3/15/2026 at 12:38:28 PM
Is the article trying to discuss a thermal issue? It spends the entire time discussing reduced watt consumption over time which would sound like a good thing to most people and then at the very end it has one sentence about needing improved cooling.I think it's an entire article about thermal throttling that never once mentions it.
by matt_heimer
3/15/2026 at 2:16:26 PM
it doesn't seem to actually identify thermal throttling as the issue with any evidence -- what if it's 'just' power throttling?that would be even more dissapointing of course, but all that's given in the article is the wattage chart
actually, in the article linked at the top they say this: "The situation is much worse on the smaller MacBook Pro 14 with the M5 Max, where the maximum power input is capped at 97 Watts (even when you use Apple's 140W PSU or an even more powerful 180W USB-C PSU), which results in a battery loss of 15 % during our one-hour stress test."
so it really does sound like a power throttling thisng to me https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-tries-to-hide-that-the-p...
by throawayonthe
3/15/2026 at 2:24:56 PM
Except in another linked page https://www.notebookcheck.net/M5-Max-with-inconsistent-perfo... they also mention a thermal issue.Either way, this article is almost entirely about a symptom without root cause analysis.
by matt_heimer
3/15/2026 at 1:13:03 PM
Lower wattage can mean higher efficiency, but the evidence in the fine article suggests it is thermal throttling and the laptop is not doing more with less.by brudgers
3/15/2026 at 2:02:25 PM
It is saying low wattage isn’t a good thing to most people because it caps the power of the M5 Max.by aurareturn
3/15/2026 at 1:57:04 PM
So the solution is to work over a bucket of dry ice! ( ͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)by ravila4
3/15/2026 at 2:19:03 PM
If I remember correctly a previous MacBook air could have improved thermal dissipation by adding some thermal tape and turning the case into a heatsink.by matt_heimer