I leave everything I buy new in the sealed box for maximum resale value, personally.
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Why are people using their MacBook Airs on battery?
- Thread starter DeepSix
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I bought a MacBook, not a Mac mini.
I’m not carrying around a battery pack. I would get made fun of at school for that. (At least I don’t for my external SSD when I am done with work in study hall)
So that’s why people buy MacBooks airs and use the batteries. They’ll get a new one most likely in 5-7 years after purchase, or maybe replace the battery if they are smart to do that.
I already replaced mine.
I’m not carrying around a battery pack. I would get made fun of at school for that. (At least I don’t for my external SSD when I am done with work in study hall)
So that’s why people buy MacBooks airs and use the batteries. They’ll get a new one most likely in 5-7 years after purchase, or maybe replace the battery if they are smart to do that.
I already replaced mine.
Edit: My initial statement was wrong, never mind! Had the wrong currency.
but still that battery bank would have been 175cad on sale, and a battery replacement at Apple is 219cad… you are wearing the internal battery anyways through heat, small cycles and just the normal chemical nature of batteries.
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*shrug* I'm buying it to use then when it's time to get rid of it then I'll sell it as-is. Battery optimizations aren't really that important to me to save a few bucks.
I buy my laptops to use, not to sell. By the time I quit using my laptops, they are obsolete and bring little in resale anyways. This is like the people who buy cars and never drive them hoping to maintain resale value. Where’s the enjoyment in that? For what it’s worth I have a few laptops that have good working batteries that are so woefully outdated, that they are of no use to anyone… I didn’t baby those batteries and they outlasted the chipsets.
As already addressed by others, the whole purpose of having a MacBook Air is to do things while you're not necessarily tethered to a power supply.
I recently sold a MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019 model (64 GB/1 TB, Intel Core i9), which I used once in a while out of the house on battery power but plugged in 90% of the time. I bought the unit refurbished, owned the unit for less than three years and still had over 100 cycles of battery use logged.
Even if your Mac laptop is attached to a power supply, onboard battery management will try and partially drain the battery from time to time, to prolong battery life. These cycles eventually add up. It's unavoidable, unless you want to totally circumvent macOS's battery management (which is probably not recommended, unless you think you know better than the OS does about battery health).
I also once saw a MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 model in a used electronic gear store, which looked like it was in pristine condition and only had six or seven cycles. Due to the high price the store owner tagged the unit with (thinking it would automatically sell because it was a Mac), the unit didn't sell for over a year. I kept thinking of how bad this was for the battery, to leave it for months in a totally discharged state there in the display case.
The moral of the story: low battery cycle count in a used Mac is lucrative, but not necessarily desirable, even when you're trying to purchase or sell one used. But... to each his/her own.
I recently sold a MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019 model (64 GB/1 TB, Intel Core i9), which I used once in a while out of the house on battery power but plugged in 90% of the time. I bought the unit refurbished, owned the unit for less than three years and still had over 100 cycles of battery use logged.
Even if your Mac laptop is attached to a power supply, onboard battery management will try and partially drain the battery from time to time, to prolong battery life. These cycles eventually add up. It's unavoidable, unless you want to totally circumvent macOS's battery management (which is probably not recommended, unless you think you know better than the OS does about battery health).
I also once saw a MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 model in a used electronic gear store, which looked like it was in pristine condition and only had six or seven cycles. Due to the high price the store owner tagged the unit with (thinking it would automatically sell because it was a Mac), the unit didn't sell for over a year. I kept thinking of how bad this was for the battery, to leave it for months in a totally discharged state there in the display case.
The moral of the story: low battery cycle count in a used Mac is lucrative, but not necessarily desirable, even when you're trying to purchase or sell one used. But... to each his/her own.
this is a very confusing post... criticizing people for using a laptop as a laptop... If you plan to use your laptop mostly plugged in, why did you get a MacBook to begin with? I use mine mostly on the battery. One of the big selling features of a MacBook Air to me was the portability and battery life. You lose portability having to buy a large enough battery bank to support actually charging the battery on the MacBook and most higher quality large battery banks aren't that cheap.
Because it’s a laptop and it’s meant to be used on the go.
I doubt most people are doing a full battery cycle every day. Most people don’t use them like that. They are more likely to be plugged in most days and only on battery a minority of days and even then not the full day.
Is your couch still sealed in plastic? 😃
I have a late 2018 MBA that I’ve used daily for 6 years straight and it currently reports 79% battery capacity.
For around $150 I could get it back to 100% but I’m handing it down to a relative who’s ok with it just lasting around 3 hours unplugged.
I say enjoy the product and don’t worry about these type of stuff… it’s a computer, its resale value will naturally go down regardless of battery cycles…
For around $150 I could get it back to 100% but I’m handing it down to a relative who’s ok with it just lasting around 3 hours unplugged.
I say enjoy the product and don’t worry about these type of stuff… it’s a computer, its resale value will naturally go down regardless of battery cycles…
You would be surprised at how different Windows laptops and Macs are in these regard.
Because that doesn’t work that way. Having the internal battery at 100% all the time isn’t good for it and doing that doesn’t prevent the Mac from calculating a cycle has happened.
For example, that’s why the iOS devices are all encouraging you cap charging below 100%, because it isn’t good for it to be plugged in all the time at 100%
I bought my laptop to use, not to resell. I don't intend on replacing this thing until it's completely unusable, but even if I did I wouldn't hamstring my entire time owning it by panicking over whether I'm putting wear on the battery. And if/when it does get noticeably bad, I could always just replace the battery. Still a better solution than carting around an external battery bank just to not use the battery I already paid for.
Using a powerbank, allways attached to your MBA is the same like having it attached to the loading cable all the time. The MBA will allways use internal battery first. So, you also produce a lot of small loading cycles. What you do with your powerbank is maybe the worst you can do.
Loading and then using it down to 5-10% and load it to full again is the best way to have a happy battery.
Loading and then using it down to 5-10% and load it to full again is the best way to have a happy battery.
I’ll have to check when I get home but I’m pretty sure I’m close to a cycle per day on my launch day M2 Air and still well above 75% battery health.
EDIT: 395 cycles, so not as many as I thought, but also 94% battery health. Still a lot better than 75% for that number of cycles.
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Not everyone buys something with the intention of selling it later on. By the time I'm thinking of buying a replacement, it's basically valueless anyway. Plus, for me, a laptop is a tool just like a hammer or a screwdriver. It gets used and serves its purpose until it no longer can.
If you're that worried about the life of your laptop, especially with regards to the resale value, you should probably just leave it in the box, unopened. You'll get more money that way.
Why do people wear their shoes outside the house? Don't they know this will decrease their resell value?
Anyway, keeping a laptop plugged in will deteriorate the battery too, so after a while you will end up with 5 cycles and 85% health instead of 300 cycles and 85% health. You can check the laptops that have been on display at the Apple Store for a while.
Anyway, keeping a laptop plugged in will deteriorate the battery too, so after a while you will end up with 5 cycles and 85% health instead of 300 cycles and 85% health. You can check the laptops that have been on display at the Apple Store for a while.
I hope to keep my laptop for so long it will be on its second battery, and won't HAVE a resale value!
What's the point of buying a laptop if you're not going to use the battery? I'd rather get a Mac mini!
What's the point of buying a laptop if you're not going to use the battery? I'd rather get a Mac mini!
really?
I have sold quite a few laptops and not a single person has asked or looked for the battery count.
How did you come up with $500? Here is Apple's service fee estimate. Likely you'll find your initial premise not being quite accurate.
Mac Repair and Service - Apple Support
Need to repair your Mac? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.
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I think you should simply leave the computer on its altar while you perform whatever rituals you need to perform to preserve its value
I have a Lifetime Aldente Licence, I never have to think about thoses batteries again. That app take care of it very nicely.
I also have AppleCare subscription on my MBA 2024, and that allows me to replace my battery once at least for free. I have to really push this machine, so I can take advantage of that before the it will be replaced to a newer. Good to do before sale perhaps.
Then I am considering hiring somone to carry the MBA for me too- todays MBA's are too heavy 😉
I also have AppleCare subscription on my MBA 2024, and that allows me to replace my battery once at least for free. I have to really push this machine, so I can take advantage of that before the it will be replaced to a newer. Good to do before sale perhaps.
Then I am considering hiring somone to carry the MBA for me too- todays MBA's are too heavy 😉
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