Battery's maximum capacity reached at 88% at 87 cycle count on MacBook Pro 14' 2021 is it normal?

lifeofdarshit wrote:

Because as per the battery capacity it is supposed to retain 80% of the capacity with 1000 cycle count, if I am correct. But the projected data doesn't seems to support it.

This is not correct. The 1,000 cycle count is only of importance in two situations. One is to determine warranty coverage (must be less than 1,000 cycles) and to alert the user that the battery may be nearing the end of its life as the cycle count nears or exceeds the 1,000 cycle count.

The 80% of Design Capacity comes into play for several things. One is a battery at 80% of original Design Capacity may start to no longer last long enough for many users. Plus unless a hardware issue is detected with the battery...Apple is not likely to replace the battery for you until the battery capacity drops below 80% of the original design capacity. Other people may be perfectly happy with battery performance even when the capacity drops to 75% or 70% of design. These are just rough guidelines.

Beginning with one of the macOS 10.15.x updates where Apple introduced a new battery health management system similar to that used with iPhones & iPads.....macOS now will only show "Service Recommended" as the battery condition when the battery capacity drops below 80% of Design Capacity or when a hardware issue is detected with the battery (Apple does not display the "Normal" condition when Option-clicking the battery icon on the menubar anymore). Older versions of macOS had four condition levels, "Normal", "Replace Soon", "Replace Now", and "Service Battery" (wish they retained this as it was more informative).

From supporting thousands of our organization's Apple laptops I have developed methods of better analyzing battery health since some Lithium-ion batteries tend to develop hardware issues well before dropping to 80% of design capacity while still retaining a low cycle count. Most of these batteries are two or three years old which also plays a part since in a way age is a factor as well in addition to how the laptop (and battery) are treated. Impacts to the laptop (or just jostling) and heat also greatly affect battery health & life as do whether the battery is allowed to be completely discharged for any length of time. A lot of things affect the health & reliability of Lithium-ion Batteries.

Batteries are very complex relying on fragile internal connections and chemical reactions.

lifeofdarshit wrote:

Thanks, so in short there are other factors playing in part for such metrics. And the case would not be entertained unless it drops below 80%. Funny part is I am not able to notice any difference at all it is just that the Battery's maximum capacity metrics has gone significantly down with a low usage and age.

If an Apple Diagnostic reported a battery failure or issue, or if the Battery condition is "Service Recommended", then Apple would replace the battery even if the Full Charge Capacity is above 80%. Otherwise, your summary is correct.

Is it a normal life of the battery ...

Yes.

If the battery is faulty is it covered under the warranty?

Yes.