

Surface is the most closely positioned to Apple with its premium-only device lines for the Windows notebook ecosystem. I have spent much time evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of M1 compared to its competitors like Intel and its ecosystem, but one comparison I received requests on was comparing the Microsoft Surface devices against Apple's M1 MacBooks. I then followed it up with a AAA gaming review and finally an Intel Evo PC vs. I published an out-of-the-gate review of the M1 MacBook last November using my productivity tools.


So here we are – if you're charging your MacBook Pro, and particularly if you have accessories plugged in, use the ports on the right.Over the last five months, I have spent an immense amount of time using the new Apple M1 MacBooks. And there are others in the same StackExchange thread sharing their own experiences with the problem and the fix. Again moving power back to the right side, restoring State B, resolves the problem immediately.Īmazingly, this is actually a thing that happens. Moving power back to the left side, restoring State A, quickly restores the temperatures and kernel_task again comes back after 3-4 minutes. The left side temperature drops and the kernel_task goes away within about 15 seconds. State B cures the kernel_task problem by moving power from the left ports to the right. About 3-4 minutes later the dreaded kernel_task high CPU usage starts. You can see the Thunderbolt Left Proximity temperature sensor rise quickly. State A a USB-C hub (a mouse and keyboard, plus power) and a USB-C HDMI 2.0 adapter, both on the left side. It's game over at that point with fans spinning up and CPU usage skyrocketing. So warm that the Thunderbolt Left Proximity sensor sees the increase in temperature and the kernal_task process appears. When you're charging using the left-hand ports and have other accessories plugged into the same side, things get a bit too warm. I'm not going to get into all the nitty-gritty of what's going on – you can read Adam's post for that – but the tl dr is pretty simple. But I know you're asking the obvious question – what's this got to do with charging? It's a good question and one that was answered emphatically in the same thread.
