Lithium-ion batteries in high-end laptops and smartphones will not maintain their quality and capacity forever. This type of battery technology is degradable. Therefore, many brands have included ways to maximize battery life using clever software tricks. One of those tricks is a feature Apple calls Battery Health Management, available on older Intel-based MacBooks. So unless you want to try to restore your battery by giving it an electrochemical bath, read on.
The concept is simple: Apple will use software to reduce the total maximum capacity of an aging battery over time to ensure it maintains its performance and reliability. This feature is only available on Intel-based Macs because battery management on these older Macs is less predictable than on Apple Silicon Macs. It’s important to note that Apple offers Optimized Charging on Apple Silicon Macs and other Apple devices to help you get ahead. But the more aggressive battery health management feature is a great option if you want your old Intel MacBook to run a little longer, even if the software you use on it might not last until the next generation of operating system.
How the feature works to save your battery
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According to Apple, the Battery Health Management feature uses various measurements such as temperature, charge cycles, and discharge rates to determine the health or efficiency of the battery. A lithium-ion battery is not a permanent item, and charging it to full capacity, letting it get hot, or charging it through too many partial cycles can all have an effect on its efficiency as it ages. This feature from Apple aims to solve this problem.
Once macOS’s Battery Health feature understands the faults and weak points of a specific battery, it will take certain steps to change the way it charges the battery in the future. By possibly reducing the overall capacity or rate at which the battery charges, Apple’s software can help avoid some of the overheating and overcharging artifacts that have caused the battery to be in its suboptimal place.
This is not an approach unique to Apple (or even unique to Intel Macs). While this specific feature is only available for select Intel Macs, current-generation Apple Silicon devices offer a simpler charging optimization feature that will do some of this safety work earlier in the battery life cycle. Android phones and PCs also have similar features: they limit the charging capacity to prevent overpressure of these sensitive components. Of course, you should always make sure that you are using approved chargers with your devices.
