Previously limited to the 16-inch variant, you can now use High Power Mode on 14-inch MacBooks Pro with an M3 Max chip.
Key Takeaways
- Apple’s new MacBook Pro models, equipped with the M3 chipset, offer performance parity for both the 14-inch and 16-inch versions.
- The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip now includes a new feature called High Power Mode, previously only available on the 16-inch models.
- High Power Mode is designed for tasks such as graphics-intensive workloads, video editing, and 3D applications, providing maximum performance at the cost of battery life and increased fan speeds.
Apple is bringing more performance parity to the smaller and larger versions of the MacBook Pro with the M3 chipset. The latest MacBook Pro models were refreshed with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max systems-on-a-chip at an Oct. 30 launch event. This year, you can get the exact same top-of-the-line configurations of the M3 Max MacBook Pro in either 14-inch or 16-inch display sizes. Apple also quietly added a new performance feature to the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip: High Power Mode. Previously, High Power Mode was limited to the 16-inch MacBook Pro variants with the M1 and M2 series.
The feature was first spotted by iMore, which noted that the 3nm fabrication process used to make the M3 chipset could be the reason High Power Mode can run on the 14-inch model. The idea behind the performance tool is simple. All the best Mac computers with Apple Silicon are extremely power efficient and cool while still providing great performance. However, while Apple balances performance and efficiency during normal use, sometimes users need to utilize every bit of their Mac’s performance capabilities. For these types of situations, users can enable High Power Mode to sacrifice battery life and increase fan speeds to maximize performance.
High Power Mode is limited to the Max variants of Apple Silicon chipsets, so people using the M3 or M3 Pro won’t be able to take advantage of it. However, since it was on the 16-inch model before this generation, people using the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max or M2 Max can also use High Power Mode.
When to use High Power Mode on the MacBook Pro
During typical usage, your Mac uses a mode that Apple calls Automatic mode. There’s also Low Power Mode for when you need to conserve as much battery as possible. On the high-end models of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBooks Pro with an M3 Max chip, a third option is High Power Mode. This is intended for graphics-intensive workloads, video editing, and 3D applications, according to an Apple Support document.
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