macOS 26.5 adds a new way to control your Mac’s power state via switches

macOS Tahoe 26.5 was released today for all compatible Macs, and while there are few changes, the update includes an interesting new “Power Control” setting for Mac desktops.

Power control setting lets you manage your Mac’s power state with third-party accessories

macOS 26.5 is a fairly small update for Mac overall, with bigger changes arriving in iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5.

But the update offers an interesting new setting for Mac desktops.

From Apple’s official release notes:

The power control setting in Energy for Mac mini, Mac Studio, and iMac lets you shut down or restart your Mac using assistive accessories such as switches.

Assistive accessories are largely intended for accessibility purposes. You can find some of Apple’s recommended accessories here.

But as with all accessibility additions, users can benefit from Apple’s features in different ways.

For example, users without mobility issues may still have reasons why they want to control the power state of their Mac mini, Mac Studio, or iMac via an external switch.

If you don’t see the new setting in macOS 26.5, it may require that your Mac already has an assistive accessory configured. My Mac mini running macOS 26.5 currently shows nothing new in the Energy section of System Settings.

Do you want to use the new power control setting in macOS 26.5? What are the use cases for you? Let us know in the comments.