Macbook connected to charger 90% of the time - Bad?

[pinkoos]

Hi,

I'm trying to upgrade my wife's setup and was wondering about this topic. Currently, she has a 2011 Air that she has connected to a 27" HP monitor (and connected to the Air's charger) 90% of the time. Meaning, 90% of the time, she's using the setup as a "desktop." Only 10% of the time does she actually use/need the portability of a laptop. She's done this for several years now, to the point that the Air's battery is no longer very good. Won't last very long disconnected from the charger. In fact, Clean My Mac 3 software says the battery is in poor health.

Anyway, I want to upgrade her to a rMB connected to one of the newly announced 21.5" LG displays (once it's released in December). However, she's basically going to have the same setup where she's connected to the monitor most of the time and only rarely will need to go portable (but she *does* need the portability). On top of that, I believe the connection from the USB-C of the rMB to the LG will power the rMB (in addition to serving as the connection to the monitor), so it's not like she can be connected to the monitor with one cable but leave the power disconnected.

Question: is there a way around this problem so that she doesn't slowly degrade the rMB's battery the same way she did the Air's?

Another Question: is the battery tech any better now that this may not be an issue any longer?

Last Question: if it still is an issue, is there any software out there that helps with battery monitoring/usage, etc.?

Thanks.

 

[Precursor]

Battery technology also improved since 2011, though you still better drain the battery every 2-3 months for the battery to re-adjust itself. I use "Battery Health" app for my rMB, very useful program.

 

[boltjames]

Battery technology also improved since 2011, though you still better drain the battery every 2-3 months for the battery to re-adjust itself. I use "Battery Health" app for my rMB, very useful program.

I use Windows 10 exclusively on my RMB. Is there a Battery Health app equivalent for Windows users?

BJ

 

[Precursor]

Unfortunately I have no idea, better check Windows Store though I would suspect they wouldn't have anything as useful as on the MacOS side, since MacOS is specifically designed for the hardware

 

[BravoTangoPapa]

I use Windows 10 exclusively on my RMB. Is there a Battery Health app equivalent for Windows users?

BJ

For Windows 10, you can create a nice HTML battery report natively. From the command line, type powercfg /batteryreport

 

[BorderingOn]

Being that the the laptop is five years old, I'd say the battery is just spent. They have a shelf life as well as a cycle life. This is a pretty normal usage pattern for many laptop users, especially cube dwellers with docking stations. I wouldn't suggest she change her workflow at all in the hope of maybe extending battery life just a little. Should the battery wear out, you can get it replaced, but five years is nearing end of life for the whole laptop.