Got yourself a maxed-out 16″ MacBook Pro with Apple’s latest and greatest M1 Max processor? You should know that there’s a hidden “High Power Mode” on your laptop that you can enable when you’re tackling resource-intensive tasks like 4K or 8K video editing. Here’s what the 16″ MacBook Pro’s High Power Mode does, and how you can enable it.
What is High Power Mode?
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Just as your Apple devices have a low-power mode to conserve battery, some Apple laptops have a high-power mode that lets you unleash the full potential of the M1 Max processor. When you enable it, your MacBook Pro’s fans will fire up and the laptop’s processor will run at full power. By enabling your high-power mode, you can speed up video exports or other heavy tasks on your 16″ MacBook Pro.
At the time of writing, High Power Mode is only available on the 16″ MacBook Pro with the M1 Max processor. It works on battery and when your laptop is connected to a charger.
When High Power Mode is enabled, your laptop’s fans will be running at a higher speed in a bid to keep the processor cool. This means that your laptop will be noisier than usual, which could obviously disturb people around you, and it goes without saying that a high-power mode is likely to drain your battery a lot faster than usual.
How to enable High Power Mode on your 16″ MacBook Pro with M1 Max
When you feel you could use a boost, here’s how you can enable high power mode on your 16″ M1 Max MacBook Pro:
- Go to System Preferences > Battery.
- Click the drop-down menu next to Energy Mode.
- Select High Power.
How to check if High Power Mode is enabled
When High Power Mode is enabled on your MacBook, you’ll hear a louder fan noise. You can also confirm that your 16″ MacBook Pro is indeed in high power mode by clicking the Battery icon in the menu bar. Under Power Source, you’ll see High Power Mode: On if it’s enabled.
With High Power Mode enabled, it always helps to take a couple precautionary measures to avoid overheating. You should try to avoid using this for extended periods in extremely hot environments; in peak summer, you might want to blast the air conditioning a little higher than usual. Alternatively, you can consider using a laptop cooler.