Why is my M3 MacBook Air's battery life shorter than my friend's M1 MacBook Air?

Yes your computer does use a little juice while asleep to keep the apps and data in memory. Without power RAM would lose the data. Also depending on how you’ve configured your computer it may also perform certain activities while asleep like downloading updates, and syncing data with the cloud.

You state you are using Chrome. It is one of the most RAM & power hungry apps you can run on your Mac. This alone may well explain the difference in battery life. That said, three years ago I’d have been absolutely thrilled with 13 hours and if I recall correctly that about an hour short of what Apple claims so it isn’t far of the mark.

pranjals wrote:

So I am concerned about battery life of my M3 MacBook Air. It's absolutely new, barely 2 weeks old. And I only use 2-3 Chrome Tabs at max. Despite that I am only getting 13 hours of Battery. I've a friend who has M1 MacBook Air with 8Gb and 256 SSD, his battery lasts longer than mine. Also since morning I've only used YouTube with 2 Chrome tab and battery level has fallen around 13% in just 1 Hour. Whereas my current charging is @ 50% and my screen time is 7Hrs since last 100% charge. What makes me more concerning is sudden drop of battery % in 1 Hour. Battery Health says Normal and capacity seems to be full at 100% as well.

So shall I go to service centre and ask for diagnosis.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

You should stop worrying about your battery. Your friend may be using his computer differently than you, different apps etc. Plug in your computer when needed or convenient to do so. Plugging in the computer will not damage the computer or the battery.

You can take the computer in for inspection if it will ease your concerns.