Report: Apple will give Macs a ‘Pro Mode’ to boost performance

Apple is all about balance, constantly striving to find that sweet spot among performance, build, simplicity, noise, and price. But sometimes you just want raw power, and it seems Apple is listening.

9to5Mac spotted code in the macOS Catalina 10.15.3 beta that heavily suggests Apple is considering a ‘Pro Mode’ that would delimit fan speeds and energy-saving measures. Text in the code notes “Apps may run faster, but battery life may decrease and fan noise may increase.” It further notes that the boost is temporary.

Though the mention of battery life initially made it seem Pro Mode was exclusive to MacBooks – the code seems to specifically refer to the 16-inch MacBook Pro – MacRumors received an anonymous tip suggesting the feature would come to the Mac Pro. There it will override fan limits to improve thermal performance.

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Several reviewers have noted the Mac Pro is a suprisingly quiet machine, so I’m sure some users wouldn’t mind some extra noise and power draw to for a temporary boost in performance.

We don’t know whether Pro Mode will provide a meaningful boost until someone is able to run benchmarks, but it’s nice to see Apple continue its renewed emphasis on Pro users. No word on when the feature will come to life, but we’ll keep you updated if it shows up in the final version of Catalina 10.15.3.