Apple has confirmed that the new 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Max chip will feature a ‘high power mode’ that will boost the laptop’s performance once activated.
MacRumors contributor Steve Moser previously discovered a reference to a “High Power” mode in the macOS Monterey beta, with the code reading: “Your Mac will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may result in louder fan noise.”
Apple has since confirmed the existence of this “High Power” mode, according to MacRumors.
A virtual turbo button is not unusual for a high-performance laptop, preventing the fans from becoming too noisy during casual work but still allowing you to reach a high-level of performance when required.
It makes a lot of sense for Apple to offer this option, especially if the M1 Max chip really is capable of reaching the performance heights that recent benchmark leaks have suggested.
The Geekbench benchmark result for the M1 Max seemingly shows the M1 Max to be three times faster than the standard M1 chip, while also trouncing the result of the Radeon Pro 5600M GPU which featured inside the 2019 model of the MacBook Pro.
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This ‘high power’ feature will not be available with the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, even if you configure it with an M1 Max chip. And any system with an M1 Pro processor will miss out on the ‘high power’ mode too.
This means you’ll seemingly need to spend at least £2999 on the new MacBook Pro in order to get the ‘high power’ mode. This probably won’t be an issue for the majority of people though, with the new MacBook Pro seemingly still capable of a very high performance level without the extra boost.
We’ll hopefully be getting a review unit very soon, so keep an eye on Trusted Reviews for our final verdict on both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
