Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air has no fan, instead using a passive heat sink to draw heat away from Apple's energy-efficient M2 chip. Curious to see if an active cooling solution could further improve performance, FroreSystems installed its own novel solid-state active cooling system on a laptop and ran it through a number of benchmark tests, and the results were impressive.
Frore Systems is a startup that has raised $116 million in funding, and its flagship product is the AirJet Mini, a nearly silent cooling solution that uses piezoelectric cooling chips that the manufacturer says perform better than fans. Tiny membranes inside the AirJet vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies, drawing air into the air inlet at the top of the AirJet and expelling it out the bottom in a high-speed pulsating jet.
Benchmark tests show that the regular performance of the 15-inch MacBook Air with AirJet Mini installed is slightly higher than the standard MacBook Air, but as the test progresses and the fanless MacBook Air activates the underclocking protection to reduce the temperature, the performance of the modified laptop is significantly ahead.
Despite the AirJet's small size, fitting the 2.8mm-thick AirJet into the MacBook Air's slim chassis took some effort. To make enough room for the airflow system, Frore had to grind 0.3mm off the laptop's lid, removing the speakers, Wi-Fi antenna, and internal keyboard connector in the process. For everyone else, buying a MacBook Pro with a fan is definitely an easier option.
Another issue not covered in the test is the actual impact of such a system on battery life. In a temporary setup, the AirJet Mini consumed 5 watts of power drawing from the MacBook Air's USB-C port. Frore claims that its AirJet Mini chip requires only 1 watt of power when properly integrated into a laptop, and consumes only 0.1 or 0.2 watts when the system is idle, with the AirJet Minis themselves shut down until or unless the air is needed.
The AirJet system will debut in a bare-bones $499 Zotac mini PC that requires a constant connection to a power source, a use case where battery life won't be an issue. However, the startup has also launched prototype products such as 4K webcams, doorbell cameras, and LED light bulbs. It's too early to tell whether Frore's cooling system will become the next big thing in PC cooling technology, but the startup says the AirJet Mini has begun mass production, with larger and smaller versions also in development.