Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks

When you use your Mac notebook, its battery goes through charge cycles. A charge cycle happens when you use all of the battery’s power—but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge.

For example, you could use half of your notebook's charge in one day, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two. In this way, it might take several days to complete a cycle.

Batteries have a limited amount of charge cycles before their performance is expected to diminish. Once the cycle count is reached, a replacement battery is recommended to maintain performance. You can use your battery after it reaches its maximum cycle count, but you might notice a reduction in your battery life. 

Knowing how many charge cycles your battery has and how many are left can help you determine when a battery replacement is required. Your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original charge capacity at its maximum cycle count. For best performance, replace your battery when you reach its maximum cycle count.  

Follow these steps to access information about your Mac notebook battery, including its cycle count:

1. Hold the Option key and click the Apple  menu. Choose System Information.
2. Under the Hardware section of the System Information window, select Power. The current cycle count is listed under the Battery Information section.
   

Cycle count limits vary between Mac models. For help identifying your Mac notebook, use the Tech Specs page or these articles: 

• Identify your MacBook
• Identify your MacBook Air
• Identify your MacBook Pro

Use the table below to see the cycle count limit for your computer's battery. The battery is considered consumed once it reaches the limit.

See these resources for more information about the batteries in your Apple notebook.

• Apple Batteries website
• Why Lithium-ion?
• About Mac notebook batteries