Apple's Next macOS Update Could Extend the Lifespan of Your MacBook's Battery

With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that allowed you to set a charge limit on your iPhone. The goal was to extend the lifespan of the battery, by limiting how often you fully charge it up. Batteries age with each full charging cycle, so by preventing your battery from charging to 100% every time you keep it plugged in, you can slow down that aging process, which means your device will last longer in between charges.

Now, that same feature is coming to your Mac. Apple is currently testing the feature as part of macOS 26.4, which means you'll soon be able to ask macOS to stop charging your laptop once the battery level hits a specific charge level. This feature is great for anyone that keeps their MacBook plugged in all the time while working: It'll allow you to ask your MacBook to stop charging when the battery is at 80%, or at any charge level up to 100%.

Battery optimization is nothing new for macOS

To be clear, your MacBook ships with a battery optimization feature already, which is enabled by default. This feature automatically slows down your MacBook's charging speed once the charge level reaches 80%. Based on your past usage habits, macOS waits to continue charging your MacBook until it thinks you'll need to use the laptop again. So, if you plug in your MacBook at night, and you typically take it off the charger at 8 a.m., it might keep your MacBook at 80% until 7 a.m., then charge the extra 20% over the following hour.

You can check if it's enabled by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen, and going to System Settings > Battery. Click the i button next to Battery Health and you'll see that Optimized Battery Charging is enabled.

But this is all automated, based on how you use your MacBook. What makes this new charging feature different is that you set the charge limit manually. That way, if you work with your MacBook plugged in all day, it doesn't need to charge to 100% whenever it thinks it should. Instead, you can keep it at any charge limit between 80% and 100%.

How to enable charge limit on your MacBook

This new feature is available with macOS 26.4, which is currently available in the Developer Beta channel for Mac updates. I strongly recommend against installing this on your primary MacBook, as issues with the beta could mean losing data or bricking your laptop. Unless Apple decides to pull the feature, it should ship to everyone with the general release of macOS 26.4.

If you have a spare MacBook where you've installed macOS 26.4 beta, you can go to System Settings > Battery, where you'll see the "Charge Limit" feature listed under Battery Health. Here, you can manually limit the maximum charging level between 80% and 100%.

Third-party battery management apps are better

While Apple's methods to reduce battery aging are good enough for most people, you can do a lot more with third-party battery management apps. Those apps will allow you to do more than just set a charge limit. For instance, you can start charging the Mac when the battery hits 50% and stop charging when it's at 80%, or stop charging if the battery is too hot.