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Earlier this week, a new feature was revealed in the current beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.3, which points to a “Pro Mode” for MacBooks. But what advantages would an iPhone-style energy saving mode have for MacBooks? One developer argues.
The iPhone has had a power saving mode since iOS 9, which when activated reduces background activities such as downloads, checking emails and more in order to extend battery life. Now the developer is demanding Marco Arment a similar feature for MacBooks. This currently has a third-party solution called "Turbo Boost Switcher Pro." The app allows users to disable Intel Turbo Boost on a Mac's processor. According to Armet, his current 16-inch MacBook Pro gains around 30 to 50 percent more battery life. He emphasizes that the laptop is "still fast" despite the reduced processor performance. He writes in his post:
With Turbo Boost disabled, the CPU's peak power consumption drops by 62%, with a correspondingly large reduction in temperature. This has two massive advantages:
- The fans never spin up audibly. When Turbo Boost is enabled, the fans spin up annoyingly every time the system is under sustained heavy load. Disable it, and it's almost impossible to make them audible.
- It runs noticeably cooler. With Turbo Boost, laptops get too hot to hold comfortably on your lap, and it radiates enough heat that your hands can sweat. Disable it, and the laptop gets only moderately warm, not hot, and your hands stay comfortably dry.
“Turbo Boost Switcher Pro” – not a permanent solution
Armet goes on to explain that the "Turbo Boost Switcher Pro" app has an expiration date. Currently, the application relies on an old kernel extension that will most likely be removed in future macOS versions. This makes it all the more important that Apple integrates its own solution into the system. He writes in his blog:
I suspect this is the last year I'll be able to run the latest operating system and turn off Turbo Boost at will, significantly worsening my overall future laptop usage.
Whether Apple could actually integrate such a power-saving feature into macOS at some point remains to be seen. Since a "Pro Mode" is already in the works, a "Low Power Mode" could follow at some point. (Photo by tashka2000 / Bigstockphoto)
