There is no question that the battery on your MacBook is quite possibly the most crucial aspect of your Mac’s health and functionality. This is why such important parts of your Mac are usually made to be long-lasting and durable under normal circumstances. Moreover, with Apple continuously improving, MacBook batteries can now hold charges for way longer than they used to. However, this still does not change the fact that a battery is still a battery. As time passes, it’s only a matter of time before its capacity to hold charge decreases less and less. When this happens, it’s time to consider getting a replacement. In this respect, the capacity of your battery is determined by the number of charge cycles that it goes through in its lifetime. So, by tracking these charge cycles, you can roughly estimate how long you have before needing to take your battery for a replacement.

What Is A Charge Cycle?

This is essentially the complete process of charging your battery in full, after which you use up all the power until it’s completely drained. In other words, each time that you charge your battery up to 100% and then drain it down to 0%, that counts as one charge cycle. There is usually a certain number of total cycles that your MacBook can have, before it needs to be replaced. This is because after going through many charge cycles, your Mac’s battery will stat to perform less and less adequately than it used to. For instance, you may start to notice that your Mac is not holding a charge for as long as it used to when it was new. And while these batteries are designed to last a very long time, once you cross a certain number of cycles, the battery’s performance will only keep degrading more, as time passes.

In this regard, it is often encouraged that Mac users ensure that they are using the correct chargers that are suited for their MacBooks to avoid any risk of overloading or battery problems. This is because such problems can only wear out your battery even faster. However, the benefit of owning a USB-C charger is that these devices are very multi-functional, adaptable and safe for any device. As such, we recommend buying one from a dependable brand like Lention, which also offers some of the best MacBook accessories. The chargers they have on offer are highly multi-functional, reliable and fast charging. Moreover, they can keep your Mac safe from any unexpected power surges or blowouts.

How Many Cycles Can My Mac Battery Withstand?

This normally depends on the model and year of your Mac. It is estimated that your Mac battery can withstand an average of about 1000 battery cycles. But, that number can be as low as 300 for the older Mac models. However, even after the cycle count is passed, your battery should still function fine. The only difference is that it won’t hold as much charge as it did at the beginning when it was new. And in some cases, this drop in performance can be huge, depending on the Mac and battery’s overall health. Moreover, something else to consider is that one full charge cycle is from a 100% charge to 0% drain. Most of us don’t always let our batteries die completely or charge our Mac’s to full percent, anyway. So, a full charge cycle could normally end up taking a few days of average use to complete anyway.

However you should keep in mind that when you connect multiple devices to your Mac for charging, that can also contribute to a rapid increase in your cycle count. This is because as your Mac charges your mobile devices, your battery is also being drained in the process. So, try to avoid charging your devices too much using your Mac and connect them to a power source instead. But if you still need to connect your devices, then make sure you use a usb-c hub. These accessories are useful in that they will expand your Mac’s connectivity ports and transfer any data quickly. Plus, they offer faster charging of external devices, as well. In this case we recommend purchasing the best usb-c docking station from Lention to facilitate that.

How Can I Assess My Cycle Count?

It’s actually pretty simple to check how many charge cycles your Mac has gone through. It is very useful as you can actively keep track of your battery’s performance. This is crucial when preparing yourself for that inevitable battery replacement or when trying to figure out why your Mac is behaving differently. Moreover, it helps in keeping up with normal maintenance of your Mac. In this regard, it is often recommended to utilize a laptop angle stand as it does well to keep your Mac’s temperature levels in check, due to the extra airflow they offer the undercarriage of your Mac. This is useful as any excess heat can often affect your Mac’s battery health. Plus the benefit of these stands, is that they also help prevent health issues, eg. back strain or eye strain. As you can easily adjust the angle of your Mac, when working for long periods of time.

As for checking on your battery cycle count, you can do this by heading to About This Mac > System Report > Power.  If you check under Health information, you should be able to see exactly how many charge cycles your Mac has gone through up till now. You can also keep an eye on your battery’s health condition in the same place that you checked your cycle count. It is normally listed right under your cycle count. And it will usually let you know the status of your battery’s health.

Conclusion

Keeping an eye on your cycle count is very important in helping you better maintain your computer. You will be able to easily assess when you need to replace your Mac’s battery. And it will also give you a good understanding, not only of your battery’s health, but also your Mac’s overall performance.