I have a MacBook Air M4, when the battery is at 100% and is connected to the current, the energy it consumes comes directly from the current and not from the battery? If so, does this prevent charging cycles from being consumed?
MacBook Air 13″
Generally speaking, yes on both accounts.
Here is Apple's guidance on the subject of battery care:
Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple Support
About battery health management in Mac laptops - Apple Support
If battery charging is paused or on hold on your Mac - Apple Support
To get the most from your battery:
• Let the OS and charging circuits manage the charging.
• Plug in when using the computer near available power.
• Use on battery when ac is unavailable or when you must be mobile.
• Don’t subject the computer and battery to extreme temperatures.
• Don’t allow the battery to regularly discharge deeply before plugging in. Yes, it may happen from time to time, just don't make it a habit.
Generally speaking, yes on both accounts.
Here is Apple's guidance on the subject of battery care:
Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple Support
About battery health management in Mac laptops - Apple Support
If battery charging is paused or on hold on your Mac - Apple Support
To get the most from your battery:
• Let the OS and charging circuits manage the charging.
• Plug in when using the computer near available power.
• Use on battery when ac is unavailable or when you must be mobile.
• Don’t subject the computer and battery to extreme temperatures.
• Don’t allow the battery to regularly discharge deeply before plugging in. Yes, it may happen from time to time, just don't make it a habit.
Apple doesn't document the power management details, particularly around the margins of charge and draw.
IIRC, some of the Intel Macs drew enough power at peak load than they needed to draw from the battery. I do not know if that is the case with any Apple silicon laptops.
Maybe the add-on AlDente app might interest you here, or the open source Github project actuallymentor / battery
project? (How well either works in general, I do not know.) The built-in powermetrics command-line command might also be helpful for gathering some data, too.
One more Apple link: About Power Modes on your Mac - Apple Support
Thank you for the validation and tips!
You're welcome.
How does MacBook Air M4 power management work
