https://support.apple.com/en-us/101613

About Power Modes on your Mac

About Power Modes on your Mac
Power Modes allow you to tailor your Mac's performance to your workload.

Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode reduces energy use to increase battery life. In macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later, Low Power Mode also reduces fan noise for tasks requiring silent environments, and allows reduced power consumption if your Mac is always left on.

You can use Low Power Mode with reduced fan noise on the following models:

MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)

MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)

Mac Studio (2025)

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024)1

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)1

iMac (24-inch, 2024, Two ports)

iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports)

MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024)

MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 2024)

MacBook Pro (14-inch, Nov 2023) with M3 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023) with M3 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) with M2 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) with M1 Max

Mac mini (2024)

Mac Studio (2023) (macOS Sequoia 15.3 or later)

Mac mini (2023) (macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later)

iMac (24-inch, 2023) (macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later)

High Power Mode
High Power Mode allows the fans to run at higher speeds. The additional cooling capacity may allow the system to deliver higher performance in very intensive workloads. When High Power Mode is enabled, you may hear additional fan noise.

High Power Mode can improve performance in graphics-intensive workflows such as color grading 8K ProRes 4444 and 8K DNxHR video. In video editing and 3D applications, you may experience smoother playback and faster exports in High Power Mode.

You can use High-Power Mode on the following models:

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024) with M4 Pro or Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)

MacBook Pro (14-inch, Nov 2023) with M3 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, Nov 2023) with M3 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) with M2 Max

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) with M1 Max

Mac mini (2024) with M4 Pro

Select a Power Mode
By default, your Mac is set to Automatic Mode to balance energy use and performance.

You can set different energy modes for when your Mac is on battery or connected to the power adapter. Power Modes can be used whether your Mac is connected to power or not.

On macOS Ventura or later:

Choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Battery (or Energy on desktops).

Choose Low Power Mode, Automatic, or High Power Mode from the “On battery” or the “On power adapter” pop-up menu under Energy Mode. In macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later, you can also select Energy Modes from Control Center.

Switching energy modes in System Settings on Mac.
On macOS Monterey or earlier:

Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Battery.

Click Battery or Power Adapter in the sidebar, then choose Low Power, Automatic, or High Power Mode from the Energy Mode pop-up menu.

Switching energy modes in System Preferences on Mac.
See if a Power Mode is on
To see if Low Power or High Power Mode is on, click the Battery or lightning bolt icon in the menu bar to view the battery status menu.

Battery menu on MacBook Pro indicating that High Power Mode is turned on.
1. For MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024) with M4 Pro chip, the 96W USB‑C Power Adapter lets you take advantage of fast charging, so you can go from 0 to 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes. This adapter is recommended to use with MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024) with M4 Pro chip in high power mode.

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Published Date: May 23, 2025