even feel warm during normal day to day task. I've been having the MBA M2 since the 2nd day of launch and have been using it quite extensively for more than a week.

 

[jdb8167]

what is MaxTech?

who is max tech!

When is max tech!?

 

[jhero]

The M2 doesn't even feel warm during normal day to day task. I've been having the MBA M2 since the 2nd day of launch and have been using it quite extensively for more than a week.

For light tasks, I’m wondering if it would be the coolest to the touch in comparison to let’s say the 14 or 16” MBPs?

 

[Toutou]

To be fair, when Max Tech added thermal pads the temperature was significantly reduced so whatever Apple is using doesn’t seem to be that great or used sparingly.

That's not "being fair", that's actually "not understanding industrial design".

"The temperature of the SoC being as low as possible under all circumstances" simply was one of MANY design goals, and it wasn't even the most important one (obviously, the machine DOESN'T HAVE A FAN).

Do people actually think that engineers with master's degrees designing a $1k+ machine for the most perfectionist computer company in the world are unable to run a few numbers on heat dissipation? How arrogant does one have to be to come to this conclusion a then just... think they've got it all figured out and the world is ready to hear it?

 

[LeeW]

I have watched every M2 Air video I could find and Brian Tong did one of the best jobs of spending legitimate time on real world applications and use of the M2 Air for video editing.

Yes, his was really good and clearly showed the M2 performed well. Not that I would expect many to use it for the things he tested but it was more valid real-world testing where the M2 even beat the M1 MM on exporting which was quite impressive.

 

[FattKingHugeman]

For light tasks, I’m wondering if it would be the coolest to the touch in comparison to let’s say the 14 or 16” MBPs?

Yes the MBA M2 is the cooler one when I had the MBP 14 last week. I actually bought both to compare and returned the MBP 14

 

[rkuo]

That's not "being fair", that's actually "not understanding industrial design".

"The temperature of the SoC being as low as possible under all circumstances" simply was one of MANY design goals, and it wasn't even the most important one (obviously, the machine DOESN'T HAVE A FAN).

Do people actually think that engineers with master's degrees designing a $1k+ machine for the most perfectionist computer company in the world are unable to run a few numbers on heat dissipation? How arrogant does one have to be to come to this conclusion a then just... think they've got it all figured out and the world is ready to hear it?

God, the whole "apple never makes a mistake" argument is tired and it is WRONG. Find some other way to make your point.

If anything, Apple appears to be deliberately engineering poor thermals into their products to segment off the lower end of the market. Ref: the 24" iMac.