4 ms·

A 15" laptop's body could easily be absorbing 75 watts of heat from the sun, equivalent to running both the CPU and GPU of a MacBook Pro pegged at 100%. I thin

A 15" laptop's body could easily be absorbing 75 watts of heat from the sun, equivalent to running both the CPU and GPU of a MacBook Pro pegged at 100%. I think throttling in this scenario is a reasonable tradeoff, much more so than overengineering the cooling solution to handle it and thereby increasing cost, weight and bulk. Sit in the shade.

agentdrtran 8y ago
"You're holding it wrong!" Other laptops work in the sun.
- ToFab123 8y ago
  I live on a beach in Thailand and it can get pretty hot at times. It is a beach in Thailand after all. I have no thermal issues with my Lenovo Yoga when sitting directly in the sun. Lots of MacBook Pro users around here and they do run in to thermal issues (random shutdowns mostly) if they sit in the sun doing something CPU intensive. Around here that would be using Ableton (music program), with up to 4 tracks loaded at the same time. We are blessed with amazing DJs around here and they all use a mac
daemin 8y ago
Isn't the operating temperature of a mac laptop max out at something like 35c ? That's woefully low for anywhere it gets hot, like Australia for example. It basically means that on a hot day in summer you cannot use your laptop unless you're indoors in air conditioned comfort. EDIT: Yes, I checked, the MacBook Air has an operating temperature of 10-35c and a storage temperature of -25-45c, which means that it's technically unusable or out of warranty if you use it in a hot country on a hot day. Like in the tropics on a beach for example.
- wtallis 8y ago
  I think you'll find that any device with a lithium ion battery will have similar temperature ratings if the manufacturer is being honest. Everything else in the machine is fine with much hotter temperatures, but cooking the battery is a bad idea.
  - newnewpdro 8y ago
    The battery heat issue is especially problematic with LiPo cells, since they tend to swell up and break open the surrounding device enclosure.
- drdaeman 8y ago
  > like 35c > you cannot use your laptop unless you're indoors in air conditioned comfort Maybe it's just me being used to colder climate, but I feel that laptop's thermal throttling is going to be a relatively small issue if trying to work in sunlight when air temperature is +35C out there. I'd really seek some shade even when it's merely +25C...
  - daemin 8y ago
    Not necessarily in the sun in that temperature, but just say indoors where there is no air conditioning. It's not bright sunlight but it can easily get to +35c. You yourself can cool down with a fan and a cold drink but the laptop is sitting around in hot temperatures in the shade.
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  35ºC == 95ºF - I'm at the upper end of that range sometimes, but not exceeding it. I typically work from a hammock, in the shade, until it gets to 90-95ºF. The throttling happens even when the temperature is in the range of 80-85ºF and CPU load make it much worse. It's not uncommon for me to have to seek air conditioning if I'm running a large test suite or rebuilding docker containers, else my machine throttles to the point that I can't even use Safari. I've never had this problem with any other laptop I've owned, including previous generations of MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

agentdrtran 8y ago

"You're holding it wrong!" Other laptops work in the sun.

ToFab123 8y ago
I live on a beach in Thailand and it can get pretty hot at times. It is a beach in Thailand after all. I have no thermal issues with my Lenovo Yoga when sitting directly in the sun. Lots of MacBook Pro users around here and they do run in to thermal issues (random shutdowns mostly) if they sit in the sun doing something CPU intensive. Around here that would be using Ableton (music program), with up to 4 tracks loaded at the same time. We are blessed with amazing DJs around here and they all use a mac

daemin 8y ago

Isn't the operating temperature of a mac laptop max out at something like 35c ? That's woefully low for anywhere it gets hot, like Australia for example. It basically means that on a hot day in summer you cannot use your laptop unless you're indoors in air conditioned comfort. EDIT: Yes, I checked, the MacBook Air has an operating temperature of 10-35c and a storage temperature of -25-45c, which means that it's technically unusable or out of warranty if you use it in a hot country on a hot day. Like in the tropics on a beach for example.

wtallis 8y ago
I think you'll find that any device with a lithium ion battery will have similar temperature ratings if the manufacturer is being honest. Everything else in the machine is fine with much hotter temperatures, but cooking the battery is a bad idea.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  The battery heat issue is especially problematic with LiPo cells, since they tend to swell up and break open the surrounding device enclosure.
drdaeman 8y ago
> like 35c > you cannot use your laptop unless you're indoors in air conditioned comfort Maybe it's just me being used to colder climate, but I feel that laptop's thermal throttling is going to be a relatively small issue if trying to work in sunlight when air temperature is +35C out there. I'd really seek some shade even when it's merely +25C...
- daemin 8y ago
  Not necessarily in the sun in that temperature, but just say indoors where there is no air conditioning. It's not bright sunlight but it can easily get to +35c. You yourself can cool down with a fan and a cold drink but the laptop is sitting around in hot temperatures in the shade.
LyndsySimon 8y ago
35ºC == 95ºF - I'm at the upper end of that range sometimes, but not exceeding it. I typically work from a hammock, in the shade, until it gets to 90-95ºF. The throttling happens even when the temperature is in the range of 80-85ºF and CPU load make it much worse. It's not uncommon for me to have to seek air conditioning if I'm running a large test suite or rebuilding docker containers, else my machine throttles to the point that I can't even use Safari. I've never had this problem with any other laptop I've owned, including previous generations of MacBooks and MacBook Pros.