Low Power Mode reduces fan noise on these Macs
Low Power Mode in Apple’s macOS software also reduces fan noise on specific Mac models for tasks that require a quieter environment.
Apple’s support page for Mac power modes was refreshed today with new information related to an improvement to the Low Power Mode feature, which 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.”
Low Power Mode with reduced fan noise is available on the M3 Ultra and M4 Max models of the Mac Studio desktop, the 2023 Mac mini, the 2023 iMac all-in-one, the M4 MacBook Air and other models.
Low Power Mode on your Mac also reduces fan noise
According to the Cupertino company, the Low Power Mode with reduced fan noise is available on the following Mac laptops and desktops:
- MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025)
- MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 2025)
- Mac Studio (2025)
- MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2024)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)
- 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 mini (2023) (MacOS Sequoia 15.1 or later)
- iMac (24-inch, 2023) (macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later)
What Macs support High Power Mode?
maOS also supports High Power Mode on certain Apple silicon Macs. This mode provides longer sustained performance in intensive workloads by permitting the fans to run at higher speeds, but at the expense of battery life. Apple says tasks like 8K color grading, video editing, and 3D apps may experience smoother playback and faster exports with High Power Mode turned on.
But as Andrew Cunningham wrote in his Mac mini review on Ars Technica, High Power Mode “considerably increased” fan noise while delivering virtually negligible speed boost although his testing didn’t include sustained workloads.
High Power mode is available on these Macs:
- 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)
High Power Mode is unavailable on the Mac Studio
The new Mac Studio doesn’t currently support High Power Mode. For what it’s worth, Cunningham noted in his Mac Studio review that his review unit came with macOS Sequoia 15.3 preinstalled.
It’s entirely possible that supporting High Power Mode requires code that’s not present in macOS Sequoia 15.3. If true, then the next macOS Sequoia 15.4 update (currently in testing, launching in April) might bring High Power Mode to the M3 Ultra and M4 Max models, though we’re speculating at this point.
You can manage Low Power Mode and High Power Mode in the “Battery” or “Energy” section of the System Settings app. Both features be toggled when your Mac is on battery power or plugged in.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/03/12/apple-macos-sequoia-15-1-low-power-mode-fan-noise/
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