The latest MacBooks may have the technical advantages since Apple launched Silicon, but the M1 family followed the same design as previous Macs. That could change. Well, thanks to Apple ‘s latest patent, we have an idea of what Cupertino is working on … and it’ s about making the MacBook as cool as possible, in both senses of the word.
The Apple M1 computer chip image at the time of the announcement of a virtual product in Tiskilwa, Illinois, USA, onwards … [+]
© 2020 Bloomberg Finance LP
Details of a possible update to the MacBook design were found in a recently released patent. Titled “Feet Deployable for Display Articulation and Thermals Performance”, it features a MacBook with extendable legs that lift the bottom of the laptop away from the surface to increase airflow and aid cooling:
“The accessible feature can be removed from the surface of the base compartment with a playable component along with the accessible feature. The accessible feature can support the electronic device, increase cleaning above the support surface for one or more sections of the electronic device, and / or allow additional functionality for the electronic device. “
As with all patents, a number of related ideas are outlined to address as many claims as possible. Here there are options for attaching the legs to the display center so by opening the laptop also the legs come out; placing a wide space on the legs that could be a cooling fan itself; and the stand could carry additional ports for margins.
And just like all patents, there is no guarantee that anything will be patented on publicly available hardware.
What is clear, looking at Apple ‘s standard package, is the importance of cooling its Apple Silicon chips. The first devices in the new wave of ARM-powered Macs all featured the same chip – the M1 – but with more cooling in the MacBook Pro over the MacBook Air, and more cooling in the Mac Mini over the MacBook Pro, it is clear that Apple Silicon needs careful thermal management to deliver the powerful updates that consumers expect.
Now read the latest headlines in this week’s Apple Loop column …