Apple announced iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey earlier this week during the WWDC 2021 keynote. However, not all of the new features were presented, which is why new features are being discovered in Apple's documentation every day. This year, iPad and Mac users will finally get a power saving mode to save battery life, similar to the iPhone.
Low Power Mode was introduced on the iPhone in iOS 9 to reduce the device's power consumption and extend battery life. It automatically lowers the screen brightness slightly, disables background refreshes, and turns off some visual effects. Users can enable this option whenever they want. The system itself prompts the user to turn it on when the battery level is below 20%. With iOS 14.0 Beta 1 last year, Apple enabled Low Power Mode on the iPad for the first time. But then the feature was removed in the second beta - until today. Both iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey bring Low Power Mode as an official new feature to the iPad and Mac, so users of those devices will now be able to save some battery life by enabling this option.
Power saving mode on the iPad
To enable Low Power Mode on an iPad model running iPadOS 15 or later, you'll need to follow the same process as on the iPhone. That is, all you need to do is go to the device's Settings, open the Battery menu, and then enable the Low Power Mode option. You can also enable Low Power Mode in Control Center or ask Siri to enable this option on your iPad. Once you've turned on Low Power Mode, the battery indicator will turn yellow instead of white.
Energy saving mode on the Mac
The process to enable Low Power Mode on a Mac running macOS Monterey is a little different than on the iPhone and iPad. First, open System Preferences and click on the Battery option. Then navigate to the Battery menu on the right and enable the Low Power Mode option. Interestingly, on the Mac, you can choose to enable it only when you don't have the MacBook plugged in, or also when it is plugged in by navigating to the Power Supply menu. iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey are currently available to developers as beta versions. The public beta versions will be released in July. (Photo by Elinaxx1v / Bigstockphoto)