Apple introduced a new feature called "Battery State Management" on most modern MacBooks. It will be available for developers today and will be included in future macOS Catalina 10.15.5 updates.
Basically, the new feature is intended to extend the overall life of your laptop battery by reducing the rate of chemical aging. In some cases, the battery may not be fully charged. Fully charging the battery puts a strain on its life span over time. Some phones now avoid 100% charge until they wake up for this reason.
What laptops mean is that in certain cases, having a 100% battery life in the menu bar doesn't necessarily mean that you can fully charge the battery. The battery is not charged to 100% of what it can occupy, but now it is charged to 100% of the battery. should Maximize life.
Apple said it won't have a significant impact on battery life, but it won't reveal how much charge can be reduced.
You may not have to worry anyway because Apple is working on a strategy aimed at targets affected by this change. Use your MacBook's device charging and battery temperature history to see if this feature can significantly extend battery life.
This feature applies to all MacBooks that support Thunderbolt 3 and includes MacBook Pro after 2016 and MacBook Air models after 2018.
For example, if you are a user who tends to connect laptops almost always, always keeping your battery 100% charged is a way to shorten your life. Apple said the various factors involved in managing battery health, such as ambient temperature, processor load, and charging patterns, will influence the decision of the computer.
Apple says this feature is turned on by default, but users can go to the power settings of macOS to turn it off. All data from the battery health management function is collected and analyzed locally, and information is only sent to Apple if you choose to share the analysis. Even Apple says the data will remain anonymous.
I can't overemphasize it, but people are relying on laptops more than ever during the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, and they may have been plugged in for longer than ever before. This means that this update may help make your MacBook last longer. It is also adaptive, so if the charging pattern is changed, the function is adjusted to match.
Apple's announcement was announced as an unexpected explosion this season, as the COVID-19 epidemic prevented companies from generally holding spectacular product launch events. Apple released the updated MacBook Air last month and just launched the iPhone iPad yesterday.
The latest version of macOS, Catalina, was released in October. Added support for ported iOS apps, split iTunes into several smaller services, and included an easy way to use iPad as a secondary display. This update also included some frustration, such as a strong security prompt that the app had to request permission to perform basic tasks like folder access or accessibility features.
The epidemic may slow down the company's timing, but Apple will release the next version of macOS in June. The company has already said WWDC, the annual developer conference, will be an online event this year. Apple hasn't set a specific date yet, but it will start in June. Apple is still planning to give an online keynote to preview what will be announced and what's next in the software.