Macbook Pro 15" battery less than 50% capacity after 188 cycles

Have you been calibrating the battery every two months?
No one on here speaks for Apple.
Only Apple can say what they will or won't do. Take it in and ask them.
A battery needs to be used to keep it in good working order. 10 minutes a day is not enough.

My recommendation is to take it down to 50% charge before recharging it.

Full charge for your battery should be +6000mAh @ 188 cycles. Install Coconut Battery application and monitor battery use. Once battery maximum capacity gets down to +1000mAh, get a new one. Keep your battery plugged in all the time. Period. Li-Ion batteries do not require discharging to almost nothing to keep them fresh. They do not have memories or muscles that need exercise.

zoz

Randy Pozzi wrote:
Full charge for your battery should be +6000mAh @ 188 cycles. Install Coconut Battery application and monitor battery use. Once battery maximum capacity gets down to +1000mAh, get a new one. Keep your battery plugged in all the time. Period. Li-Ion batteries do not require discharging to almost nothing to keep them fresh. They do not have memories or muscles that need exercise.

Wow. So much incorrect information there. Where to begin? First, full charge capacity will certainly not be 6000 mAh after 188 cycles. The OP states the machine is a 15" MBP (original, pre-unibody) - the full charge capacity of those batteries +when new+ is ~5500 mAh. It's not going to go up from there. Second, although it's true that Li-based batteries do not have memories, it's completely false that they don't need 'exercise' - Li-based batteries need to be used to maintain health (not run all the way down, but used frequently and lightly). Leaving an MBP on AC power 24/7 is a sure way to kill a battery. Third, when to replace. 1000 mAh will probably give you ~20 minutes of run time. Maybe that works for you, but for most people 20 minutes of use on battery is useless. Rather, if runtime is insufficient for your use, replace the battery - for most users, that's probably somewhere between 50-80% of original capacity.

Clinton - your very low capacity after 188 cycles is consistent with a defective battery (Apple spec is 80% health for 300 cycles). Under the program you link, you would quite likely have gotten a free replacement - as you state, the program is now closed. If you are near an Apple Store (are there any in SA?), take it in. You might also try an AASP. I know that Apple Stores have a battery testing utility that reveals defective batteries, AASPs probably do as well. The worst they can do is tell you 'no' and not replace your battery for free. Else, you'll need to buy a new battery.

My MacBook Pro 15" battery right now has 68% of original health (3651mAh max capacity), and it has only been put through 14 cycles. This battery is only a few months old, which i even more surprising. If that a case where I can bring it into the Apple Store and get a new one? (computer is 2 years old w/ AppleCare)

24 Under Review wrote:
If that a case where I can bring it into the Apple Store and get a new one? (computer is 2 years old w/ AppleCare)

Only Apple can make that determination. I'd suggest that you take it in!