Apple Developing New Battery Health Management Feature For MacBooks

Battery life is an important consideration when looking for laptops to buy and take to work outside the home and the office. Devices with short battery life won't last very long, and will almost always require users to look for a wall outlet to top up.

MacBooks aren't any different in this regard. The batteries on these devices last long, but varying user behaviors when it comes to charging them tend to shorten the life of the batteries. Thankfully, Apple is working on a new feature that will help with that.

Apple will be adding a new Battery Health Management feature in a future macOS update, iPhoneHacks reported. The feature is already included in the new macOS 10.15.5 developer preview, and is giving developers a quick look at how it can help extend the MacBook battery's life. It can be expected to reach consumers when development is complete.

How it works

As per SixColors, which first reported about the feature, Apple's Battery Health Management feature extends battery life by doing two things:

First, the feature will monitor a user's battery charging habits. It will check whether the MacBook's battery tends to get drained frequently then recharged fully, or if the MacBook is mostly plugged in to keep the battery full. It will also monitor the battery's temperature over time.

Next, Battery Health Management will limit or reduce the battery's maximum charge based on the user's charging habits and the battery temperature data acquired. The feature will make sure that the battery will be charged to a level that is optimized for the MacBook's usage patterns.

Apple explained that the feature will do this to slow down the battery's chemical aging process. It said that a battery's lifespan depends on its chemical age, which is affected by several factors including the charging pattern and temperature history.

Although the feature is designed to help extend the MacBook battery's lifespan, it will not allow the battery to be fully charged. SixColors noted that it might limit charges to 80%, which means users won't be able to expect long battery life per charge. Those who want to fully charge their MacBooks before heading out can simply turn the feature off if they want to.