Does MacBook Pro To Drive an External Monitor Harm Overall Battery Life?

[jazz1]

I’m thinking about purchasing a MacBook Pro (maybe an ARM). Most of the time I plan to use it to drive a Dell USB-C 27” monitor. My spouse would probably use it only in laptop mode. In other words it would have a dual kind of usage.

Would a constant charge (from the monitor) to 100% for hours at a time hurt the overall battery health? Does OS guard against that?

If not maybe I’d be better off sticking with a MacMini and rely on my iPad Pro for mobile use.

 

[brianmowrey]

People have a lot of opinions.

I don't fret over my battery health much, but I don't feel confident with constant 100/plugged. I prefer to use Charge Limiter set to 70 if I'm in clamshell. (Catalina Battery Management is meant to reduce charge-to-full on newer macbooks; I would opt for Charge Limiter anyway.)

That said, I would never tell someone not to buy a Mini.

 

[jazz1]

People have a lot of opinions.

I don't fret over my battery health much, but I don't feel confident with constant 100/plugged. I prefer to use Charge Limiter set to 70 if I'm in clamshell. (Catalina Battery Management is meant to reduce charge-to-full on newer macbooks; I would opt for Charge Limiter anyway.)

That said, I would never tell someone not to buy a Mini.

I should probably dive into the Dell monitors manual, and see if there is any possibility of killing the downstream charge while using the USB-C cable. I guess maybe a dock might be in my future, or maybe see if a display port cable from USB-C if there is such a thing.

 

[brianmowrey]

if there is any possibility of killing the downstream charge while using the USB-C cable

Only when the display is off, is my impression.

Charge Limiter will turn off the charging when the MBP is at whatever charge you set, including in clamshell. I haven't linked to the app's githup page because it's unsigned; the thread I linked above includes the link and several testimonials from other users.