My brother just bought a mac book pro and he read that you should always have your laptop plugged in. I feel that if you have a laptop you shouldn't always have it plugged in. He thinks that it helps the battery's health, but i disagree. What is right?
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)
Keeping the MBP plugged in is not a bad thing as it will stop charging automatically. By not running the battery down, helps to keep the number of cycles down on the batt. There is a finite number of cycles before the battery will not hold a charge (around 1000 cycles is claimed but this can vary). Everytime that you run the battery to 50% that equals 1/2 cycle, or lower will equal a cycle when recharged. So minimizing the cycle count can help extend the battery life.
You can check the battery status by going to the Apple logo in the menu bar>about this mac>more info>system report>power in the left sidebar. There under batteri information you can see battery data.
I have a 2010 MBP with 62 cycles on it the battery works fine with normal power life when I run on it, but i usually have it plugged in to save cycles.
I will run it down to 20% every now and again then let if fully recharge. Have done this with multiple MBP's and have never had a battery issue, my kids 2006 batt is still fine.
Of course using on battery is not a problem, but I would suggest to plug it in when you can, to avoid un-necessary battery cycles.
Hope this helps
Mac Book Battery
