This video lets you actually see the ‘incredible’ new MacBook Pro cooling system

When Apple launched the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display, the company said that it had completely redesigned the cooling system for “incredible sustained performance.”

That could sound like marketing hype, but a YouTuber has found a great way to let us actually see the new system living up to Apple’s claims …

The real-life performance of any electronic device depends not only on the power of the chip but a range of additional factors. A key one is the effectiveness of the cooling system, because when the device gets too hot, the performance will be throttled in order to avoid damage.

In the worst of cases, the theoretical maximum performance of a chip is only delivered for a very short time before it is throttled back to a much lower level. Thermal management is absolutely key in the case of a laptop like the MacBook Pro.

Apple said that the latest model has a completely new cooling system.

A completely redesigned thermal architecture enables […] incredible sustained performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max, even in a lighter design, while redirecting warm air away from the display.

As Macworld spotted, a YouTuber has found a simple but clever way to enable us to actually see the difference with our own eyes.

A YouTube video by Geekerwan compared the mini-LED MacBook Pro with the new PROLED XDR model using a fog machine. With each MacBook’s fans running, you can clearly see how the internal design disperses the heat: In the old model, heat goes both out and up through the display, while the PROLED pushes the heat toward the back of the device through the hinge.

Cooling is particularly challenging when the laptop is closed while connected to an external monitor, and the results of the testing show a dramatic improvement by the latest model. You can watch the video below, which links directly to the demo – but Geekerwan’s videos are always worth watching in full, so click here to watch the whole thing.