Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your Certification!

The correct choice, which identifies the component responsible for managing hardware cooling and power, is the SMC, or System Management Controller. The SMC is a crucial subsystem in Intel-based Mac computers that provides various low-level functions, including thermal and power management, battery control, LED indications, and sleep/wake management. It actively monitors the temperature of the Macs’ hardware components and controls the speed of the fans to maintain optimal cooling. In addition, it helps manage power usage and allows the device to enter sleep modes appropriately, ensuring energy efficiency and hardware longevity.

The other options do not pertain to cooling and power management. EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) relates to the system's boot process and firmware functions. Disk Utility is a macOS application designed for managing disks and volumes, including formatting and repairing, but does not manage hardware power. The Network Interface primarily deals with networking capabilities and does not influence power or cooling systems at the hardware level.