Learn how to use High Power Mode on your MacBook Pro to boost its performance during demanding sustained workloads like video editing, exporting, 3D designing, and more.
You’re familiar with low power mode on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, which temporarily disables some features to save battery life. But did you know about High Power Mode, which is the polar opposite of low power mode?
Normally, when you run a resource-intensive task on your computer, like exporting an 8K ProRes video project or manipulating complex scenes in 3D software, the fans will go into overdrive trying to keep the strained CPU cool. Because Apple’s custom Mac chips are much more power-efficient than Intel’s, Apple silicon computers can run at higher speeds and longer than their Intel-based counterparts without ever spinning the fans.
To help you squeeze the last drop of power from your Mac’s Apple CPU, some MacBook Pro models have a High Power Mode feature. When you put your Mac into High Power Mode, the operating system will maximize performance during very intensive workloads by allowing the fans to run at higher speeds to keep the CPU cool. High Power Mode can ensure smoother playback and faster exports during complex video editing and working with 3D applications.
Of course, High Power Mode depletes your MacBook’s battery faster than normal.
Supported models
According to Apple, High Power Mode is supported on the following Macs:
- 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip
- 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max, M2 Max, or M3 Max chips
Note that computers with M1 Pro chips do not support High Power Mode.
Turn on High Power Mode on your Mac
You can enable High Power Mode independently for when your notebook is on battery power and when it’s charging via the adapter.
1) Open System Settings on your MacBook Pro.
2) Click Battery from the left sidebar.
3) Click the drop-down menu for “On battery” or “On power adapter” in the Energy Mode section and set it to High Power.
- Low Power: Reduces energy use to increase battery life.
- Automatic: The default option that balances energy use and performance.
- High Power: Lets the fans run at higher speeds to deliver higher performance.
Once you no longer need to use High Power Mode, repeat the above steps and set the On battery and On power adapter options to Automatic.
If your MacBook Pro is running macOS Monterey or earlier, follow these steps instead:
- Open System Preferences.
- Select Battery or Power Adapter from the left side.
- Click the drop-down menu for Energy Mode and set it to High Power.
As you can see for yourself, it’s great that Apple allows you to choose different energy modes for when your Mac is on battery or connected to the power adapter. macOS balances energy use and performance by defaulting the computer to automatic mode.
How can I tell whether my Mac is in High Power Mode?
Click the battery icon in your Mac’s top menu bar or Control Center to see if High Power Mode is on.
When it’s turned on, you’ll see High Power Mode: On.
Which power mode does my Mac default to
By default, your Mac is set to automatically use the best performance level (Automatic).
How much faster is my Mac in High Power Mode?
Apple only provides anecdotal evidence, saying you may experience “smoother playback and faster exports” in video editing and 3D applications when High Power Mode is turned on. We haven’t conducted scientific tests to measure the speed difference between normal and High Power Mode. “When High Power Mode is on, the fan may run at a higher speed, and you may hear additional fan noise,” the company cautions.
Which Mac workloads justify using High Power Mode?
Apple says High Power Mode was designed to boost CPU performance in “intensive sustained workloads.” But what kinds of workloads does it have in mind, though? A support document on Apple’s website gives us some clues by providing examples:
- Color grading 8K ProRes 4444 and 8K DNxHR video
- Video editing applications
- 3D applications
With great power comes great responsibility
High Power Mode offers a trade-off between performance and battery life.
Thanks to Apple’s speedy Apple silicon Max series of chips, the MacBook Pro can zip through any tasks the average consumer would encounter in their daily computing. So, in other words, there’s no reason whatsoever to use the High Power Mode feature on your MacBook Pro unless you’re a creative professional who really needs to color-grade and export an 8K project for a client on a notebook while on the go.
To everyone else, see for yourself if High Power Mode makes any positive impact on your battery life. If so, then please feel free to take advantage of this feature in your specific scenarios, but do so sparingly because your battery usage will increase.
Before signing off, it’s worth reiterating that macOS allows you to choose separate energy modes for when your computer is running on battery power or connected to the power adapter. You could, for example, toggle High Power Mode on only when your Mac is plugged into power and leave it turned off when it’s on battery.
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