On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:35:46 -0800, sms wrote:

Or it can be designed with adequate passive cooling.

That would needlessly reduce performance in most use. A lot of devices
are now designed with thermal sensors that allow a performance level
that cannot be sustained for long periods of time under certain conditions.

Bear in mind that 'reduced performance' (aka permanently halving the CPU
speeds) is the solution that Apple came up with (secretly, of course)...

"Apple said it introduced this behavior last year, for the iPhone
6, 6S, and SE, as a way to prevent random shutdowns" of year old
phones.
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/12/28/16825288/htc-motorola-dont-slow-processor-speeds-old-batteries-apple

Bearing in mind the Orwellian doublespeak of "peak performance" really
means halving the CPU speeds...

"In other words, Apple decided on behalf of its customers that they'd
prefer an iPhone that performed worse for the same amount of time,
than an iPhone that performed just as well for a shorter amount of
time. It's a decision that does nothing to dispel the characterization
of Apple as a company that does what it can to push customers into
buying new phones."
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/11/16878412/iphone-slowdown-battery-replacement-wait-times-6-plus-supply-shortage