MacBook Battery Down to 88% After Just 1.5 Years: This Can't Be Right

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MacBook Battery Down to 88% After Just 1.5 Years: This Can't Be Right

After just a year and a half of using my MacBook, the battery capacity has already dropped to 88%. This doesn’t seem normal to me, especially since I use the laptop under typical conditions without excessive stress or keeping it constantly plugged in. What makes this even more surprising is that some of my fellow students, who have been using the same model for almost two years with a similar weekly usage, still report battery capacities above 97%. This raises the question of whether there might be a defect with my battery or if it’s not meeting the expected quality standards.

MacBook Air, macOS 15.0

Posted on Oct 14, 2024 1:33 AM

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neuroanatomist

Level 9

56,505 points

Oct 14, 2024 6:59 AM in response to Woutb01

Batteries do perform differently due to manufacturing variance, I had two identical (except for color) 2019 16” MBPs, one dropped to ~90% over the first 18 months, the other stayed at ~96% for two years before dropping. The former is more typical, in my experience.

Worth noting that I’ve had Macs from the factory with 98% health up to 106% health at the start.

The decline is not linear, typically they drop to 88-92% (give or take) over 100-200 cycles then stay there for a few hundred cycles before dropping further.

Either way, Apple considers 80% health or higher to be within spec. If it drops below that during the warranty or AppleCare+ period, Apple will replace it.

Batteries are like tires and brake pads, they’re a wear item with a finite life.

The Mac manages battery health well, it’s fine to leave it plugged in as often as possible, if you do so regularly the Mac will pause charging at 80% full to extend battery lifespan.

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MacBook Battery Down to 88% After Just 1.5 Years: This Can't Be Right

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