So we can turn off Big Sur’s optimized charging when we need 100% battery out of our habit

With macOS Big Sur, optimized charging reaches Macs. Thanks to this system, the computer ensures that the battery is kept 100% charged for as little time as possible, which gradually reduces its life. This skincare is definitely great news, but when we need to get our Mac out of our way 100%, it’s important that we can turn it off.

Optimized load yes, but today better no

With Optimized Charging, our Mac learns when we usually charge our Mac to keep the battery charged efficiently. Using historical data, the system can reduce the maximum capacity of the battery to prevent wear. In some cases, however, especially if the need for charging exceeds our normal usage, we may turn off the feature and ensure the battery is at its maximum capacity. The steps are very simple:

1. In the Apple menu () we choose System Preferences.
2. We entered Drums.
3. We touch Drums in the sidebar *.
4. Uncheck Optimized load.
5. We choose Deactivate until tomorrow.

So, with this simple step, we can make sure that our Mac, for 24 hours, will charge its battery to the maximum possible. Of course, in step five, we can just choose Deactivate, so all this anti-aging battery system will stop working. In general, except in very specific and almost exceptional cases, we recommend to keep the optimized load activated.

Does this have a significant impact on the load capacity? An interesting question. By turning off optimized charging on a specific day, will we save three hours of extra battery? Rather not. The system will depend a lot on the health of the battery and how we use it, but the corrections it applies to not overcharging the battery are quite low. We can expect the Mac to last as long as possible on its battery, but we don’t expect too much of an improvement either.

It is clear that if battery improvements do not come from the hardware part, the solutions to their aging and other limitations will come from the hand of the software. With iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, this system has reached all Apple devices, undoubtedly good news for the care of our batteries.