Three figures tell you how your MacBook’s battery is doing: its maximum capacity, its condition and its cycle count. macOS shows all three, in two different places.
Maximum capacity and condition
- Open System Settings › Battery.
- Click the ⓘ button next to Battery Health.
Maximum Capacity is how much charge the battery holds now, compared with when it was new. Condition is either Normal or Service Recommended.
Cycle count
Hold Option, open the Apple menu and choose System Information, then select Power. The Cycle Count is under Health Information. One cycle is a full battery’s worth of use, whether in one go or spread over several days.
Or in Terminal:
system_profiler SPPowerDataType | grep -E "Cycle Count|Condition|Maximum Capacity"What the figures mean
- Modern MacBook batteries are rated for 1,000 cycles. Apple designs them to keep up to 80% of their original capacity at that point.
- Below 80% maximum capacity, Apple treats a battery as worn. You’ll notice it as noticeably shorter time away from the charger.
- Service Recommended means the battery works normally but holds significantly less charge than when new. It doesn’t mean it’s unsafe to use.
How to slow the wear
- Leave Optimized Battery Charging on (System Settings › Battery). It learns your routine and waits at 80% until you’re likely to need a full charge.
- Avoid long stretches in heat, such as a laptop left in a hot car or working hard on a soft surface.
- For long storage, leave it about half charged rather than full or empty.
When to replace it
If time away from the charger no longer fits your day, and the battery shows Service Recommended or has fallen below 80%, a replacement brings back the original battery life. Apple and Apple Authorised Service Providers replace MacBook batteries; check the price for your model on Apple’s battery service page.
A worn battery doesn’t make a Mac slow on its own. If yours feels slow too, here’s how to find the real cause.