I got the fan to turn on...

[bill-p]

...by leaving the MacBook on top of a blanket while running some games and trying a bunch of things in CrossOver (I'm on 11.1, by the way) for a whole hour. I wanted to see if the fan would ever turn on when the computer heats up and/or ambient temp becomes unbearable.

And it did. Granted, still not at jet engine level like my 2018 13" MacBook Pro, but the fan did turn on. I'm guessing this means the Pro 13" and Mac mini will survive a toasty summer then. But the Air? That's something I'm truly wondering about. We're in winter right now, so people may not be able to see much overheating. But next summer, it'll be interesting.

 

[Nozuka]

Did you ever hear of iPads dying in the summer?

 

[Pancrecio]

Did you ever hear of iPads dying in the summer?

iPads don't have fans.

 

[DemNoir]

iPads don't have fans.

Or any ventilation at all.

Poster amazed that computer that includes fan actually turns it on at times... very sinister

 

[Tankmaze]

iPads don't have fans.

Thats..... the point.

The macbook air should be fine in the summer, or even here in Singapore with rainy season now and 27 degree celcius

The air would throttle if it overheat, that's why theres a difference in cinebench score around 1000 points between MBA and MBP, with MBP active cooling can sustain more heat. But other than that, it would run just like an iPad would, no fan needed and just works.

 

[bill-p]

Did you ever hear of iPads dying in the summer?

No, but my iPad Pro has shown me the "iPad needs to cool down..." message more times than I can count.

The MacBook Air won't die, but will it simply throttle? Or will it show a similar message?

 

[jqc]

I did too: handbrake. bot intel and M1 beta version.

 

[KPOM]

No, but my iPad Pro has shown me the "iPad needs to cool down..." message more times than I can count.

The MacBook Air won't die, but will it simply throttle? Or will it show a similar message?

I'm guessing it will just throttle. I've never received a similar message on my 12" MacBooks.

 

[LonestarOne]

Placing a laptop on a soft surface is always a bad idea because it interferes with air flow. Ambient temperature will also affect cooling, as does air pressure. Most electronics have a maximum altitude at which they’re designed to operate. Even the Space Shuttle’s avionics would overheat if the cabin were depressurized.