Keep my MacBook Pro plugged in?

jkristia wrote:

I just got a MacBook to replace my Mac mini.

This means that probably 99.9% of the time it will be plugged in to power and monitor.

The battery setting is set (by default) to 'Optimized battery charging'.

Question is, will it hurt the battery long time to keep it plugged in at all time, or is that a thing of the past ?

No— this is not an issue. There is software built into the notebook computer to manage/exercise/hands free your battery health.

About battery health management in Mac notebooks intel— introduced with macOS10.15.5

About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

w/ silicon

About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

the rule of thumb—if you are near the mains leave it plugged in, if you need the portability then run on the battery—this is how you optimize your battery charging and extend the working life of your battery by reducing the cycle count. Let the software work for you.

Hi jkristia,

As long as Optimized Battery Charging is smart enough to keep the battery at 80% or lower while your Mac is plugged in for long periods of time, you should be good to go. Note that it tries to predict when you'll disconnect from power, and charges your battery to 100% right before that.

For me, I've personally chosen to use Aldente instead, as it lets me manually control how much the battery should be charged, instead of relying on algorithms to predict my changing schedule and habits.

jkristia wrote:

awesome, thank you

Battery Health Management software is not static. Holding the charge to below 80% or fixed at 80 % is just as bad at locked in at 100%. The battery does need exercise and the software does this with no intervention.

The BHM will fluctuate the charge: I have seen down to 79%, 74%, 72%.. back up to 80%, 84%...all the way back to 100% over the course of months. This is how it works. I would not try to second guess the charging or force it to 80%.

My MBP is on the charger 99.9% of the time and this is what I witness over the last 3 yrs are so since BHM was introduced with macOS10.15.5 2019.

Let the built in software work for you.

No third party override is necessary and may even be detrimental.

leroydouglas is absolutely correct. My 2021 16" M1 Pro is plugged in all the time. Apple's battery management system varies the battery charge along the way for me, without me needing to do anything. At times it's 77%, sometimes less, and can go to 100% at times, then back down. You should let your Mac do what Apple designed it to do, without a 3rd party app intervening.

Interesting, thanks for that info!