Which of these is the best way to deal with charging my new MacBook?

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Level 1

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Which of these is the best way to deal with charging my new MacBook?

I have a new MacBook (13-inch M2 Pro) arriving in the mail in a couple days, and I am trying to figure out the best way to handle charging it. I have read so many contradictory advices online about this subject: (1) some people suggest almost always keeping the battery between 20% (or 30%) and 80%, and charging when needed; and (2) others suggest keeping the device plugged in as much as possible.

Each side has their own rationale; option (1) keeps the battery from spending too much time full, at the expense of increased charge cycles. Option (2) results in fewer cycles, but the battery spends much more time full/close to full. I'm not sure which of these is worse, or if it is even worth worrying about all that much. I should mention that up to now, I've kept my early-2015 MacBook Pro plugged in much of the time. By 2018 or 2019, its capacity was severely reduced and the battery was swollen. Now in 2022, it's swollen again. I'm not sure if this is due to my charging habits, or faulty batteries, or is this simply to be expected when a battery is a few years old?

Anyways, which of the following would you say is the best option for charging?

(1) Use the MacBook on battery throughout the day (charge if it gets low), charge overnight

(2) Use the MacBook plugged in throughout the day, don't charge overnight

(3) Keep the MacBook constantly plugged in

Posted on Aug 20, 2022 3:17 PM

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Answer 1

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FoxFifth

Level 10

472,059 points

Aug 20, 2022 3:28 PM in response to tydirium93

I suspect that if it was hugely important that Apple would publish more guidelines. I keep mine mostly plugged in and have optimized battery charging turned on and have not had any battery issues. See the following from Charge the MacBook Pro battery - Apple Support

Optimized Battery Charging: This feature helps to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by learning your daily charging routine. It delays charging the battery past 80% when it predicts that you’ll be plugged in for an extended period of time, and aims to charge the battery before you unplug. You can change this option in Battery preferences.

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Answer 2

tydirium93 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 20, 2022 3:39 PM in response to FoxFifth

Thanks. I've heard about the Optimized Battery Charging feature; unfortunately my 2015 MacBook never had that, so hopefully it will be helpful for my new one. So does it initially lower it to 80% after it notices that you've had it plugged in for a while, or does it only start doing this after a few days/weeks when it thinks it's figured out your schedule (I worry my schedule might not be consistent enough, if so), or what? Do you ever remove yours from power (like overnight), or keep it plugged in pretty much all the time?

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Answer 3

FoxFifth

Level 10

472,059 points

Aug 20, 2022 4:56 PM in response to tydirium93

It's hard to predict how soon it will figure out a schedule. Mine has seemed to vary as different macOS versions were released. Mine is plugged in most of the time I'm using it but I do unplug it overnight (not saying that is a good or bad thing to do). I don't turn the MacBook Pro off overnight, just let it Sleep. Doubt there would be one bit of difference if I left it plugged in, but don't know.

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Which of these is the best way to deal with charging my new MacBook?

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