Press Control-Command-Q (⌃⌘Q) to lock your Mac immediately. To put the displays to sleep from a built-in keyboard without Touch ID, press Control-Shift-Power. These do different things: locking protects access to your session; display sleep turns off the display without shutting down the Mac.
Lock your Mac immediately
The quickest keyboard method is Control-Command-Q (⌃⌘Q). Apple lists it as the shortcut to lock your screen: Mac keyboard shortcuts.
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You can also choose Apple menu > Lock Screen. Depending on your Mac and accessories, Apple documents other immediate options: pressing Touch ID on supported Macs or Magic Keyboards, using a Lock Screen button on some Magic Keyboards, or activating a Hot Corner assigned to Lock Screen. These options depend on the hardware and settings available to you. See Apple’s Lock Screen guide.
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Turn the display off without locking by shortcut
On a built-in keyboard without Touch ID, press Control-Shift-Power to put the displays to sleep. Apple documents this separately from the screen-lock shortcut, so use Control-Command-Q when your goal is specifically to lock your session.
#1 Best Overall
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
Power-button behavior varies by keyboard. On a keyboard with Touch ID, pressing that button locks the screen; on a built-in keyboard without Touch ID, holding the power button for 1.5 seconds puts the Mac to sleep. Do not treat a long press as a universal display-off shortcut. Apple’s keyboard shortcut reference lists the hardware-specific distinctions.
Set a Hot Corner to lock the screen
- Open Apple menu > System Settings.
- Select Desktop & Dock, then choose Hot Corners.
- Choose a screen corner and assign Lock Screen to it, then click Done.
To prevent an accidental lock, hold Command, Shift, Option, Control, or a combination of those keys while selecting the Hot Corner action; the modifier will be required when you activate it. The bottom-right corner is assigned to Quick Note by default, so choosing it for Lock Screen replaces that action. Apple explains the setup in Use hot corners on Mac.
Rank #2
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Turn the display off automatically after inactivity
For an automatic display shutoff, open Apple menu > System Settings > Lock Screen. Set the inactive display-off interval for battery use and the separate interval for power-adapter use. The choices available can vary by macOS version and configuration, so use the options shown on your Mac rather than relying on a particular interval from another system. Apple describes these controls in Change Lock Screen settings on Mac.
Choose when a password is required after the display turns off
In System Settings > Lock Screen, find Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off and select the delay that suits your security and convenience needs. This setting controls when a password is required after the screen saver starts or the display turns off; it is distinct from the action that turns the display off. Apple’s password-after-wake guidance explains the setting.
Rank #3
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
What locking does not do
Locking does not shut down the Mac or prevent another person from turning it off or restarting it. Save work that is not automatically saved before leaving the computer unattended. When you return, you can unlock by pressing a key and entering your password, or by using Touch ID or Apple Watch where supported; Apple lists these options in its Lock Screen guide.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- FAST RUNS IN THE FAMILY — The 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro or M5 Max chip brings next-generation speed and powerful on-device AI to personal, professional, and creative tasks. With all-day battery life, double the starting storage,* and a breathtaking Liquid Retina XDR display, it’s pro in every way.*
- BUCKLE UP — Along with a next-generation CPU, faster unified memory, and up to 2x faster SSD storage,* M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance and on-device training capabilities. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
- BUILT FOR AI — Apple silicon, and every major component that powers it, is designed to run demanding on-device AI workloads like LLM inference and training. And Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly with groundbreaking privacy protections at every step.*
- ALL-DAY BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Pro delivers the same exceptional performance whether it’s running on battery or plugged in.*
- MACOS RUNS APPS FAST — All your go-to apps run lightning fast in macOS, including built-in apps like FaceTime and Messages. Plus, built-in virus protection and free software updates help keep your Mac running smoothly and securely.
Rank #4
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
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