MacBook Pro battery at 90.3% after 7 months

[dduraznito]

Hi, my boyfriend bought an M2 Pro MacBook Pro in February. He usually keeps the battery between 20% and 80% (pretty obsessive even) but we noticed the charge isn't lasting very long so we checked with Coconut Battery and it says capacity is at 90.3% despite it being less than a year old.
Is this normal?
Has anyone had a similar experience?

Thanks!

 

[brig2221]

Anecdotally, I'd say it's normal, yes. When I got the M1 MBA when it released, my battery capacity a year later was at 89%, and that was using it in clamshell mode connected to power 95% of the time with Apple's Battery Health features enabled.

I picked up a new M1 MBP and found the third party Battery Health program Al Dente. I immediately installed it and set the max battery charge to 70%, and the battery is at nearly 100% health a year later.

As with all things, YMMV, but I really think a program like Al Dente gives you full control over the battery and is leaps and bounds better respective to maintaining battery health than what Apple provides stock in the OS.

 

[JPack]

Certainly less than I would expect. Since the battery was designed to retain 80% capacity over 1,000 cycles, you’ve already consumed 50% of that by being at 90%.

 

[NikkoTuason]

That is pretty crazy. I purchased my M2 Pro around the same time and I have been abusing the hell out of it. From leaving it plugged in while playing Resident Evil Village, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus and Baldur's Gate 3 for hours on end to rendering countless 4k videos on Davinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro for the last 7 months. My battery health is still at 96%. I thought I was killing the battery on mine, what has he been doing? 🤯

 

[Queen6]

Yes. batteries are chemical therefore not exactly definable by nature. Some are simply better or worse which can be exaggerated by multiple factors. If the battery drops below 80% by Apple's measurements they will replace it gratis if in warrantee.

Here it goes; 2015 bought a 12" Retina MacBook perfect business traveller. Nine months later battery was down to 80% 2020 bought an M1 13" MBP it's battery is still at 99% just how it goes. My media server which is one of the ill fated auto destruct 2011 15" MacBook Pro's still has 50% of design capacity another members has the same notebook at over 80% with significantly more charge cycles, just how the dice rolls...

Q-6

 

[lclev]

In Nov. 2021 I received my MBP M1 max. Today the battery is at 98% capacity according to system stats. Coconut battery says 95%. Either way for a laptop 22 months old, I am happy with that. I use mine extensively for video and photo editing. Only plugged in at night when at home but always plugged in at work to it's hub which will charge it.

I would not be happy with what your M2 is showing.

 

[Queen6]

In Nov. 2021 I received my MBP M1 max. Today the battery is at 98% capacity according to system stats. Coconut battery says 95%. Either way for a laptop 22 months old, I am happy with that. I use mine extensively for video and photo editing. Only plugged in at night when at home but always plugged in at work to it's hub which will charge it.

I would not be happy with what your M2 is showing.

Exactly, just how it rolls. As much as companies want to ensure minimum battery longevity it's not possible without a great deal of expense even then it's not fool proof.

Q-6

 

[cappo3]

I have the feeling these new batteries (14" and 16") are a bit different than before. They're either worse than their predecessors and degrade faster, or they do not communicate too well with apps such as coconut battery.

My M1 Max 14" is at 97% according to the system and 95% according to coconut.
After 32 cycles it ain't great, especially because it wasn't just left plugged in for a year... It was actually left at 40-60% and pretty much never used.

Maybe we're having the same issue I have on my EV: by keeping the SoC low, we do not allow the system to calibrate itself and the Mac ends up not knowing how much charge is in the battery at any given moment. Maybe let the Mac run through a couple of full battery cycles?

 

[vanc]

I bought a MBP 16 with M1 Pro in May 2022. Used it in clamshell mode most of the time. After 16 months, I only put 25 cycles on the battery. The capacity was about 99.1% per coconut battery, or 100% per macOS. No special software, just with the default settings in macOS which has the "Optimized Battery Charging" turned on.

The battery health from the OP seems on the lower side. Perhaps keeping the battery under 80% all the time wasn't a good idea?

 

[MacManiac76]

You could try calibrating the battery, which really should be done at least once a month, by charging it to 100% then let it drain all the way until it gets to 0% and shuts itself off. After that charge it all the way to 100% again and see where the health is at.

Also it really shouldn't be left plugged in all the time, it has been shown to make the battery bulge in certain cases after a few years. I always unplug my MacBook Pro at night so it isn't sitting in sleep mode being plugged in for no real reason.

My six month old 2023 M2 Max MacBook Pro 16" is still at 99% health after 84 cycles and has been pretty much at that health percentage for the past couple months doing the calibration and not leaving it plugged in overnight. I use it for a few hours every day not plugged in so the battery gets some use and usually charge it to 99%-100% every few days. Keeping between 20%-80% all the time really isn't that good for the battery.

 

[cappo3]

Keeping between 20%-80% all the time really isn't that good for the battery.

I think keeping the SoC under 80% is indeed good for the battery, but not for the calibration.

 

[MacManiac76]

I think keeping the SoC under 80% is indeed good for the battery, but not for the calibration.

That's why I said not "all the time". 80% really is somewhat of an arbitrary number. The main thing to not do is consistently charge to 100% and then leave the laptop plugged in after it is fully charged, that is what really does the most damage to the battery.

 

[tallgoodlooking]

I suspect those battery health numbers may not always be that representative of reality. Eg, I purchased a 16" MBP in Oct 2019 and initially the batt health was 100% as one would expect. I use it about 7 hrs a day and keep it plugged in pretty much all the time. After one year, the "Battery Health" app reported it was down to 91% so I was mildly surprised with how fast the decline was, particularly as the cycle count was only at 7 and I am accustomed to somewhat slower decline rates with my other MBP's like the 13" and 15" non-Retina 2012's and mid 2014 Retina 15". (Eg consider the third party battery replacement in my 2014 15" MBP--initially Battery Health reported 104% and now 3.3 years later it's saying 99% and 128 cycle count--for a loss of 5% total over 3.3 yrs--that's pretty good! And for a third party battery no less!). Anyway, fast forward an additional 3 years till now in the 16 incher, and the app reports cycle count at 29 and battery health still at 91%. !!! Whaaat? Drops by 9% in first year then at 0% for next three years? (Daily usage about the same). Naturally I am pleased at 91% after 4 years but how is such variability even possible? (As an aside, I might also point out these quite mild decline numbers do not align with the idea that leaving the MBP plugged in all the time is necessarily bad for battery health. Although I did have one original apple battery expand so much in an always plugged 13" non-retina 2012 that it badly bulged the case--scary--albeit it took 9 years).

 

[h.gilbert]

You could try calibrating the battery, which really should be done at least once a month, by charging it to 100% then let it drain all the way until it gets to 0% and shuts itself off. After that charge it all the way to 100% again and see where the health is at.

Apparently monthly at most is what's recommended (batteryuniversity.com). Besides the more often you do it the worse it is for battery health.

 

[MacManiac76]

Apparently monthly at most is what's recommended (batteryuniversity.com). Besides the more often you do it the worse it is for battery health.

It's not really worse for battery health, it just gives you a more accurate reading of the health which probably is going to be lower than your previous readings since the software has to estimate how much battery time is left remaining on the current charge if you don't discharge the battery into the lower percentages very often. You are going to get a less accurate health rating from whatever software you are using if you constantly only use it in a certain restricted percentage range.

 

[h.gilbert]

It's not really worse for battery health.

That's just false - charging to 100% and draining to 0% is bad for the battery.

it just gives you a more accurate reading of the health which probably is going to be lower than your previous readings since the software has to estimate how much battery time is left remaining on the current charge if you don't discharge the battery into the lower percentages very often. You are going to get a less accurate health rating from whatever software you are using if you constantly only use it in a certain restricted percentage range.

What's the point of chasing a really accurate measurement of battery health (and state of charge) when the method of doing so worsens the actual battery health? From what I've read once a month is overkill for a 100-0% calibration and the batteryuniversity.com suggests every three months.