Macs May Be Getting 'High Power Mode' Option to Boost Performance, According to Latest macOS Monterey Beta

Apple's latest developer beta of macOS Monterey contains references to a "High Power Mode" that could boost performance when a MacBook isn't connected to a power adapter.

macos monterey beta
The reference, spotted by 9to5Mac, harks back to a similar so-called "Pro Mode" that was found in a developer beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.3 back in January 2020.

"Pro Mode" was referred to in the code as making apps run faster at the expense of consuming more battery and increasing fan noise, but the feature never made it to the public Catalina release and references to such a mode were absent in Monterey until beta 8, which was released on Tuesday.

"High Power Mode" isn't available to users, and beyond the name appearing in code, nothing is known about the referenced feature, although a "Low Power Mode" already exists in macOS Monterey that reduces performance in MacBooks to conserve battery life, so presumably "High Power Mode" will operate at the other extreme and let users run apps and hardware at maximum performance when not connected to power.

It's unclear whether Apple will announce "High Power Mode" as an upcoming feature in macOS Monterey. Likewise, there's no way of knowing if the feature would be available on all Macs or be exclusive to certain models, such as the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models rumored to drop this fall. Apple is expected to release macOS Monterey in the next few weeks.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

Reason077 Avatar
49 months ago
What I'd really like is an option to always limit charging to 80% to preserve battery health, unless I explicitly select "charge to full now" in the battery menu bar. Current macOS guesses when to limit charging when you have "optimised battery charging" enabled, but in my case it often gets it wrong!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannys1 Avatar
49 months ago

pardon ME. but seems to make better sense to have HIGH POWER MODE only function when the laptop is plugged into a power source. NOT when it is unplugged.

By the way. They optimized Windows 11 two good that you actually get HIGHER Geekbench scores compared to running Windows 10. NOW THATS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I already does "high power mode" when plugged in - that's the point.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
l0stl0rd Avatar
49 months ago
Not sure if I really care that would have been nice for intel machines perhaps.

On the M1 Air there is no difference if it is plugged in or not anyway.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
49 months ago

Haha yeah the 486 Dx2 with the turbo button, that were times but on mine it was nearly always on.
The reason for that "turbo" button on old PCs was for compatibility, not power saving. There were actually old DOS games that would run way too fast on higher clocked CPUs!

By the time of the 486, however, pretty much everything could handle fast clocked CPUs without any issues.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Adithya007 Avatar
49 months ago
So low power mode, normal and high power mode system profiles. Basically what the Windows laptops have had for years. Innovation my ass.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
49 months ago

High Power Mode is going to be a physical "Turbo" button, a throwback to forever ago...
I'd welcome a Turbo Button with HAL red glowing eye.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)