Apple has expanded the availability of High Power Mode to its 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to Ars Technica‘s Andrew Cunningham. The feature had previously been limited to Macs equipped with Apple’s top-end “Max” chip. This marks the first time the feature is available on Macs with a “Pro” chip.
This marks the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power Mode in the last two years. The Cupertino firm has initially limited the feature to M1 Max and M2 Max-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro model. Apple later expanded the feature’s availability both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip.
As noted on an an Apple support page, “High Power Mode allows the fans to run at higher speeds. The additional cooling capacity may allow the system to deliver higher performance in very intensive workloads.” This comes in handy when working on graphics-intensive sustained workloads, such as 8K video work. Supported Macs can use the feature when the computer is running on battery power or connected to a power source.
In his Mac mini review, Cunningham said High Power Mode performance gains were “essentially negligible” despite “considerably increased” fan noise. However, he did admit that his tests were short and that High Power Mode could be more beneficial “over many hours of activity.”
On macOS Ventura or later:
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Battery.
Choose High Power Mode from the “On battery” or the “On power adapter” pop-up menu under Energy Mode.
On macOS Monterey or earlier:
