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Apple has confirmed that 16-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with an M1 Max chip will feature a “High Power Mode” which is expected to temporarily boost performance.
Rumors of a “High Power Mode” first surfaced in late September, when strings of code within macOS Monterey revealed the existence of a special operating mode that could make a Mac run faster at the expense of less battery life and increased fan noise.
Although it was only a rumor as of Thursday, Apple has now confirmed the feature existence for MacRumors. According to the site, the high-power mode will only be available on 16-inch MacBook Pro models with an M1 Max chip. In other words, 14-inch MacBook Pros and all MacBook Pro variants with M1 Pro chips won’t get it.
Strings of code discovered in October by Steve Moser suggested that Apple will warn users when they enable settings, warning them that their Mac will “optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This can result in louder fan noise. “.
The feature appears to be the opposite of Low Power Mode, which is being introduced in macOS Monterey. Similar to how mode works on the iPhone, Low Power Mode in macOS cuts down on battery-guzzling tasks in an effort to squeeze a bit more of the life out of a charge.