Battery management question

[semistandard]

I am sure this has been asked before, however I could not find definitive answer.

I've got M1 16MBP and I gotta admit, that battery on these machines is great. And the fact that there is almost no performance impact when running on battery. Being able to work without having my laptop connected all the time is a liberating experience (some alternative might be faster - but I do not think there is an alternative that beats Apple silicon performance when both machines are on battery). However, I have to admit that most of time it is possible to connect the charger - so here is the question:
What's better for preserving battery longevity - to connect it to charger and let the battery discharge once in a while, or use it on battery and charge only when needed (btw, when one should recharge - is it 20% or other value?).

Thanks.

 

[mfram]

Under the Battery Preferences there should be a checkbox for "Optimize battery charging". I would turn that on. As long as the MBP is plugged in most of the time, Mac OS will only charge the battery to about 80% and then hold it there. If you unplug and use the laptop while on battery only then it will charge to full the next time you plug it in. But either way, just click on the Optimize button and let Mac OS do its thing.

 

[semistandard]

The question is whether it is better to have it plugged most of time or the opposite. Being able to use it unplugged for prolonged sessions is very convenient, however I am curious whether it has negative impact on the battery life, and it is better to have it plugged in when possible and use the battery only when necessary.

 

[coolguy4747]

I try my best to use my things how I want to and not be beholden to potential battery events. If you use it unplugged often, you will run through battery cycles more quickly. How/when this will affect battery longevity is not always predictable or consistent. Only you can decide what level of risk the lifestyle you want to live is worth.

 

[Orangeman13]

I've been wondering the same thing. I prefer to use my MacBook Pro without it being plugged in

 

[chabig]

I don’t manage my battery—no thought at all. I just use the computer.

 

[Christopher Kim]

I'm not sure there's anything definitive (or even directionally indicative) on whether it's better to have your MBP plugged in or on battery, while using it.

I think it's more clear that when NOT using it, it's better to have it unplugged (assuming you don't need to charge it) vs plugged. That was certainly the case with the 2016 - 2021 MBP touchbar generation (where you saw a lot of premature battery issues even with low cycle counts, for those who used their MBPs plugged in 24/7). This seemed to be less an issue for pre-2016 models.

So just spitballing / brainstorming some considerations:
- Somewhat like an iPhone / iPad, a Mac laptop is meant to be used mobile / unplugged. Does that mean if you use it primarily "plugged in", it's negative? No. But I think you could reasonably say that if you use it mobile / unplugged "the way it's meant to be used", it's more likely not to be negative. This is the primary use case that Apple I would hope plans for the device to be used.
- As long as you don't leave it plugged in all the time (especially when not using it), I think it's most likely nil effect to use it on battery or plugged in
- As @coolguy4747 mentioned, one downside of using it more on battery is you'll have a higher cycle count. Now, as we found with prior generation MBPs, the correlation between higher cycle count and worse battery is even less than it used to be. So who knows if that's net negative, net positive, or (in my opinion) most likely such a small effect in either direction that it doesn't practically matter