“Battery life” is the amount of time your device runs before it needs to be recharged. “Battery lifespan” is the amount of time your battery lasts until it needs to be replaced. Maximize both and you’ll get the most out of your Apple devices, no matter which ones you own.
Apple software updates often include advanced energy-saving technologies, so always make sure your device is using the latest version of iOS, macOS, or watchOS.
Apple Mac Pro Battery Life
Avoid extreme ambient temperatures.
The top 25 laptop battery life performers from CNET Labs. Based on the extensive battery testing. The 2012 MacBook Air, which is near the top of the heap running OS X, delivers pitiful battery life on Windows 7. The difference is more than two hours of productivity: 6:34 on OS X, 4:28 on Windows.
Most current Macs (MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros) use batteries assessed as having 1,000 battery cycles. That’s pretty much good enough for at least three years of regular use.
Apple's estimates are always based on light web usage with the screen brightness turned down, so if you like a bright screen, brightly-lit keyboard, and are downloading gigs and gigs of data, be prepared for notably less than the advertised battery life.
The poor battery life is one of the major concerns when it comes to Apple devices. In June 2019, the Cupertino firm launched a battery replacement program for 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (2015 and 2017 models) due to battery failure issues.
Your device is designed to perform well in a wide range of ambient temperatures, with 62° to 72° F (16° to 22° C) as the ideal comfort zone. It’s especially important to avoid exposing your device to ambient temperatures higher than 95° F (35° C), which can permanently damage battery capacity. That is, your battery won’t power your device as long on a given charge. Charging the device in high ambient temperatures can damage it further. Software may limit charging above 80% when the recommended battery temperatures are exceeded. Even storing a battery in a hot environment can damage it irreversibly. When using your device in a very cold environment, you may notice a decrease in battery life, but this condition is temporary. Once the battery’s temperature returns to its normal operating range, its performance will return to normal as well.
iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple Watch Comfort Zone
95° F
iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple Watch work best at 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C) ambient temperatures. Storage temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C).
MacBook Comfort Zone
95° F
MacBook works best at 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C) ambient temperatures. Storage temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C).
Remove certain cases during charging.
Charging your device when it’s inside certain styles of cases may generate excess heat, which can affect battery capacity. If you notice that your device gets hot when you charge it, take it out of its case first. For Apple Watch Edition models, make sure the cover of the magnetic charging case is off.
Store it half-charged when you store it long term.
If you want to store your device long term, two key factors will affect the overall health of your battery: the environmental temperature and the percentage of charge on the battery when it’s powered down for storage. Therefore, we recommend the following:
Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device’s battery — charge it to around 50%. If you store a device when its battery is fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding a charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life.
Power down the device to avoid additional battery use.
Place your device in a cool, moisture-free environment that’s less than 90° F (32° C).
If you plan to store your device for longer than six months, charge it to 50% every six months.
Depending on how long you store your device, it may be in a low-battery state when you remove it from long-term storage. After it’s removed from storage, it may require 20 minutes of charging with the original adapter before you can use it.
Tips for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Update to the latest software.
Always make sure your device is using the latest version of iOS.
If you are using iOS 5 or later, see if you need an update. Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
If an update is available, you can plug your device into a power source and update wirelessly or plug it into your computer and update with the latest version of iTunes.
Optimize your settings.
There are two simple ways you can preserve battery life — no matter how you use your device: adjust your screen brightness and use Wi‑Fi.
Dim the screen or turn on Auto-Brightness to extend battery life.
To dim, open Control Center and drag the Brightness slider to the bottom.
Auto-Brightness adjusts your screen to lighting conditions automatically. To activate it, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations and set Auto-Brightness to On.
When you use your device to access data, a Wi‑Fi connection uses less power than a cellular network — so keep Wi‑Fi on at all times. To turn on Wi‑Fi, go to Settings > Wi‑Fi to access a Wi‑Fi network.
Enable Low Power Mode.
Introduced with iOS 9, Low Power Mode is an easy way to extend the battery life of your iPhone when it starts to get low. Your iPhone lets you know when your battery level goes down to 20%, and again at 10%, and lets you turn on Low Power Mode with one tap. Or you can enable it by going to Settings > Battery. Low Power Mode reduces display brightness, optimizes device performance, and minimizes system animations. Apps including Mail will not download content in the background, and features like AirDrop, iCloud sync, and Continuity will be disabled. You can still use key functions like making and receiving phone calls, email, and messages, accessing the Internet, and more. And when your phone charges up again, Low Power Mode automatically switches off.
View Battery Usage information
With iOS, you can easily manage your device’s battery life, because you can see the proportion of your battery used by each app (unless the device is charging). To view your usage, go to Settings > Battery.
Here are the messages you may see listed below the apps you’ve been using:
Background Activity. This indicates that the battery was used by the app while it was in the background — that is, while you were using another app.
To improve battery life, you can turn off the feature that allows apps to refresh in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi & Cellular Data, or Off to turn off Background App Refresh entirely.
If the Mail app lists Background Activity, you can choose to fetch data manually or increase the fetch interval. Go to Settings > Accounts & Passwords > Fetch New Data.
Location and Background Location. This indicates that the app is using location services.
You can optimize your battery life by turning off Location Services for the app. Turn off in Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
In Location Services, you can see each app listed with its permission setting. Apps that recently used location services have an indicator next to the on/off switch.
Home & Lock Screen. This indicates that the Home screen or Lock screen was displayed on your device. For example, the display was awakened by pressing the Home button or by a notification.
If an app frequently wakes your display with notifications, you can turn off push notifications for the app in Settings > Notifications. Tap the app and set Allow Notifications to Off.
No Cell Coverage and Low Signal. This indicates either that you are in a poor cell coverage area and your iOS device is searching for a better signal or that you’ve used your device in low-signal conditions, which has affected your battery life.
You can optimize your battery life by turning on Airplane mode. Open Control Center and tap the Airplane mode icon. Note that you cannot make or receive calls while in Airplane mode.
Plug in and power on your computer to charge your device.
Make sure your computer is plugged in and powered on when you’re using it to charge your iOS device via USB. If your device is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, your device’s battery may drain. Note that iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS cannot be charged with a FireWire power adapter or FireWire-based car charger.
Tips for Apple Watch
Update to the latest software.
Always make sure your Apple Watch is using the latest version of watchOS.
To see if you need an update, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and go to My Watch > General > Software Update.
If an update is available, connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi, attach the charger to your Apple Watch (make sure it has at least 50% charge), and update wirelessly.
Adjust your settings.
There are a few ways you can preserve battery life on your Apple Watch:
During running and walking workouts, turn on Power Saving Mode to disable the heart rate sensor. To do this, open the Apple Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > Workout, and turn on Power Saving Mode. Note that when the heart rate sensor is off, calorie burn calculations may not be as accurate.
For longer workouts, you can choose to use a Bluetooth chest strap instead of the built-in heart rate sensor. To pair the Bluetooth chest strap with your watch, make sure the strap is in pairing mode, then open Settings on Apple Watch, select Bluetooth, and choose from the list of Health Devices.
If you’re very active with your hands and your watch display turns on more than you think it should, you can prevent the display from turning on every time you raise your wrist. Open Settings on Apple Watch, select General, select Wake Screen, and turn Wake Screen on Wrist Raise off. When you want to turn on the display, just tap it or press the Digital Crown.
Disabling Bluetooth on your iPhone increases the battery drain on your Apple Watch. For more power-efficient communication between the devices, keep Bluetooth enabled on iPhone.
View Battery Usage information
To view your usage and standby information, open the Apple Watch app on iPhone and go to My Watch > General > Usage.
Plug in and power on your computer to charge your Apple Watch.
If you want to charge from your computer, make sure it is plugged in and powered on when you’re using it to charge your Apple Watch via USB. If your Apple Watch is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, the Apple Watch battery may drain.
If your Apple Watch battery needs service, use Apple or an authorized service provider.
Tips for iPod shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod classic
Update to the latest software.
Always make sure your iPod is using the latest version of Apple software. Put your iPod in its dock or plug it into your computer, and iTunes will notify you of available updates.
Optimize your settings.
Hold and pause. Set the Hold switch when you’re not using your iPod. This will prevent iPod from accidentally waking up and using unnecessary power. If you’re not listening to your iPod, pause it, or turn it off by pressing the Play button for two seconds.
Equalizer (EQ). Adding EQ to playback increases use of your iPod processor, since EQ isn’t encoded in the song. Turn EQ off if you don’t use it. If, however, you’ve added EQ to tracks in iTunes, you’ll need to set EQ to “flat” in order to have the effect of “off,” because iPod keeps your iTunes settings intact.
Backlight. Setting the backlight to “always on” will significantly reduce your battery life. Use the backlight only when necessary.
Plug in and power on your computer to charge your iPod.
Make sure your computer is plugged in and powered on when you’re using it to charge your iPod via USB. If your iPod is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, the iPod battery may drain.
Tips for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
Update to the latest software.
Always make sure your MacBook is using the latest version of macOS. If you’re connected to the Internet, macOS automatically checks for software updates every week, but you still control when the updates are installed. To confirm that you’re using the latest software, go to the Apple menu and choose Software Update.
Optimize your settings.
Energy. The Energy Saver preference pane includes several settings that determine power levels for your MacBook. Your MacBook knows when it’s plugged in and runs accordingly. When using battery power, it dims the screen and uses other components sparingly. If you change this setting to maximize performance, your battery will drain more quickly.
Brightness. Dim the screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve maximum battery life. For instance, when watching a video on an airplane, you may not need full brightness if the cabin lights are off.
Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi consumes power, even if you are not using it to connect to a network. You can turn it off in the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar or in Network preferences.
Applications and peripherals. Disconnect peripherals and quit applications not in use. Eject an SD card if you’re not currently accessing it.
Plug in and power on your MacBook to charge other devices.
Make sure your MacBook is plugged in and powered on when you’re using it to charge other devices via USB. Otherwise those devices may drain the battery in your MacBook faster than normal. If another device is connected to your MacBook when it’s turned off or in sleep or standby mode, the device’s battery may drain.
All MacBooks have batteries. Unfortunately, they just don't last forever, and will degrade over time. If you have your computer for more than a few years, you will undoubtedly notice your MacBook battery draining fast, or at least faster than it used to.
Apple's battery life estimates are based on reduced screen brightness, browsing the web or checking mail, running applications have a high Average Energy Impact, etc. Suddenly, you notice you can barely watch a movie or write a paper without finding an outlet to plug into. If you've got the screen at 100%, are downloading gigs with poor Wi-Fi, and playing a game while you do it, your battery life will be substantially less.
Best battery-savers for Mac
Get a huge set of top apps to make your MacBook battery last longer. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go!
Here we'll tell you how to optimize Mac battery life for any MacBook, how to manage your battery before it starts draining, and which apps or services may be causing problems for your Mac's battery.
Why is your Mac draining faster than normal?
There are two main culprits for your Mac battery drain: hardware, and software.
As a battery ages, it loses capacity, and can't hold the same lifespan it used to. Apps and your operating system can also contribute to poor battery life. The more a battery is taxed via apps and processes, the more it works, and faster it drains.
Multitasking and overuse
Your Mac may be suffering from too many apps or services running at once. This happens most often when we fail to close apps after using them.
To check on the apps in-use by your Mac, open Activity Monitor on your Mac. It gives you a look, in real-time, which apps are utilizing your resources. You can monitor CPU use, memory allocation, disk, network, and energy use, which shows which app or apps are draining your battery fastest.
Check and change Battery settings
Macs come with an energy saving function, the same as any iPhone. Switch to energy saving mode either directly through the battery (in the top toolbar) or in System Preferences > Energy Saver to stop the dreaded mid-day battery drain.
Mac is plugged in but not charging
This seems bad, but there are a few causes for this issue. It may be your power cord, or power brick. Try a different cable or power source before you do anything else. Also, ensure wherever you're plugging your laptop in has power flowing to it; sometimes outlets need their fuse toggled off and on!
Check to see if there's anything in your Mac's power port that may be blocking the cable from connecting properly. It's also a good idea to see if your Mac has an operating system update available. Modern macOS builds have tweaks for power management, and yours may benefit from an update. A simple restart may help, too.
Mac Battery Cycle Count
If those things fail, you need to get your Mac looked at by a professional. When all else fails, make an appointment with a Genius at your local Apple Store.
The battery doesn't charge to 100
A probable cause here is the age of your battery, but resetting your Mac's System Management Controller (SMC) may also help.
To do that, power your MacBook off. Hold down the Shift+Control+Option keys for ten seconds, then release. Power your MacBook on – this resets your SMC.
To check the finer details of your Mac's battery via the SMC, simply hold down the Option key, then choose “About This Mac” from your Mac's menu. This brings up a completely different menu from the one you're used to. Under the “Hardware” section, select “Power.”
This tells you all sorts of information about your battery, including whether it's healthy or not. If your battery is okay, its status will say “normal.” If it says anything else – like 'poor' – it's time for a replacement battery.
'Replace soon' or 'Replace now' battery message
If you see this, make sure to follow the steps above to check your battery health via the SMC. If your Mac is telling you your battery isn't normal, this is how to verify the popup is accurate.
Before heading to the Apple Store for a fix, try restarting your Mac. This is a great step when you see a 'replace' message, but the SMC says your battery is fine. A restart may cause the notification to go away. If not, head to the Apple
Mac Battery Diagnostic
How to extend your battery life
Keep an eye on your battery
Before you worry about replacing your Mac battery, monitor its day-to-day performance. Charge it fully, then unplug and see how long it takes to fully drain the battery with normal use.
In the top toolbar, you should see the battery percentage and time remaining until it needs a charge again. A Mac can display this in actual time - which can increase or reduce depending on the number of applications running at once - and a percentage of full charge available.
Another way, to monitor in more detail is with iStat Menus, available from Setapp. Not only will it alert you when battery performance and charging issues start to occur, but it can monitor CPU and GPU performance while also giving you a S.M.A.R.T. status monitor for a wide range of Mac features and applications.
Another great app is Endurance. Endurance helps your Mac run 20% longer. This app runs in the background and when your battery level drops to a certain level, it automatically starts adjusting your settings and turning off features which use a lot of energy. The best part about Endurance is that all of the above can be both absolutely automatic and entirely customizable.
Control network access
When apps are running, they're often set up to automatically connect to the web to make updates and backup, which drains battery life.
One way to prevent this is to use TripMode, which blocks network access unless the app is whitelisted. When an app needs to update or backup, you control access, which is especially helpful when travelling and you are using public Wi-Fi or tethering to an iPhone.
Clean your Mac
Over time, your Mac can become riddled with useless add-ons, duplicate files, apps you no longer use, and settings changes that diminish your Mac's performance.
One of the easiest ways to clean up a Mac is with CleanMyMac X. Used by over 3 million people around the world, On average, most Mac users find an extra 62GB of storage, which does wonders to battery performance and lifecycles. CleanMyMac X has a really handy Smart Scan feature that goes through your entire system, and helps you keep your Mac running at peak performance.
Conclusion
Your MacBook's battery is important, and keeping it running at its best is critical. After all, you bought a MacBook so you could do work without being plugged in all the time, right?!
That's why we've surfaced the best apps for managing your system and battery. Best of all, iStat Menus, CleanMyMac X, Endurance, and TripMode are all available for free via a seven day trial of Setapp. In addition to those four apps, you'll have unlimited access to nearly 200 other Mac apps. Once the trial is over, Setapp is only $9.99 per month – far more affordable than a MacBook battery replacement, which can cost almost as much as a new MacBook!
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