Thermal State

What?

Thermal state is a 4 level system for monitoring temperature on macOS.

Why?

Apple protects sensitive data on macOS. Thermal state provides an indication of the devices condition without compromising privacy or security.

Apps published on the App Store must also comply with sandbox rules which limit access to certain resources.

Levels

1. Nominal

No change in performance.

2. Fair

Fans may activate and background tasks may be deferred.

3. Serious

Fans at maximum. May reduce CPU, GPU, disk and network activity.

4. Critical

Fans at maximum. Greater reduction in CPU, GPU, disk and network activity. May reduce use of peripherals such as the cameras or microphones.

How?

Stats Panel displays the thermal state as a 4 bar indictor with a text description.