Things have changed: macOS handles battery wear, so you mostly don’t have to.
What a difference a year and a few months make. My advice in July 2020 about how to keep your Mac laptop’s battery in good shape included lots of hedges, provisos, and tweaks. Despite that, Mac 911 continues to receive email from readers asking exactly how to avoid overcharging their battery and shortening its lifetime.
Fortunately, Big Sur swept in a new approach to battery charging, and the upcoming macOS 12 Monterey (due out soon) adds even more options.
The upshot? Plug in when you want, unplug when you want. For most people, macOS will manage charging better than we can and with zero effort.
Before Big Sur, macOS charged a laptop to 100 percent power whenever it was plugged in and kept charging it to make sure it stayed at that level. That can be useful during the times you need your laptop topped off, something that was true when various MacBooks couldn’t make it through a day of use, and for many people before the pandemic.
Read more at MacWorld.com