Low Power Mode performance
Does running my M1 Pro MacBook Pro on battery, or in Low Power Mode, reduce its performance?
Benchmarking of M1 series Macs has concentrated on showing how fast they are when running on mains power, and little attention has been paid to what happens when they don’t have the luxury of unlimited energy, where macOS has extensive features to ensure good endurance.
Much of that management is directed at reducing the energy cost of tasks that can be turned off or postponed, such as making automatic backups. User activity, including the apps you run, is normally preserved. Test results show little or no evidence of limits to performance of apps, even when run in Low Power Mode, although high energy use will of course drain the battery faster and limit endurance when running on the battery alone.
What you might see in Low Power Mode is limited performance when running sustained demanding tasks, such as intensive rendering, which would normally bring on cooling fans. That could lead to earlier thermal throttling to limit heating. M1 Max High Power Mode does the opposite, and lets the fans run full pelt when needed. But in most use, you shouldn’t notice any difference in the apps you run.