Are you trying to find the MacBook battery health information screen, but it is not showing in the battery window, in System Preferences? This is because this maximum capacity feature of macOS Big Sur is only available for Mac M1. You can check the current battery power of an Intel-based Macbook against its design capacity, but only using a third-party app!
How to Check Macbook Battery Health
For a better estimate, you should check how much power a used MacBook battery can still store relative to its design capacity. This is defined by Apple as, Battery health.
On Mac M1
The new M1 Macbooks are capable of displaying battery health information, similar to that of iPhones and iPads. All you have to do is:
- Open System Preferences from the Dock or via Spotlight Search.
- Click on Battery.
- To select Battery, in the left sidebar, below Usage history.
- Open Battery health …
- Check the value next to the Maximum Capacity label.
Advice: As long as this value is above 80%, it means that the MacBook battery is able to operate at normal settings.
On Intel-based Macs
Unfortunately, macOS Big Sur does not provide battery health information for Intel-based MacBooks. What you can do is download and use third-party software, like coconut battery.
At the time of writing, this app is free and can be downloaded from: coconut-flavor.com.
- Double click on the Coconut Drum File available in Downloads.
- Click on Open, to confirm that you want to run the application.
- Check the value displayed under the Design capability label.
Made: The app also displays battery charge cycles, date of manufacture, temperature, current charge and more. You also have a History section that tracks the design capacity values of the battery over time.
Advice: CocoBattery can also be downloaded on M1 Macbooks. Compare the built-in macOS Maximum capacity value, with the Design capability reading provided by this third-party application? Do they match? Otherwise, you might be dealing with Use the comments section and let us know.
Made: A slew of readers have reported that their brand new M1 Macbooks are showing weird battery health readings. You can read more about it here.
How to Check Macbook Battery Charge Cycles
The number of battery cycles can be found in the System information application for M1 and Intel machines:
- Open System information using Spotlight Search (use the Combo cmd + space and type “system information”).
- Click on Power, found in the Equipment section, of the vertical sidebar.
- Check the Number of cycles value, available in the Battery Information section.
Advice: According to Apple, a modern Macbook battery (2010 or later) is considered consumed when it reaches 1000 charge cycles.
Made: Charge cycles are a good indicator of how much charge your laptop is using. However, they are not entirely relevant because, like all other laptops, MacBooks can also be used plugged in most of the time. This will keep the number of battery cycles low! Always check the cycle count and battery health values for a complete overview!
Related: Check out this trick to find the number of battery cycles for any iPhone!