BATTERY CYCLE

When you use your Mac laptop, its battery goes through charge cycles. A charge cycle happens when you use all of the battery’s power – but that doesn’t necessarily mean in a single charge.

For example, you could use half of your laptop’s charge in one day, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two. In this example, it may take several days to complete a cycle.

Batteries have a limited number of charge cycles before?their?performance is expected to diminish.?Once the cycle count has been reached, a replacement battery is recommended to maintain performance.?You can use your battery after it has reached its maximum cycle count, but you may notice a reduction in your battery life. In macOS Catalina 10.5.5 or later, you can turn on?optimised battery charging?to help reduce battery ageing. This lets your Mac learn your charging routine and wait to charge past 80% battery until you need to use it.?

Knowing how many charge cycles your battery has, and how many are left, can help you determine when to replace the battery. Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original charge capacity at its?maximum cycle count.?For best performance, replace your battery when the maximum cycle count has been reached.

Follow these steps to access information about your Mac?laptop battery, including its cycle count: