Mac App Nap Settings

Extend App Nap

Software updates are checked every day, while Mac App Store updates are checked weekly. Of the apps that update, only Mail and Notes have to be open. How to Enable and Tweak Power Nap (if Your Mac Supports It) If you own a Mac that was manufactured in the last 5 years or so, then chances are pretty good it will support Power Nap. Deactivate App Nap feature in Apple OS (10.9.xx) Mavericks (Click here to learn how to deactivate App Nap) Always keep the operating system, Java, Flash, and the respective capture software up-to-date with the latest updates. Most of the known issues reported by users worldwide are resolved in the latest updates. App Nap is a new power saving feature in Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks. When an application is completely hidden behind other windows and is not currently executing a task like playing music or checking for e-mail, Mavericks will deem that app “inactive” and put it to sleep to save power and free up your computer’s resources.

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  • I'd like App Nap to be disabled by default for my Mono Mac application as it ships. I've found a few references to this this question, but NSProcessInfo.beginActivityWithOptions doesn't appear to exist in the MonoMac classes. Is there any way to achieve this?
  • Download Power Nap App - Best Napping Timer for Naps with Relaxing Sleep Sounds and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. ‎The Power Nap App is an alarm clock app with relaxing sounds and a sweet kitty cat:) Power naps of less than 30 minutes restore wakefulness.
  • Check settings in non-Apple software to see if you can tune idle state and CPU availability relationships. Third, you should check whether App Nap is a culprit. Any app that’s in the foreground.

When the user isn’t interacting with your app, ideally, your app is absolutely idle.

If an app isn’t performing user-initiated work such as updating content on screen, playing music, or downloading a file, the system may put the app in App Nap. App Nap conserves battery life by regulating the app’s CPU usage and by reducing the frequency with which its timers are fired.

Mac Power Nap

However, you need not—and should not—wait for App Nap to start suspending your app’s activities. By taking a proactive approach to reaching idle, you can enhance App Nap’s features by reducing the amount of work it has to do.

What App Nap Does

The energy impact of App Nap is illustrated in Figure 3-1. When the user resumes interacting with the app, OS X instantly shifts the app back to full speed, as shown in Figure 3-2.

For any app that's not performing important user work, App Nap triggers a number of measures, including:

  • Priority reduction, which reduces the process priority of the app so it receives a smaller share of available processor time

  • Timer throttling, which reduces the frequency with which the app’s timers are fired

  • I/O throttling, which reduces the rate at which the app can read or write data from a device while foreground apps need the device

Important

The preceding measures do not necessarily save energy. They primarily reduce a non-foreground app’s impact on other apps. Don’t rely on App Nap to get your app to fully idle. See Notify Your App When Active State Changes and Notify Your App When Visibility Changes.

How App Nap Works

OS X uses a set of heuristics to determine when to put an app in App Nap. These heuristics take into account factors such as drawing activity, event processing, audio playback, foreground or background state, and app type. Generally, an app is a candidate for App Nap if:

  • It isn’t the foreground app

  • It hasn’t recently updated content in the visible portion of a window

  • It isn’t audible

  • It hasn’t taken any IOKit power management or NSProcessInfo assertions

  • It isn’t using OpenGL

When the above conditions are met, OS X may put the app in App Nap. When the user brings the app to the foreground or when the app receives an XPC message or an Apple event, the app is automatically taken out of App Nap and resumes normal execution.

Knowing When Your App Is in App Nap

Use the Energy Impact gauge in Xcode and the Energy pane in the Activity Monitor app to determine whether your app is in App Nap.

Activity Monitor. Launch your app with the Activity Monitor app (found in /Applications/Utilities) running. Click the Energy button, and view the status of your app in the App Nap column. Figure 3-3 shows an app that’s currently in App Nap.

Mac App Nap Settings

Apps For Mac

Xcode Energy Impact gauge. When you build and run your app in Xcode, you can monitor it with the Energy Impact gauge. Open the debug navigator (choose View > Navigators > Show Debug Navigator), and select the Energy Impact gauge. On the Energy Impact timeline graph (see Figure 3-4), green bars and/or a lack of utilization and CPU wake overhead bars indicate when the app is in App Nap.

Enhancing App Nap

App Nap is automatic in OS X; you don’t need to do anything special for it to work with your app. But App Nap can’t make up for the energy effects of poorly designed apps. Fortunately, with very little effort, you can enhance its capabilities, actively reducing your energy footprint and further lengthening the time users can use their device without plugging into power.

By default, your app becomes eligible for App Nap if it’s not actively engaged with the user and hasn’t updated a visible window for some length of time. However, your app knows the most about the importance of its activity, and shouldn’t rely on App Nap to put it into an idle state. The most effective way to enhance App Nap is for your app to listen for notifications that it’s no longer in active use and to suspend energy-intensive work as quickly as possible—well before the system puts the app in App Nap. See Notify Your App When Visibility Changes and Notify Your App When Active State Changes.

Mac App Nap Settings

You can also help the system determine when to put your app in App Nap by distinguishing between important user-initiated activities and your app’s discretionary or asynchronous activities. When your app communicates that it’s performing discretionary activities, the system efficiently puts your app in App Nap. When your app tells the system the user has initiated a long-running operation that the user expects to complete “now,” the system does not put your app in App Nap. See Inform the System About Lengthy User-Initiated Activities in Prioritize Work at the App Level.

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Settings On My Mac Computer

In OS X Mavericks, Apple introduced App Nap technology that assists with reducing energy usage by up to 23%. This is a fantastic addition for anyone using a MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro.

In order for apps to go into nap mode, their open windows must be hidden from view and non-active. For instance, if iTunes is in the background playing music, the app will not become in-active. If you stop playing the music, Mavericks will automatically make iTunes nap to conserve power.

For a multitude of reasons, this may not appeal to you. For example, if you use automatic downloads in iTunes then the nap mode will likely impact on your user experience as automatic downloads will not commence until the app is used again.

For the most part, app napping will occur without you knowing about it. If it does cause problems, or should you want to ensure that apps in the background remain running, then select a Mac app from the Applications folder and proceed to File > Get info. You can also press Command + I to present the Get Info window, once an application is selected.

You will notice there is an option for Prevent App Nap. By default this option is deselected. Simply click the selection box, as shown above, to ensure that this app does not go into nap mode.

Please note, there is no way to activate, or deactivate, multiple applications at a time. Therefore, you will need to undertake this process for each individual app. Also, you may find some third party applications don’t support app napping and therefore this option will not be available in those circumstances.

Mac App Nap Settings Free

For more information about the power management features of your Apple products, please drop into the store and discuss your specific requirements with our knowledgable staff.