Battery health, Do most of you just charge to 100% or ???

[phillyman]

Hi All,

For my previous MacBook Air (2012) I would more or less charge to 100% and then use until it was empty. I tried not to leave it plugged in for days on end. I've been interested in electric cars and battery technology and have learned that what I did supposedly was terrible for my battery. BUT I still get a good 2+ hours of battery life out of that MacBook Air.

I now have a new MacBook Pro and am not sure what I should do. I downloaded an App called AlDente so that I mostly only charge my laptop to 80% charge. Am I overthinking this? Do most of you just charge to 100% and use until you run out or???

Thanks for your thoughts,
Philly

 

[chabig]

I plug mine in when I'm not using it, and I disconnect it when I am. Easy. Never had any problem. Don't overthink it.

 

[phillyman]

What I'm leaning towards. The theoretical gains are probably not worth it. Plug and Play has served me well in the past.
Thanks for the thoughts,
Philly

 

[mkelly]

These days macOS (12.2 in my case) intelligently manages charging. If it notices that you aren't unplugging the device often, it will automatically limit the charge to 80% (you can override). It will also notice usage patterns - so if you typically leave your laptop plugged in until 11 AM every day and then disconnect it, macOS will delay charging past 80% until closer to your regular departure time.

Here's a screenshot from my 14" MBP, which is most often hooked up to a big monitor and thunderbolt dock.

 

[phillyman]

These days macOS (12.2 in my case) intelligently manages charging. If it notices that you aren't unplugging the device often, it will automatically limit the charge to 80% (you can override). It will also notice usage patterns - so if you typically leave your laptop plugged in until 11 AM every day and then disconnect it, macOS will delay charging past 80% until closer to your regular departure time.

Here's a screenshot from my 14" MBP, which is most often hooked up to a big monitor and thunderbolt dock.

View attachment 1953260

THANK you Mkelly, that is EXACTLY what I needed to know. Also you have excellent taste in laptops (same as mine ;-) )

 

[kentzh]

You can try to use ALDENTE to limit the charging, set the power to 80 to use AC power, so that the battery will not last to 100, effectively protecting the health of the battery

 

[phillyman]

Yes I'd mentioned aldente in my original post, it seems though that your Mac learns your usage patterns and smartly charges from there.

 

[internetrando]

The OS will learn your usage patterns and manage the battery. If you leave it plugged in all the time, the computer will leave the battery parked at 80%. You can override this and have it charge to 100% when you are expecting to unplug.

Other than that, don't overthink it. Unplug the machine when you use it, plug it in when it needs to be charged. Deep discharging is worse for the battery than charging to 100%.

If you are absolutely wanting to give your battery the best life, I would recommend that you keep the battery above 20% (and preferably above 40%) when discharging. Do not charge above 80%.

The reality here is that batteries are expendable and have limited life. I doubt the average user notices any major gains over the life of the battery through excessive management. The number of charging cycles is going to have a larger impact than battery micromanagement ever will.

 

[phillyman]

@

The OS will learn your usage patterns and manage the battery. If you leave it plugged in all the time, the computer will leave the battery parked at 80%. You can override this and have it charge to 100% when you are expecting to unplug.

Other than that, don't overthink it. Unplug the machine when you use it, plug it in when it needs to be charged. Deep discharging is worse for the battery than charging to 100%.

If you are absolutely wanting to give your battery the best life, I would recommend that you keep the battery above 20% (and preferably above 40%) when discharging. Do not charge above 80%.

The reality here is that batteries are expendable and have limited life. I doubt the average user notices any major gains over the life of the battery through excessive management. The number of charging cycles is going to have a larger impact than battery micromanagement ever will.

Thank you for your insight. I've decided not to overthink it but the idea of not deep discharging "appeals" to me. You are right, batteries have x number of cycles and by then we probably will also be on to a newer device. Also with the longer battery life between charge cycles and Apple controlling even more of the guts, it should give us even more device life.

Again thank for your taking the time to write.
Philly