What is MacBook Battery Cycle Count?

The life expectancy of your MacBook battery relies on its battery cycle count. Once your MacBook battery cycle count has reached its limit, it is considered drained. Although there are times when it may still work, the battery life will deplete significantly, an obvious sign that you need a MacBook battery replacement.

Now, what exactly is MacBook battery cycle count? How do you calculate it? How will you know you’ve reached its maximum limit? In this post, we’ll try our best to answer all your questions. We’ll begin with how to calculate your MacBook battery cycle.

How to Calculate Your MacBook Battery Cycle

To calculate your MacBook’s battery cycle, you’ll have to observe your battery power usage, but not necessarily on one complete charging cycle.

For instance, if your MacBook is fully charged at 100% and you use half of it, and later on, you decide to fully charge it again and then use another half of the battery, the battery cycle should be equal to one. The equation should be: 50% + 50% = 100% (one battery cycle).

Here’s another example. If you use 10% of your MacBook’s battery life then charge it again and again to 100% ten times, it should still be equal to one battery cycle. The equation is: 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% = 100%.

How to Identify Your MacBook’s Current Battery Cycle Count

Here’s how to find out your MacBook’s current battery cycle count, for people using High Sierra :

1. Go to Apple Menu > About This Mac > System Report.
2. Click Hardware.
3. Look for Power. Under the Battery Information, look for Health Information and view Cycle Count.

What is the Maximum Limit of Your MacBook Pro Battery Cycle Count?

It is great that you know your MacBook’s current battery cycle. However, it would help you preserve your battery better if you know its limitations. Apple sets every MacBook’s battery cycle count limit to give you a clear idea of its life expectancy. For more details, check it here.

Important Reminders

This article is only meant to give you an idea of your MacBook’s battery life expectancy. If it is performing poorly despite not reaching the limit set by Apple yet, you can take it to the nearest Apple iStore or contact an Apple Support Specialist.

If your MacBook’s battery is functioning well, but you still experience performance issues, you might consider using a cleaning software like Outbyte macAries to identify and remove slowing factors. Make sure this tool aligns with your performance optimization needs.