I'm wondering what the average battery life is for a MacBook Air M4 that's less than a year old. I purchased mine in October, but I've mostly used it plugged in at home with an external monitor. Recently, I've started using it away from home and I'm finding it hard to get more than 4 hours out of the battery while doing basic tasks like using a word processor and browsing the web. Does this battery performance seem normal for a newer laptop?
3 Answers
It’s interesting to note that macOS 26 seems to have impacted M4 battery life. Have you checked your battery health and cycle count? It could help diagnose what's going on here.
I’m not sure about the M4, but my M1 Pro MacBook is good for a full day of work. Might want to check what apps you’re running.
Are you using Chrome? That can be a major battery hog.
I'm still on the Sequoia version. My battery health is listed as normal with a cycle count of 72. What does the cycle count indicate? Do you think there might be a defect with my battery? I've always kept it plugged in, so I never thought about testing its life.