Should I always keep MBP plugged in?

[Canadia69]

I will be buying my first MacBook Pro next week and because I'm paying so much, I want to keep my battery in good shape.

I'm wondering if it is better to always have my MBP always plugged in (whenever I have the chance) instead of using it while not plugged to power....
I know there is only a limited amount of battery cycle on a computer...so is keeping the laptop always powered saving me some of the cycles?? Or is "bad" to always it plugged to power?

Sorry for my bad english

 

[Rhinoevans]

I will be buying my first MacBook Pro next week and because I'm paying so much, I want to keep my battery in good shape.

I'm wondering if it is better to always have my MBP always plugged in (whenever I have the chance) instead of using it while not plugged to power....
I know there is only a limited amount of battery cycle on a computer...so is keeping the laptop always powered saving me some of the cycles?? Or is "bad" to always it plugged to power?

Sorry for my bad english

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204054

 

[Stefan johansson]

No need to have it plugged all the time.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Prepare for a million conflicting views...

If you want to maximise battery life you keep it at around 80%. Leaving it at 100% for prolonged periods of time will artificially shorten the battery life, as will deliberately draining the battery to 0% before recharging. In an ideal world, it would be 80% max, 40% minimum, and you'd keep it between those two.

In reality, the degradation of the battery is only emphasised if you do anything deliberately to influence it. If you use it normally without thought, you'll develop an average that the battery is designed to be used in. Occasionally discharged to 0%, usually plugged in at 50%, usually sat at 100% for a while. Over the lifetime this adds up to around 50% battery/power which gives you the best lifespan.

However in reality again... You're talking about prolonging something far beyond most use cases of the machine. It should last 4-5 years with 80% if you just use it normally, do not do anything deliberate in the notion of extending the life! By keeping it precisely at 80% you may get 5-6 years out of it. And that's a lot of effort, misery for the sake of another year. Most people will replace the machine by that point, or if they plan on having it for a significant period of time will understand that batteries are finite components that need replacing every now and again.

So in short, just use the thing however you see fit. I personally leave mine plugged in most of the time, it's 9 months old and has 14 cycles; has 100% capacity.

 

[Canadia69]

Prepare for a million conflicting views...

If you want to maximise battery life you keep it at around 80%. Leaving it at 100% for prolonged periods of time will artificially shorten the battery life, as will deliberately draining the battery to 0% before recharging. In an ideal world, it would be 80% max, 40% minimum, and you'd keep it between those two.

In reality, the degradation of the battery is only emphasised if you do anything deliberately to influence it. If you use it normally without thought, you'll develop an average that the battery is designed to be used in. Occasionally discharged to 0%, usually plugged in at 50%, usually sat at 100% for a while. Over the lifetime this adds up to around 50% battery/power which gives you the best lifespan.

However in reality again... You're talking about prolonging something far beyond most use cases of the machine. It should last 4-5 years with 80% if you just use it normally, do not do anything deliberate in the notion of extending the life! By keeping it precisely at 80% you may get 5-6 years out of it. And that's a lot of effort, misery for the sake of another year. Most people will replace the machine by that point, or if they plan on having it for a significant period of time will understand that batteries are finite components that need replacing every now and again.

So in short, just use the thing however you see fit. I personally leave mine plugged in most of the time, it's 9 months old and has 14 cycles; has 100% capacity.

Thank you greatly!!

 

[xmonkey]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204054

Nothing in there really answers the OP's question...

 

[Resist]

I wouldn't worry about it. I just recently replaced the battery in my Mid 2010 13" MBP. Yes, the battery health was only around 50% but it was still functional. You're going to get a solid 3 years out of the battery, most likely more, as I did. So again, don't worry about how you charge it. Just every so often calibrate it so you get the correct readings.

 

[AustinIllini]

The only definitive answer is

Don't worry about it

 

[Cloudane]

The only definitive answer is

Don't worry about it

Basically this. Enjoy your device instead of worrying about using it.

Still, look up "battery university" and have a read - basically, battery longevity for these lithium ion and lithium polymer cells is measured in discharge cycles, and deeper discharges have more of an impact (don't do a full discharge cycle thinking it'll prolong it, this only applied to nickel cadmium. There is no memory effect with modern batteries).

If you keep it plugged in whenever you can, it'll last longer than if you let it fully discharge repeatedly, so you wouldn't want to do that for no reason. But if you need to use it fully, just go for it, that's what it's there for