Battery Charging Patterns on M4 Pro MBP

I got my M4 MBP on the 26th of September this year. I have left it plugged in every day since I got it, except for Saturdays, when I need to use it outside my home. After which, when I get home, I immediately put it back on the charger. The system recognized just last week that I'm rarely using it on battery and keeps the laptop at 80%.


However, on this past Saturday, I took the laptop out at a battery level of 80%, came back, and plugged it in. Since then, the battery has been charging to 100%, dropping to 80% and then repeating this process every time it is restarted. This was not an issue when it first recognized my pattern, where it would just constantly remain at 80%.


My question is: is this normal? Why the sudden change of charging pattern?

And just this past day, it has increased my cycle count from 3 to 5.

Is this a cause of concern? And what can i do about it?


Thanks

Robin

Posted on Nov 2, 2025 5:02 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 2, 2025 6:56 PM

Apple suggests (but does not warrant) that a battery may last as long as 1,000 cycles. You have no problem whatsoever.


Catalina software 10.15.5 and later for MacBook Pro with T2 chip (2018 models and later) and all Apple-Silicon MacBooks includes a feature called Battery Health Management. Now, based on your usage patterns, this widens the hysteresis to initiate a charge cycle at a lower level, and stop well before 99 percent. 


About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

About battery health management in Mac laptops - Apple Support


Battery Health Management feature tracks your usage history and detects that you do not generally run your battery down to low levels. So when you see less than 100 percent as a full charge, it is charging less than the highest level for longest battery lifetime.


NOTE that charging to 80 percent is a side-effect, NOT the GOAL.


The goal is to have some hurly-burly (percolating activity) around using your battery, either by your actually using it, or by leaving it less than fully charged, so that the cells are not 100 percent charged 100 percent of the time. Battery Health Management will also from time-to-time let the battery decline slightly to 'get some exercise' and run lower (thought to be around twice monthly) if you do not do so by your ordinary use.


The feature tracks you actual usage. If you continue to not require 100 percent charge for a few weeks, it generally will revert to a lower "full" level. but it takes some experience, which takes some time


If your recent usage patterns demand top battery capacity, the battery will charge completely to be sure you are not stuck out in the wild with no power.


Executive summary: “If you keep your Mac plugged in continuously for several days, it will start pausing the charge at 80%. If you run a small amount of the time on battery, it will keep doing that. If you run some of the time on battery, it will charge to 100%.” © 2025 neuroanatomist



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 2, 2025 6:56 PM in response to Trilith

Apple suggests (but does not warrant) that a battery may last as long as 1,000 cycles. You have no problem whatsoever.


Catalina software 10.15.5 and later for MacBook Pro with T2 chip (2018 models and later) and all Apple-Silicon MacBooks includes a feature called Battery Health Management. Now, based on your usage patterns, this widens the hysteresis to initiate a charge cycle at a lower level, and stop well before 99 percent. 


About battery health management in Mac notebooks - Apple Support

About battery health management in Mac laptops - Apple Support


Battery Health Management feature tracks your usage history and detects that you do not generally run your battery down to low levels. So when you see less than 100 percent as a full charge, it is charging less than the highest level for longest battery lifetime.


NOTE that charging to 80 percent is a side-effect, NOT the GOAL.


The goal is to have some hurly-burly (percolating activity) around using your battery, either by your actually using it, or by leaving it less than fully charged, so that the cells are not 100 percent charged 100 percent of the time. Battery Health Management will also from time-to-time let the battery decline slightly to 'get some exercise' and run lower (thought to be around twice monthly) if you do not do so by your ordinary use.


The feature tracks you actual usage. If you continue to not require 100 percent charge for a few weeks, it generally will revert to a lower "full" level. but it takes some experience, which takes some time


If your recent usage patterns demand top battery capacity, the battery will charge completely to be sure you are not stuck out in the wild with no power.


Executive summary: “If you keep your Mac plugged in continuously for several days, it will start pausing the charge at 80%. If you run a small amount of the time on battery, it will keep doing that. If you run some of the time on battery, it will charge to 100%.” © 2025 neuroanatomist



Battery Charging Patterns on M4 Pro MBP

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