Macbook Air battery life cycle (1000 cycles)?

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Macbook Air battery life cycle (1000 cycles)?

Apple claimed that it can do 1000 charge cycles before it goes udner 80% capacity which needs to be replaced, is this true or has anyone experienced battery going bad at just 300 cycles? I have my mac for 7 months now, and if my estimation is correct, then I will do 80charges a year? does that mean that my macbook air battery will last 12 years before the batter needs to be replaced? At first i was expecting to replace the battery after 3 years, I'm actually kinda surprised with the cycle counts i have right now

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Feb 28, 2013 5:36 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 28, 2013 5:41 PM in response to Raikozy

The battery charge life cycle is a statistical thing and there will be some that go down earlier and some later. Proper care for the battery is important to its life. Avoid extremes of heat and cold, be judicious in your discharge/charge behavior. And avoid deep discharges even though Apple says to do them once a month. Studies by independent testers have found that discharge/charge cycles to 50% gave a 4 to 5 times longer cycle life than always discharging to under 5%.

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Answer 2

Feb 28, 2013 5:45 PM in response to Raikozy

Simple age, as in time, is also a factor, regardless of cycle counts. So no, your battery is not going to last 12 years. No small form facter LiION battery will last 12 years, no matter how it is used.

As Ralp said, the 1000 cycles is a statistical estimate of life span, based on a certain regular usage pattern. As such, it cannot be extrapolated literally like your example of estimated time of life.

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