Why has nobody created... [a "battery saver" app]

[858672]

...An app for folks like me that primarily use their Mac indoors? My last laptop had a "battery saver" function built in that allowed the battery charging cycle to be completely circumvented (so the machine ran on nothing but the PSU) and thus prevented the battery from wearing down due to not getting a full charge/discharge cycle.

I assume this would be easy to create but couldn't find anything like it anywhere, is there a reason? Does the Mac automatically accommodate this type of user and handle its battery business in a different way?

Thanks

 

[Mr Fish]

If you leave it plugged in as you work all the time, charge cycles should go down very, very slowly. Are you monitoring them at the moment to check? Apple claims modern Macbook batteries can last up to 1000 charge cycles. This will be variable I would think, but I imagine you would never get anywhere near that in five years if you rarely use the laptop without the mains.

Thinking about it - that's about three years of going down one charge cycle a day. Plugged in all the time, I can't see it losing more than one cycle every five days, which would equate to about fifteen years of life. Apple recommend you let it run down a cycle on a semi regular basis.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

 

[858672]

That's what made me notice it as my charge count has creeped up to double digits when all I've done is use it on mains.

My old Samsung laptop had a battery saving function that you could enable in the BIOS for those who mainly used their machines connected and it would only charge the battery up to 70% and hold it there. My Dell had a function that allowed you to totally disconnect the battery completely to preserve its function.

Reason being that when a battery gets a little charge/little use it kills it in the long term as opposed to getting fully used by someone on the go.

I thought a similar app for the Mac would be welcome, especially with the newer models where you can't change the battery yourself anyway.

 

[CylonGlitch]

FYI, the machine has to be designed to completely remove the power from the battery based on configuration. If the computer hardware cannot clearly disable the battery there is nothing you can do. There are few machines that actually have the ability to do this because it really isn't that useful in a lot of ways.

If you're like me and have your laptop connected to power most of the time, you'd think it would be a good feature. But I'm also one for just picking it up, pulling the plug and going to a meeting, or somewhere else. This would cause me to lose power and thus really not great. Same with someone tripping over the wire, or a brown out, or just about any other power glitch. Sorry, it's not a desktop, often I'm using my laptop on a couch, it's very easy to get tangled in the wires. I love the idea that if it gets unplugged, I don't lose anything.

 

[GGJstudios]

...An app for folks like me that primarily use their Mac indoors? My last laptop had a "battery saver" function built in that allowed the battery charging cycle to be completely circumvented (so the machine ran on nothing but the PSU) and thus prevented the battery from wearing down due to not getting a full charge/discharge cycle.

I assume this would be easy to create but couldn't find anything like it anywhere, is there a reason? Does the Mac automatically accommodate this type of user and handle its battery business in a different way?

Thanks

When your Mac battery is fully charged, it stops charging and runs on AC power. It will not charge again until you've used the battery down to around 93%. While there are some instances when you could be using both AC power and battery power, it doesn't happen often. There's no need for a "battery saver" app, because it's quite simple to reach up and uplug periodically, to exercise the battery. You can run on battery whenever you need to and plug it in whenever you can. You can plug or unplug any time you need to, regardless of the charged percentage, and you never need to completely drain your battery. Just make sure you don't run on AC power exclusively, as your battery needs to be used regularly to stay healthy.

​

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[858672]

Thanks for all the info and the link, looks like a bit of exercise is in order.

 

[Cubytus]

Modern MacBooks are designed with a 1000-cycles rated battery, and you can change it yourself provided you get the correct triwing screwdriver. So you shouldn't worry about cycles, I have never seen a battery failing after 3 to 6 months on a Mac, unlike many cheap PCs. Chances are you will replace your Mac at about the same time the battery loses a significant amount of capacity. I am at 281 cycles, and still have 92% health on it.

 

[steve-p]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. My older MBP is 50 months old now and the battery is still at 89% health. It's been used on mains power for most of that time.

 

[glutenenvy]

I was under the impression that under full computational load the machine made use of the battery and wall power.

 

[steve-p]

I was under the impression that under full computational load the machine made use of the battery and wall power.

I'm certain it doesn't on either of my MBPs. What makes you think the supplied power adaptor is incapable of meeting the power requirement under load?

 

[pickaxe]

3 weeks later, my 2013 MBA is already at 97% capacity. That's pretty terrible.

 

[GGJstudios]

I was under the impression that under full computational load the machine made use of the battery and wall power.

Only in rare circumstances, such as extreme gaming.

I'm certain it doesn't on either of my MBPs. What makes you think the supplied power adaptor is incapable of meeting the power requirement under load?

It's normal for your MBP to draw power from both AC and battery during periods of extreme demand, such as gaming or other multimedia operations. This can cause your battery to stop charging or even drain, even though it's plugged in. Read the AC POWER section of the following link.

3 weeks later, my 2013 MBA is already at 97% capacity. That's pretty terrible.

No, it's not terrible at all. It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is more or less than 100%, even when brand new, or if it fluctuates up or down over time. The gradual decline is not in a straight line downward, and it may decline more rapidly at some times and slower at others. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.

​

The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​