'High Power Mode' coming to 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max, Apple confirms
Apple has confirmed that 16-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with an M1 Max chip will feature a "High Power Mode" that is expected to temporarily increase performance.
Credit: Apple
Rumors of a "High Power Mode" first surfaced in late September, when code strings within the macOS Monterey revealed the existence of a special operating mode that could make a Mac run faster at the expense of decreased battery life and increased fan noise.
Although just a rumor up until Thursday, Apple has now confirmed the existence of the feature to MacRumors. According to the site, 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.
Code strings discovered in October by Steve Moser suggested that Apple will warn users when they enable the setting, advising them that their Mac "will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may 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 the mode works on iPhone, Low Power Mode on macOS cuts down on battery-intensive tasks in an effort to squeeze a bit more life out of a charge.
Read on AppleInsider
Credit: Apple
Rumors of a "High Power Mode" first surfaced in late September, when code strings within the macOS Monterey revealed the existence of a special operating mode that could make a Mac run faster at the expense of decreased battery life and increased fan noise.
Although just a rumor up until Thursday, Apple has now confirmed the existence of the feature to MacRumors. According to the site, 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.
Code strings discovered in October by Steve Moser suggested that Apple will warn users when they enable the setting, advising them that their Mac "will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may 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 the mode works on iPhone, Low Power Mode on macOS cuts down on battery-intensive tasks in an effort to squeeze a bit more life out of a charge.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
This was a problem with the 5500M and 5600M in the Intel MBPs, they were fast but the fan noise was loud. They could easily run at 80% maximum, run close to silent sustained and the user would still get really good performance.
This may be why some compute benchmarks on the M1 Max are lower if the default is to run the system a bit slower by default. It would mainly affect the shader processing units.
I think we will see a mini "pro" using the new M1 SoC's. Still not sure what they're going to do with the iMac "pro" though. Low-end models could use the new M1 SoC's as well and possibly get a beefed up M1 Ultra with 16/4 CPU and 64 GPU cores.
The Mini will never be the fabled headless Mac, because it would cannibalize iMac and MacPro sales. The Mini will get the base M2 which will fix some of the M1’s failings, such as support for two monitors, 4 Thunderbolt and up to 32GB RAM. The Air and 13” MBP will get the same. I suspect they will change the based M2 core count to 6/2 in favor of performance since the M2 should come with the improved efficiency of the A15 and an upgraded low noise cooling system, just like it’s big brothers. The GPU core count won’t change.
I think the M1 will be around longer than most people seem to think. Apple is going to want to maximize its investment in each generation of chips and that's done by volume. The M2, when released will be offered as an "upgrade" option with the M1 remaining for the base configuration in all models allowing them to drop the entry level price.
I don't think we'll see a 6/2 CPU in a passively cooled device (MBA or iPad Pro). It will remain 4+4/8, and instead there will be an increase in max clock frequency to boost performance (when necessary). Apple could very well target a 6+4/10 part and bin to create multiple variations. (And I do believe GPU core count will increase as that's what they did in the A15.)
Also about time Apple started adding options like this for those of us who want max performance!