Why are people using their MacBook Airs on battery?

[Queen6]

Apple putting the newest model for the same price as the previous model is rare. They almost always have the newest model at a hiked up price.

I still laugh at all the people in FB marketplace who are asking 95% of what they paid for their used and abused Airs. $1200CAD for a used M2 Air base model or $1300CAD for a used and abused M3 Air base model.... are people serious?

And you would ask $1100 CAD, zero chance unless you find mug. Can find a a base model new for $600 US. A member here is willing to take a bath on an $8K maxed out 16' for $4K as that all it's worth, your Air is worth $500 at best so just use it...

Q-6

 

[benwiggy]

Each time you put a cycle count on it, it lowers the resale value of your Air. It also shortens the lifespan of both the internal battery and the laptop. Simple way to prevent it, is by buying and using a battery pack on it when needed. I did this, got an Anker prime 27650mah portable battery bank and for any times that I need to use the Air on battery, I run it off here instead so that I don't put any wear on the internal battery. Much cheaper to buy a new battery bank than a new Air.

Firstly, your Mac's battery is a "reservoir" between external power and the circuitry. You can't bypass the battery (without removing it). The Anker battery bank charges your Mac's battery. As far as your Mac knows, it's just USB power coming in.

Secondly, I recently did a survey of friends who have had M1 Pro MBPs for three years, and the ones that usually stay plugged in to power on a desk have a lower cycle count, but also a lower capacity than the ones that move about more.

Cycle count and % capacity tell you something about the state and usage of the battery. But -- and here's the car analogy -- a city car with a high mileage will have spent more time idling in traffic than a country car with the same mileage. It's not as simple as you make out.