Finally using Aldente

[russell_314]

Anyone else using Aldente on the M1s? What has your experience been so far?

I bought it to try because it seemed cool. For my use case it didn’t seem necessary. macOS automatically limits charging to 80% when plugged in for an extended period of time. For those who want to unplug and replug in their laptop but still want to keep an 80% charge I can see how it makes sense. I’m surprised a limit isn’t already integrated in the settings menu for the OS

 

[OSXphoto]

I remoted in to my grandmother's M2 Air the other day to help her with something. She never takes it off the charger because she's afraid she's going to mess something up or plug it back in wrong . Tried many times over the years to get her to unplug every week or two, but she just prefers not to.

Anyway, I noticed this from Apple's built-in power management system, which is pretty cool. This pretty much jibes with my own outlook on batteries, which is just to let the Mac handle it instead of micromanaging.

View attachment 2355356

Well if the built-in power management does exactly the same there’d be no need for a third party app such as al dente anymore. But we don’t know exactly what it does, although it really looks to be disengaging the battery.

The cool aspect of al dente is I can unplug the machine from the power adapter at 80% charge to roam around the house, let it run on battery power for say an hour, and plug it back in at 70% and it will still disengage the battery again. Even if it stays on my desk for another week or month.
The built in macOS power management probably recharges the battery back to 80%, which causes a new cycle.

 

[ignatius345]

Well if the built-in power management does exactly the same there’d be no need for a third party app such as al dente anymore. But we don’t know exactly what it does, although it really looks to be disengaging the battery.

Exactly. In this case, Apple's power management software is indeed enforcing an 80% limit because the Mac in question is plugged in 24/7. But if people want to run extra software to micromanage their charging as part of their battery hobby, I guess go for it.

Apple clearly has battery management software already built in. Optimized charging for one, and apparently also a charge limit for MacBooks that spend all their time plugged in (as in my screenshot).

 

[ArkSingularity]

I bought it to try because it seemed cool. For my use case it didn’t seem necessary. macOS automatically limits charging to 80% when plugged in for an extended period of time. For those who want to unplug and replug in their laptop but still want to keep an 80% charge I can see how it makes sense. I’m surprised a limit isn’t already integrated in the settings menu for the OS

I agree, I think it would be a really good idea for Apple to implement a setting for it somewhere. Even if it's buried in some menu deeper in the settings.

The main issue with Apple's own built in solution is that it often takes several weeks to really learn your schedule, and even then, it's not perfect. If your schedule isn't very consistent, it may never figure it out. Aldente is really good for that sort of thing, it's nice to be able to control it, but I will say that I'm glad Apple built in their own solution, it works well enough for people who dock their computers on a predictable schedule (it's nice not to really HAVE to think about it).

Nowadays I just set it to about 90% and have it top off when I know I'm about to go somewhere. I'm not trying to get my battery to last forever, I'm mostly just trying to decrease the likelihood of needing to replace it within the 5-7 year lifespan of the computer. We will see if my battery actually makes it that far, only time will be able to tell.

 

[OSXphoto]

Exactly. In this case, Apple's power management software is indeed enforcing an 80% limit because the Mac in question is plugged in 24/7. But if people want to run extra software to micromanage their charging as part of their battery hobby, I guess go for it.

Apple clearly has battery management software already built in. Optimized charging for one, and apparently also a charge limit for MacBooks that spend all their time plugged in (as in my screenshot).

But the cool part I described Here above is not included in Apple’s implementation!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Well whatever it takes…. Really the single most relevant takeaway is that in sailing mode, the battery is actually disengaged from the charger (as if the machine had powered down), so the charger is powering only the current active processes and the display.

Thanks for the synopsis. What % sail mode have you settled on?

 

[ignatius345]

But the cool part I described Here above is not included in Apple’s implementation!

I think "cool" is a bit subjective there, frankly. Prefer to charge my battery to full so I can maximize the time I get to use it unplugged. If that means in 2 years I have X number of cycles on it and get it replaced a little sooner, so be it. Not looking to turn my MacBook's battery into a hobby.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

I had no idea Al Dente has been around for so long, I only just discovered it. Fantastic app, the sort of thing that makes me really happy to be a Mac user.

I'm on 80% max with 5% sail, and top up maybe once or twice a week when I know I'll be moving around a lot.

 

[OSXphoto]

Thanks for the synopsis. What % sail mode have you settled on?

No worries. Like I described above I am on 80% with 50% sailing range. This means that it will charge until 80% and then discharge to 30% before starting to recharge again. In my use case it can take two days up to even two weeks without recharging.

 

[OSXphoto]

I think "cool" is a bit subjective there, frankly. Prefer to charge my battery to full so I can maximize the time I get to use it unplugged. If that means in 2 years I have X number of cycles on it and get it replaced a little sooner, so be it. Not looking to turn my MacBook's battery into a hobby.

To each their own and that is absolutely fine. When I know I’ll need 100% charge I’ll top up manually, just like every user has to do, only better: al dente top up lets you charge past 80% to 100% automatically.

However: I dont need my machine to be charged to 100%, most of the time. The battery life is so good that it will last me more than a day even from 80%, unless I know I’ll be running thousands of Lightroom renderings in a weekend without mains around.

It’s a “set and forget” so I don’t even think about it anymore until this MR topic comes to life again.

 

[Razer(x)]

Hello guys, which settings did you enable in the charging tab?

For example should I enable these two?

- Stop charging when sleeping
- Disable Sleep until Charge Limit

 

[OSXphoto]

I could list my personal settings but my situation may be different than yours and others. I would recommend to check out the apphousekitchen help pages if you haven’t already done so. Then set according to your personal preferences.
If you have any specific questions about what the settings mean or how they work out, let’s hear them.

 

[Razer(x)]

I could list my personal settings but my situation may be different than yours and others. I would recommend to check out the apphousekitchen help pages if you haven’t already done so. Then set according to your personal preferences.
If you have any specific questions about what the settings mean or how they work out, let’s hear them.

Any idea how often I should do the calibration?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Any idea how often I should do the calibration?

Feature Explanation: Calibration Mode

General explanation Your notebook’s battery has a hard job. It has to supply the whole system with precious energy while you are on the go and sit still and retain all that power juice when you are plugged in at your desk. Even more, it also must help out the power supply when your system […]

apphousekitchen.com

 

[Razer(x)]

Feature Explanation: Calibration Mode

General explanation Your notebook’s battery has a hard job. It has to supply the whole system with precious energy while you are on the go and sit still and retain all that power juice when you are plugged in at your desk. Even more, it also must help out the power supply when your system […]

apphousekitchen.com

I saw that already but does not give a lot of ranges

Anyway, what limit are you guys using? Should I keep 70% or go with a more conservative 50%?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I saw that already but does not give a lot of ranges

Anyway, what limit are you guys using? Should I keep 70% or go with a more conservative 50%?

I keep mine at 70%. Doing 50-70 isn’t going to make any big difference.

 

[OSXphoto]

Actually it does.

When Should I Use the Calibration Mode?​

If you barely use your MacBook battery-powered or use it only for a short time battery-powered, you should use the Calibration Mode regularly to keep your battery calibrated.

How often should I use the Calibration mode?​

This primarily depends on how often you use your MacBook battery powered. If you do not use your MacBook battery-powered at all, you should use the Calibration Mode at least every other week.

I haven’t performed calibration at all on my newest MBP 16” M1 Max 2021, 90 cycles.
I will soon do it on my old late 2013 MBP because that unit struggles to keep awake at 40-50% battery.

Really it’s up to the user to decide how to set these intervals. Once you get a thorough understanding of what features AlDente offers and for what purpose (I strongly recommend reading the source materials on batteryuniversity) you are adequately educated to do so.

 

[Razer(x)]

Is it normal I'm not getting any notifications while doing the calibration?

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Is it normal I'm not getting any notifications while doing the calibration?

Yes I just see its progress via the drop down window.