Look after the battery of a Mac that lives plugged in
Optimised charging and a charge limit stop a permanently connected laptop from sitting at 100% all day.
Works on: macOS Tahoe 26 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Rod Herzstrom
A laptop that never leaves the desk spends its life full, and sitting at 100% is precisely what ages a battery fastest. Two settings deal with it, both in System Settings → Battery, behind the info button next to Charging.
Optimised Battery Charging learns your routine and delays charging past 80% when it expects the Mac to stay connected, finishing shortly before you normally unplug. It is on by default, it has been there since macOS Big Sur, and it is worth leaving on.
Charge Limit is the blunt version: choose a ceiling between 80% and 100% and the Mac stops within a few points of it, no prediction involved, and says so in the battery menu. It needs macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon. Good if your routine is too irregular for the clever option to ever learn it.
The same panel reports the battery’s health, which is where macOS tells you if it ever needs servicing.
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Stretch the battery with Low Power Mode
Energy Mode trades a little performance for battery life, separately on battery and on the power adapter.
Decide when the screen turns itself off
Separate timers for battery and mains, so the Mac neither locks while you read nor stays lit all afternoon.
Dark mode, accent colour and tinted icons
Appearance settings go well past light and dark: accent colours, icon styles and even the colour of folders.