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QzzB

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
128
55
London
Does anyone know if using the new 2016 MacBook Pro (15") mostly with charger plugged in would damage the battery?

Assuming that its not possible to overcharge the battery or similar?
 
Lithium-ion batteries need to be discharged regularly so keeping it plugged in will damage it in theory, yes. To what extent I'm not sure.
 
Does anyone know if using the new 2016 MacBook Pro (15") mostly with charger plugged in would damage the battery?

Assuming that its not possible to overcharge the battery or similar?

There seems to be a range of opinions on this, but I don't see why you should worry about it at all. You're not there to fret about the battery, so just use the computer as you like and if the battery ever needs replacing then you can think about it.
 
I work plugged in all the time, with all types of notebooks. I have noticed no ill effects.

In the older systems this want an issue because their battery management was not as smart.
 
After 2-3 years My Macbook Pro Mid-2012 (Non-Retina) would shut down when it had 30% battery left (turned off immediately, all data lost)
it had only 100 cycles and I almost always used it connected to charger.

I still use it, even tho there is a warning that I need to service battery, but if I'm not careful and battery goes to ~30%, my data is lost.

Not sure if 2012 models had battery issue, or it was caused by always using charger tho!
 
Batteries will last longer if your laptop is used primarily plugged in. A battery's life is generally counted by the amount of recharges. Using on battery, you are constantly discharging and charging the battery, and it will slowly wear out the more charging cycles it goes through.

On the other hand, if you used plugged in, the battery is not constantly going through charging cycles, and will usually last longer than if using the laptop primarily on battery power.

As an example, a laptop used for three years while almost always plugged in, will have longer battery life than the same computer that was only plugged in to recharge the battery.

There are some more technical exceptions and things that can wear a battery down, but this is the general principle.
 
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