Apple changes default MacBook charging behavior to improve battery health

Post by zozbot234 » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 1:47 AM UTC

Razengan wrote: post #198

rubber_duck wrote: post #53

I got a top spec 15 MBP a year ago and I have to say the experience is appalling - 4000$ device that goes full airplane takeoff levels of noise at any serious workload, no ability to control performance (I would gladly throttle the CPU sooner to avoid everyone in the office turning my way when I start an emulator or keep the fans at lower RPM but constantly instead of letting the CPU idle at 60-70 degrees with no fan…

The core thermal management of macOS seems to be better than Windows: https://youtu.be/LGOmbNRlZdM?t=495 (8:15) And I've always gotten better battery life on average on MacBooks than other laptops, and in macOS than in Windows on the same Mac. The problem is when there are bugs (of which there are many) in the other higher-level daemons and third-party apps that get stuck in some task and cause the CPU to unnecessari…

Post by Razengan » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 1:58 AM UTC

zozbot234 wrote: post #201

Razengan wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The core thermal management of macOS seems to be better than Windows: https://youtu.be/LGOmbNRlZdM?t=495 (8:15) And I've always gotten better battery life on average on MacBooks than other laptops, and in macOS than in Windows on the same Mac. The problem is when there are bugs (of which there are many) in the other higher-level daemons and third-party apps that get stuck in some task and cause the CPU to unnecessari…

Running at 95C all the time is not "better".

Post by aaron_m04 » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 2:02 AM UTC

knodi123 wrote: post #73

ratww wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been explained that this is because those computers might need more power than the AC Charger is able to provide, so the battery is also used as a "backup" for burst loads. This [1] seems to confirm it. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20081225111200/http://support.ap...

ha, well I've noticed my battery discharges if I play Civ 6, even when plugged in. so that confirms it too.

Post by floatrock » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 2:25 AM UTC

Zak wrote: post #191

floatrock wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the clarification, the analogy clearly isn't very good. Out of curiosity, have you found a better ELI5 analogy that doesn't bend over backwards with a rube goldberg setup of pipes and waterflow? I've struggled explaining this phenomenon to people buying EV's, where charging behavior become a regular thing people need to figure out.

Well, if they're familiar with beer, and sophisticated enough to pour it into a glass: poured very quickly, the beer will develop a large head that overflows the glass, but pouring slowly creates a smaller head (or none, but don't do that). There's not more beer, but it fills more space temporarily when poured faster.

Post by hombre_fatal » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 2:27 AM UTC

knodi123 wrote: post #73

ratww wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been explained that this is because those computers might need more power than the AC Charger is able to provide, so the battery is also used as a "backup" for burst loads. This [1] seems to confirm it. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20081225111200/http://support.ap...

ha, well I've noticed my battery discharges if I play Civ 6, even when plugged in. so that confirms it too.