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Battery Cycles & Battery Maximum Capacity differs from mac to mac

I'm having this doubt for a long time. I've noticed that different macs with the same battery cycles having different maximum capacities.


For example, I've 2 macs. 1) Macbook air m2 (8gb ram) 2) Macbook Pro m1 max (32gb ram).


Though both the macs have the same amount of "Cycle Count" - 158 to be specific. The maximum capacity on Air is 96% while on the Macbook Pro is 93%. Why this happens?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jul 24, 2023 5:18 AM

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Posted on Jul 24, 2023 6:15 AM

No two batteries are alike, they all age somewhat differently and differing values between Macs is a fruitless comparison.


The metric you need to watch is remaining capacity. When it (either one) gets to 80% Apple advises to replace the battery.

5 replies

Aug 4, 2023 7:35 PM in response to Gowtham_Ponnana

Different model Macs have batteries of different Design Capacities and is completely normal. You can only compare Design Capacities for same exact model Macs. Otherwise you are comparing apple to oranges.


Cycle Count is irrelevant in regards to battery health except when the cycle count nears 1,000 cycles which indicates the battery is nearing the end of it useful life since Apple Lithium batteries have a maximum expected cycle count of 1,000 cycles. Some people may still be able to use the battery after 1,000 cycles, but most people will need to have their batteries replaced at or before 1,000 cycles. If a laptop is connected to a power adapter most of the time, then a cycle count will be very low even for a battery 5 years old, but the battery will be worn out due to age, just for an example.


As @ku4hx mentions, the only real measurement of battery health is the Full Charge Capacity (FCC) and its relation to the original Design Capacity. Even this does not tell the full story of battery health, but it is the best most users can do to assess health. The battery condition reported by macOS is a general guide for most users so if you are experience possible battery issues, check the Battery Condition reported by macOS. If the Battery condition is "Service Recommended", then your battery should be replaced.


Plus from my limited experience with Apple Silicon Macs, their Lithium batteries seem to behave a bit differently than the Lithium batteries of the Intel Macs. Unfortunately Apple has made monitoring the battery details more difficult with the Apple Silicon Macs.


Battery Cycles & Battery Maximum Capacity differs from mac to mac

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