Should I care about battery cycles?

[James.K.Polk]

Just sort of a general question - I often go out of way to charge my 12" MacBook, even when it's at 100%. I suppose I'm just curious if, over the course of a 3-4 year ownership, clinging to my charger will actually make a material difference, or if I should just let it go?

In a month of ownership, I'm at 4 battery cycles, for what it's worth.

 

[ZapNZs]

Other than avoiding the biggest killers of battery longevity (when convenient), I do not think it is worth it.

Cycle count is an imperfect gauge of health - it is not always an accurate estimator for this purpose, because a battery in a laptop kept constantly on AC power will still wear.

The battery is going to wear no matter what you do. Avoiding very deep discharges when possible, not storing the battery near empty or storing the computer in a hot car will reduce some of the biggest causes of wear. However, being at 100% capacity is also a state of stress, and this causes wear in and of itself.

 

[James.K.Polk]

Other than avoiding the biggest killers of battery longevity (when convenient), I do not think it is worth it.

Cycle count is an imperfect gauge of health - it is not always an accurate estimator for this purpose, because a battery in a laptop kept constantly on AC power will still wear.

The battery is going to wear no matter what you do. Avoiding very deep discharges when possible, not storing the battery near empty or storing the computer in a hot car will reduce some of the biggest causes of wear. However, being at 100% capacity is also a state of stress, and this causes wear in and of itself.

Very interesting - thanks for the help. I'll try and be more lenient with my outlet-hogging