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System Management Controller

Subsystem of Apple computers

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated August 17, 2026

The System Management Controller (SMC) is a subsystem of Intel Macintosh computers and Apple silicon based computers. It is similar in function to the older SMU or PMU of PowerPC based Macintosh computers.

01Overview

The SMC has roles in controlling thermal and power management, battery charging, fan control, motion detector, light sensor, sleep and wake, hibernation, and LED indicators. It also enables enforcement of the macOS end-user license, allowing macOS to identify when it is running on non-Apple hardware.

SMC uses ACPI on Intel Macs and RTKIT on Apple silicon based Macs for communication.

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “System Management Controller”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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