I don't know why it never occurred to me before... but apple had always said that a MBP battery should last 1000 cycles before losing its performance. I have seen 100s of MBP used batteries. The number of fully functioning batteries with 1000 or more cycles I can count on one hand. On the other hand... I've seen DOZENS of batteries die of old age long before 1000 cycles. I'm thinking that a better lifetime expectation number would be more like 500-600 cycles. I'm talking about the 13,15 & 17" models of 2009-2012 unibody MBPs - I don't have enough experience with the retina display models.

How many cycles did YOU battery have when you replaced it?

I've seen a number of them with <400 cycles in the "Service Battery" state, sometimes even with ~120 cycles. As far as I can tell, this comes from underusing the battery. Pretty much all the early battery failures we see are from computers permanently left charging so the battery never gets used. The batteries with regular use go over 700-800 cycles (I have one at home like this) and the computers are replaced before the battery is.

An iPhoney example of a different kind of battery use:

A co-worker of mine got the same iPhone that I did, a few months later than me. I baby my battery according to best practices (more as a mental exercise than anything) while he puts in regular phone battery (ab)use. 2.5 years later, Battery Health rates my battery at 94% and his at 84%.

Only difference is in the method of battery use.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2019 04:55PM by Lew Zealand.

I would concur - laptops utilized as desktops with infrequent travel see battery longevity in the tank. On used laptops from students - we do see high battery cycles on healthy batteries cause being used as a laptop.

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OWC Larry
Other World Computing
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Wife had a white macbook with some sleep sensor issues, it would not go to sleep unless you closed the lid. If you left it open on the table, screen would dim but machine would not actually sleep (yes, I checked all settings, zapped PRAM, etc). This was back in the days when OS updates were about 3 years apart, so I didn't have a reason to nuke and pave. She would go through at least one cycle per day. After 3 years she had 1200 cycles. I took the machine back to Apple Store to replace the upper case which would crack and Apple had a repair program. When I showed the genius that the battery had 1200+ cycles and more than 90% capacity, he was also surprised.

My MBP got a service battery notice almost immediately on putting installing my last Newertech battery. I figured Apple just didn't recognize the aftermarket battery and ignored it. That was 710 cycles ago and I am still getting 4-5 hours on a charge.

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Poor battery charging management. It's been a problem since Li-ion batteries have been used. Sadly, Lenovo (a brand I won't recommend for other reasons) has the best management I have seen. They have an option to let batteries float between 55%-80% charge if you use it as your main desktop and don't frequently use it for long sessions away from an outlet.

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Apple used to be at 300 charge cycles. Not sure what year they changed to 1000. Either way. I've seen plenty that hit over 1000 cycles with no issues. Typically in schools. I don't think most home users take them off the charger enough and that hurts battery life.

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C(-)ris
Apple used to be at 300 charge cycles. Not sure what year they changed to 1000. Either way. I've seen plenty that hit over 1000 cycles with no issues. Typically in schools. I don't think most home users take them off the charger enough and that hurts battery life.

300 was for the removable batteries

and if you used a laptop plugged in all the time, you could just pop out the battery, and reinsert when you go on the move.

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Racer X
and if you used a laptop plugged in all the time, you could just pop out the battery, and reinsert when you go on the move.

My Magsafe fell out while reading this comment.

nothing to be ashamed of. thats between you and your partner.

So I should not leave my infrequently-used laptops (MBA, MBP) on the chargers? If asleep? If shut down? I always assumed leaving them plugged in was a good idea.

/Mr Lynn

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mrlynn
So I should not leave my infrequently-used laptops (MBA, MBP) on the chargers? If asleep? If shut down? I always assumed leaving them plugged in was a good idea.

/Mr Lynn

Me too. I have been using my 2015 MBP since new, plugged in nearly 90% of the time. But I guess if you never use the battery then you will never know that it is not good anymore.

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OWC Larry
I would concur - laptops utilized as desktops with infrequent travel see battery longevity in the tank. On used laptops from students - we do see high battery cycles on healthy batteries cause being used as a laptop.

Larry, could you clarify these sentences a bit?

thanks, Lorin