10 Life Hacks Every MacBook Pro User Should Know
Apple has a MacBook for everyone. The Neo is a great option for those who need a laptop for light tasks, while the Air is the next step for a wider range of computing needs. The Pro , on the other hand, is Apple’s “premium” model, or at least its most powerful. It features fans for active cooling, additional ports like HDMI and an SD card slot, and a mini-LED display with a high refresh rate. It’s truly the best choice for professionals who need extra processing power or for users who want a Mac with the most features.
While Apple’s latest MacBook Pros perform great out of the box, using default settings misses out on a huge amount of potential. If you own a MacBook Pro, check out these 10 tips, tricks, and hacks to help you get the most out of your laptop. (I also recommend checking out my list of tips for MacBook Air users , as most of them also apply here, offering additional ways to unlock the full potential of your MacBook Pro.)
Use power saving mode to recharge your battery throughout the day.
Low Power Mode is no longer just available for iPhones. Starting in 2021, this feature also appeared on MacBooks, reducing processing speed to provide additional charging when the battery starts to drain. But don’t think of Low Power Mode simply as a way to save 20% of your battery. Rather, it’s a way to maintain battery life throughout the day. As long as you don’t need the extra power, you can use Low Power Mode whenever your laptop is unplugged.
To set your computer to automatically switch to Power Saver mode, open System Preferences , then select Battery . Under Energy Saver, find On Battery, then click the drop-down menu and select Power Saver Mode. Now, whenever your Mac is unplugged from its charger, it will switch to Power Saver mode without having to manually enable it. You can cancel this at any time in this menu, but if you go toSystem Preferences > Control Center > Battery , you can set the Show Power Saver Mode option to Always to always have access to Power Saver mode via the battery icon in the menu bar.
Use high power mode to improve performance.
If you have a MacBook Pro “Pro” or “Max” model—such as the M4 Pro or M1 Max—you have access to a reverse power-saving mode: High Power Mode.Apple claims that High Power Mode runs your MacBook Pro’s fans at full power, keeping components cooler for longer under intense workloads, while ignoring resource-hogging processes so your Mac can focus on the task at hand. If you need to get the most out of your MacBook Pro, you should definitely enable this feature, especially if you know you need the extra power.
This feature is only available on certain MacBook Pro and Max models. These include the M1 Max and newer (16-inch), M3 Max and newer (14-inch), and M4 Pro and newer, both on the 14- and 16-inch models. High Power Mode is located in the same Settings menu as Low Power Mode, and you can enable it when needed, or whenever your Mac is running on battery power or connected to a power source. If you constantly use High Power Mode, you’ll likely use more power than usual. In fact, Apple specifically recommends using a 96W power adapter when using this feature on the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro and M5 Pro, implying that this feature is particularly resource-intensive.
For more efficient active cooling, control the fans manually.
While High Power Mode is certainly a useful feature, it’s simply an on/off toggle with no additional settings. This means that fan speed is left to macOS’s discretion. If you want full control over your Mac’s cooling system, you’ll need to download a third-party tool. There are plenty of options to choose from, but I’ve been using Mac Fan Control since the days of Intel processors. My 2016 MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar, mind you) was becoming quite sluggish toward the end of its life, but by constantly keeping the fans at maximum speed, I was able to keep the i7 processor cool enough to remain reasonably fast during work. While Apple’s M-series Macs haven’t yet reached this level, I’ve noticed that my iMac with an M1 processor sluggishes a bit, especially when multitasking. I’ve been turning the fans on occasionally to prevent the first-generation Apple Silicon processor from overheating, and I imagine I’ll have to do the same with my M3 MacBook Pro when it starts to wear out (likely in a few years).
Limit your display’s dynamic range and frame rate to save battery life.
Apple’s modern MacBook Pros boast fantastic displays. They feature a high refresh rate of 120Hz, ensuring smooth motion, and support HDR, which especially enhances highlights in images and videos. However, all this extra processing can negatively impact battery life, so if your primary goal is to maximize battery life, consider dimming the display brightness when the laptop is not plugged in.
It’s quite simple to do: when you use Low Power Mode, the display’s refresh rate is automatically reduced. However, you can adjust it manually in System Preferences > Displays . There, in the Refresh Rate field, select 60Hz instead of ProMotion. You can also reduce the brightness of your MacBook with XDR display (which has a maximum brightness of 1600 nits) to the standard “Apple Display” option, which will reduce the maximum brightness to within SDR limits. (My M3 Pro Mac reaches a maximum brightness of 600 nits, but newer Mac models can reach 1000 nits.) Alternatively, you can configure your Mac to switch to SDR mode only when streaming video on battery power. This setting is found in System Preferences > Battery > Options .
Use the MIDI Audio Setup feature to maximize the quality of your wired audio.
Your MacBook Pro likely has a built-in DAC (digital-to-analog converter), which allows you to listen to lossless music—or, in other words, your songs without compression. There’s a lot of debate about whether the average listener will be able to notice the difference, and you’ll definitely need the right headphones or speakers to notice. But if you have the necessary equipment and subscribe to a lossless streaming service like Apple Music, it’s worth trying to improve the sound quality.
The problem is that your MacBook Pro may not be configured to output this audio by default. You’ll need to check this using the “Audio MIDI Setup” app, which you can find via Spotlight or in the “Utilities” folder in ” Applications .” Select the audio source from the list on the left, then click the menu next to “Format.” You can increase the output frequency to 96 kHz directly on your MacBook. If you want higher frequencies, as some Apple Music tracks support up to 192 kHz, you’ll need a separate DAC or audio interface .
Use iPhone screen mirroring to focus entirely on your Mac.
Your iPhone is a frequent distraction while you’re working on your Mac, but it’s hard to get through the entire workday without checking it. While this feature might not save you from immersing yourself in Instagram, it can prevent you from constantly picking up your iPhone at your desk. iPhone Mirroring lets you view and control your iPhone’s screen directly on your Mac, allowing you to, for example, view messages, notifications, and scroll through apps without touching your iPhone. Learn more about this feature in Lifehacker’s full guide .
Use your iPad as a second display.
One of the best ways to turn your MacBook Pro into a true workstation is to connect an external display, which instantly transforms your MacBook into a desktop computer. If you already have a monitor, great! If not, you’ll need to buy one, which can be expensive, especially if you’re looking for something optimized for your MacBook.
But if you have an iPad, you can use it as a second display . Apple’s Sidecar feature lets you treat your iPad as a secondary display, meaning you can move Mac windows onto the iPad screen. Alternatively, you can use Universal Control to interact with iPad windows using your MacBook’s keyboard and trackpad, if that’s more convenient for you. This works both wirelessly and over a wired connection, and some limited touch controls are available on the iPad side when displaying Mac windows. (Fun fact: macOS 27 will introduce full touch controls for Sidecar , so for the first time, your iPad will be able to run a touch-enabled version of macOS.) Once set up, you can simply “push” the cursor from your Mac to the iPad to interact with it. It’s one of those things that reminds you why it’s so hard to leave the Apple ecosystem.
Turn your MacBook display into a ring light.
In response to the popularity of ring lights for video calls and short video creation, Apple added a built-in ring light feature to the Mac. When enabled, macOS displays a ring of light around the edges of the display, simulating the effect of a separate lamp. While this feature works on many Mac models, it’s likely most effective on the MacBook Pro, as only they feature XDR displays with higher peak brightness.
To use this feature, open your video calling app and turn on the camera. (If you’re just testing the feature, open FaceTime; this will immediately activate the camera.) From there, click the FaceTime icon in the menu bar, then select “Edge Light” from the drop-down menu. If you click the arrow next to this feature, you’ll find options for controlling the brightness of the light ring, as well as its color temperature.
Change these settings to “fix” the touchpad.
I love my MacBook Pro, but I’m incredibly annoyed by Apple’s default cursor speed. Personally, I want maximum speed, though I think there are a lot of opinions on that. But speed isn’t the only factor: Apple also sets the scroll direction to “Natural” by default, meaning that scrolling up on the trackpad scrolls down, and vice versa. This is supposed to mimic scrolling on a touchscreen, and I’m quite used to it, but I know plenty of users who don’t like it.
Regardless of which category you fall into, customize your touchpad in System Preferences > Trackpad . Here, experiment with different touchpad speeds to find the one that suits you best. Below that, adjust the “feel” of the touchpad’s click, which doesn’t actually move as it uses haptic vibration rather than a physical button. (I find “Hard” to be the best setting, as it most closely simulates a physical click.) There are a lot of settings here, but if you want to change the default scrolling settings, click “Scrolling & Zooming” and then disable “Natural Scrolling.”
Make sure your MacBook Pro’s power adapter supports fast charging.
Your MacBook Pro likely supports fast charging, which means you can charge the battery to 50% in about 30 minutes. If you find that your MacBook Pro isn’t charging as quickly, it’s likely because you’re using a power adapter that isn’t powerful enough.Apple provides a list of fast-charging power adapters for each compatible MacBook model, and for the MacBook Pro specifically, the selection is limited. If your Pro is a 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro or later, you’ll need a charger with at least 96W of output for fast charging. However, a 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro or later will require a 140W charger for fast charging. Using a lower wattage will result in slower charging. Also, consider the cable you use: you’ll need a MagSafe 3 cable or a USB-C charging cable .