High Power Mode is available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to 's Andrew Cunningham.The feature was previously limited to Macs with Apple's highest-end "Max" chip, so this is the first time it is available on Macs with a "Pro" chip.This is the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power Mode in as many years.
The feature was initially limited to 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M1 Max and M2 Max chips, but Apple made it available on both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip later last year.Now, the feature is available on even more MacBook Pro models, and on the higher-end Mac mini for the first time.Apple says High Power Mode allows a Mac's fans to run at higher speeds, and this additional cooling allows the system to deliver higher performance for graphics-intensive sustained workloads, such as 8K video color grading.
On supported Macs, the feature can be used 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 acknowledged that his tests were short and that High Power Mode could be more beneficial "over many hours of activity." As mentioned, Apple said the feature is for "sustained" workloads.
From his review:
On recent macOS versions, High Power Mode can be enabled in the System Settings app under "Battery" or "Energy" by clicking on the dropdown menus next to "On battery" or "On power adapter" and selecting the "High Power" option.
