Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro will include a High Power Mode that allows for intense, sustained workloads.
Steve Moser, a MacRumors contributor, discovered that the macOS Monterey beta contains references to High Power Mode. This setting is opposite to "Low Power Mode," which reduces system performance in order to extend battery life. This new mode is only available for the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max chip and not on the 14-inch MacBook Pro or models with M1 Pro.
The macOS Monterey beta text says, "Your Mac will optimize its performance to better support resource intensive tasks." This could cause louder fan noise. This mode will not be used in most work situations. Instead, it may be used when users are rendering large files or performing graphically demanding tasks that require an extra boost of performance.
Both the new 14-inch MacBook Pros and 16-inch MacBook Pros have improved thermal architecture. However, Apple claims that most users will not use the new and improved fans in their day-to-day lives. The Geekbench scores for Apple's new high-end M1 Max Apple Silicon chips show it to be more than 3x faster than the M1 in the MacBook Pro when performing GPU tasks. The M1 Max can perform multi-core tasks up to 2x faster that M1.
