MacBook Pros come with a built-in rechargeable battery, and newer models pack massive batteries, boosting their lifespan. However, each laptop battery has a finite amount of life that is reflected by its charge cycles. And we have it on good authority that the vast majority of MacBooks, including the MacBook Pro, are engineered to deliver up to 1,000 cycles before the battery hits its maximum cycle count.
Once you and your Mac reach this point, the battery loses 20% of its original power. Your Mac will still charge to 100% (if you let it), but it won’t be the same 100% it could reach when it still had cycles left to burn through.
But what if you just decide to keep your MacBook Pro plugged in all the time, and is it even safe to do so? The short answer is yes, and it’s primarily because of a feature called Optimized Battery Charging (OBC). Introduced with macOS Catalina 10.15.5 in May 2020, OBC is a predictive tool in macOS that tasks the computer with memorizing your typical charging routines.
The endgame is to teach your Mac when, and for how long, you have your laptop plugged in to charge. As a result, your MacBook Pro won’t charge past 80% until you’re just about ready to stop using it for the day. You can think of OBC as a personal assistant that wants you to get as much life out of your MacBook as possible.
Optimized Battery Charging is nice on paper, but it’s not perfect
By honing in on your laptop lifestyle, the OBC feature helps your Mac stave off its charge cycle limit more effectively. With OBC, the computer knows that constantly charging to 100% fast-tracks the battery to its end-of-life days.
On the other hand, what if you never have the same laptop schedule? Maybe you use your MacBook Pro on the job, and you’re in the type of field where you’re constantly traveling to new locations. Alternatively, perhaps you’re adamant about keeping your MacBook connected to power one week, but primarily rely on the battery the next week. Those situations make it harder for OBC to determine when you’ll be using your laptop.
This doesn’t exactly give your Mac the kind of predictive data it’s looking for to make the OBC function worthwhile. For cases like this, it may actually be more valuable to leave OBC disabled.
However, if you’re serious about squeezing as much total life out of your MacBook Pro battery as possible, monitor battery health. You can do this via third-party software, but be careful not to download programs you’re not sure about.
Other ways to optimize your MacBook Pro’s battery life
Not long after Apple released the Optimized Battery Charging feature, a third-party tool called AlDente rolled into town. Unlike OBC, AlDente allows users to manually program charge limits and charging thresholds for Mac batteries. So, instead of your Mac taking an educated guess at when it’s best to start and stop charging the battery, you’re the one calling the shots. There are other tools like AlDente on the market, but AlDente is still one of the most reputable options.
Of course, the basics of battery preservation still apply. Variables like screen brightness, how many apps you’re running, and what MacBook accessories you’re using all contribute to battery usage. Beyond that, it’s also a good idea to avoid extreme temperatures and to keep macOS updated, as Apple will sometimes release battery-focused patches.
The good news is that even if your battery health deteriorates over time, you might not notice. Newer MacBook Pros generally have a good battery life, and if you keep yours plugged in at all times, you won’t realize that it can’t hold a charge as well as it once could. Batteries can also be replaced.