There is a lot of activity happening inside of your MacBook, and every process and application definitely causes the internal temperature to increase. This is perfectly normal, but only as long as the temperature remains within an acceptable range. There are many things that you can do to keep your computer running at an acceptable operating temperature. You can also check the temperature when required to do so.
The ideal temperature of your MacBook is between 10° and 35°C, between 50° and 95°F. Each notebook includes several sensors that specifically serve the purpose of temperature detection. Both the MacBook Pro and older MacBook Air models include a built-in fan that automatically turns itself on to cool any critical components of the device. MacBooks with Apple silicon use thermal efficiency for active cooling, whereas the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) does the same without the use of a fan.
Apple does offer MacBook users some tips that can help them keep temperatures cool on their notebook.
- Stay on top of any software and hardware updates
- Do not keep or use your device in a parked car
- Always keep the MacBook in a room with ventilation and on a flat surface
- Keep ventilation openings in the room free of any debris or blocks
- Do not put any object on top of your keyboard
- Only use those power adaptors that have been authorised by Apple
You can use the macOS ‘Activity Monitor’ to get an idea of which processes or applications are affecting your notebook’s GPU, CPU, disk, energy, memory, and network usage. You will be able to find this tool by clicking on ‘Finder’ in the Mac dock and selecting ‘Go’ > ‘Utilities.’ After that, choose ‘Activity Monitor’. However, there is no way to find the actual current temperature through the use of the tool.
That being said, you can use some third-party apps to find out the actual internal temperature of your device. These include CoconutBattery, which has both free and premium modules, and iStat Menus, which will give you a broad range of information about your MacBook.