Connect with us

Technologies

10 Simple Ways to Improve Your MacBook’s Battery Life

We’ll tell you what to do to get more hours out of your trusty MacBook.

Apple’s current crop of MacBooks based on the company’s own M1 and M2 processors have better battery life than the previous Intel-based machines, but there are still some easy ways to extend your MacBook’s running time. If you’d like to improve the battery life, we’re here to say you don’t have to trail a bulky charger just to get through the day (although ancient laptop batteries may legitimately need to be replaced).

For most people, you can take a few minutes to adjust some settings to extend your laptop’s battery. Below, we’ll show you how to check its health, as well as cover tips like reducing keyboard and display brightness. We also make the case for using the Safari browser over Chrome.

Check your MacBook’s battery percentage

Keeping an eye on the remaining battery life won’t make it last any longer, but it can help you plot out how much work you can get done before you need to recharge. Click on the battery icon in the menu bar to see how the percentage of battery remaining. And if you’re running on AC power, it will give you an estimate for how long you need to continue charging the battery to bring it back 100% charged.

Here you can also see which apps, if any, are causing significant battery drain.

MacOS menu bar show remaining battery life

ou can see a lot of information just by clicking on the battery icon in the menu bar.

Matt Elliott/CNET

Check your MacBook’s battery health

Whether you buy a refurbished MacBook or you’ve been trying to squeeze every last ounce of life out of your aging MacBook, it’s a good idea to check your battery’s overall health. MacOS includes a tool that will tell you its potential capacity, and if you need to have it replaced.

macbook-battery-health

Check your MacBook’s Battery Health so you know when it’s time to get it replaced.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

To view your battery’s health report, click the battery icon in the menu bar, then select Battery Preferences. Next, make sure the Battery tab on the left side of the window is selected then click Battery Health. A window will pop up showing you the current condition as well as the max capacity. If you have questions or want to know more about what the status means, click the Learn More button to open an Apple support page that’s specific to your MacBook’s processor (Intel or Apple Silicon).

For those who want more insight into their MacBook’s battery history, you can view the number of charge cycles the battery has gone through. Click on the Apple icon in the upper-left corner, and then while holding in the Option key on your keyboard, click System Information. The System Information app will open, where you then need to find and select the Power section, and then look for Health Information. There you’ll see your battery’s health, capacity level and cycle count. For reference, check out Apple’s chart of the expected battery cycles. Most newer MacBook batteries have an expected life of 1,000 charge cycles, after which Apple suggests getting your battery replaced.

Optimize battery charging

If your MacBook is going to spend most of its time plugged in, you’ll definitely want to change this setting. MacOS can learn your charging habits to reduce battery aging. Click on the battery icon on the menu bar at the top of your display and select Battery Preferences from the drop-down menu as mentioned earlier. At the bottom of the list of options, select Optimized battery charging. This will slow down your charging once the battery hits 80%.

Save battery by dimming your display, optimize video streaming

Powering the display is the biggest drain on battery resources. So, first things first: Lower the brightness of your display to a level that’s comfortable for your eyes. The brighter your display, the shorter your battery life. You can also set the display to dim slightly on battery power and to shut off after a period of inactivity by going back to Battery Preferences.

There’s an option to slightly dim the screen when you’re on battery power, and to reduce battery drain when streaming video on battery power. I also suggest customizing how long your display will remain on to as short of an amount of time as you can. That way when your attention is elsewhere, your MacBook’s screen turns off completely, saving precious battery life.

img-1761

Apple’s M1 MacBooks have crazy battery life, but you can always tweak it.

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Kill keyboard backlights when not needed

A backlit keyboard is great for typing in the dark, but it can also drain your battery. You can set the keyboard backlights to turn off after a period of inactivity so that they’re on when you need them and off when you step away. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard. On the Keyboard tab, check the box for Turn keyboard backlight off after [X secs/min] of inactivity. Your options range from 5 seconds to 5 minutes.

I also suggest checking the box next to Adjust keyboard brightness in low light to ensure your custom brightness controls are preserved, regardless of how dim or bright the area you’re working in is.

MacBook keyboard backlight settings

Every little bit helps, right?

Matt Elliott/CNET

Turn off Bluetooth if you’re not using it

There is a good chance you won’t be carrying around a Bluetooth mouse or speaker when you leave your desk. With nothing to connect to, there is no point in having Bluetooth enabled. I recommend disabling the radio to conserve battery. Just click the Control Center icon in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth and click the switch to slide it to the Off position.

The only potential downside with disabling Bluetooth is that Apple’s Continuity feature, which allows you to quickly and easily share information between your iPhone or iPad and Mac, won’t work.

Consider switching from Chrome

If Chrome your main web browser, you might consider making the switch to Apple’s Safari browser. Chrome is a known resource hog, taking up precious memory, and by extension eating into a laptop’s battery life.

Apple’s battery life estimates for its MacBooks are calculated with Safari as the default web browser. If you’ve never used Safari as means to get around the web, you’ll be surprised at how capable it is. I personally use it as my main browser and rarely run into any issues, which wasn’t the case just a few short years ago.

MacOS Activity Monitor

Chrome can use more than its fair share of battery resources.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Keep current with software updates

Staying current with MacOS updates will help you get the best possible battery life. To check to see if an update is available for your MacBook, go to System Preferences > Software Update. While you’re there, check the box to Automatically keep my Mac up to date, and clicking the Advanced button will let you check for updates automatically, download them automatically or install them automatically.

Quit applications you’re no longer using

It’s best to close programs when you are done using them. This can be done by pressing the Command and Q keys at the same time, or click the program name in the menu bar and selecting the Quit option. To see how much energy each of your open applications is using, open the Activity Monitor and click the Energy tab or click the Battery icon in the menu bar.

Disconnect accessories after you’re done with them

As with Bluetooth, if you aren’t actively using a USB-connected device (such as a flash drive), you should unplug it to prevent battery drain. If the power cord isn’t connected, charging your smartphone or tablet via the MacBook’s USB port will also drain your battery.

If you’re looking for ways to get better performance out of your Mac, we have your back. We also have a long list of MacOS features that are easy to forget, but you need to know about. Before you forget, make sure to start backing up your Mac.

Technologies

The Apple Watch Series 11 Brings High Blood Pressure Alerts

Apple’s newest flagship watch can detect possible signs of hypertension.

The Apple Watch Series 11 made its debut at Apple’s «awe dropping» event in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, vying for a spot on your wrist with a mix of fresh updates including new hypertension notifications, sleep score analysis, 5G connectivity and increased battery life. 

With a decade of upgrades and refinements, the Series 11 represents a big move for Apple as it leans further into its health and fitness features across its Apple Watch lineup. Alongside the Series 11, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3, along with the new iPhone 17 lineup (including the brand new iPhone Air), and the latest generation of AirPods (Pro 3).

Both the Series 11 and the new Ultra 3 will ship with WatchOS 26, which Apple previewed at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings a cleaner «liquid glass» UI, live translation for text messages, a redesigned Notes app for your wrist and Workout Buddy; Apple’s new AI-powered companion that offers real-time motivation based on your personal metrics during certain workouts.

Pricing and availability

The Apple Watch Series 11 is available for preorder now and will hit stores on September 19. Pricing starts at $399 (£369, AU$679) for the 42mm aluminum Wi-Fi model, while the LTE version of the same watch runs $499. The titanium LTE version of the 42mm model is priced at $699.

New health features

The biggest addition is a feature that can notify you when you’re showing signs of hypertension or high blood pressure. The Apple Watch will send alerts if it notices consistent patterns over a 30-day period that could warrant a follow-up with a doctor, and then allow users to log their blood pressure on the Health app (from a cuff) to confirm. 

Another health upgrade is the new Sleep Score, which grades your sleep session on a scale of 1 to 100 or low to excellent. The watch doesn’t just hand you a number with no context; it breaks down your score and shows you factors that may be contributing like bedtime, sleep interruptions and duration, highlighting specific factors that may have impacted your sleep.

Design updates

Visually, the Series 11 looks much like the Series 10, with the same thin profile and edge-to-edge display. But there’s a subtle, practical upgrade: the aluminum model now uses stronger, more scratch-resistant glass, making it more durable for everyday wear.

Connectivity and battery

For the first time, the LTE model of the Series 11 supports 5G connectivity, which Apple says is not only faster but also more efficient at conserving battery life when in use.

Battery life has also received a bump. The Series 11 now promises up to 24 hours on a charge, compared to the 18 hours of the Series 10. Apple tends to be conservative with its battery claims. In real-world use, we may see it stretch beyond the official promise as I’ve consistently been able to stretch out the Series 10 claim to almost 30 hours. 

This is a developing story. Follow all of CNET’s 2025 Apple Event coverage for live updates, hands-on impressions, and more announcements as they’re revealed.


Continue Reading

Technologies

More Than 4.4 Million Exposed in Credit Bureau TransUnion Breach: What to Know

The breach appears related to a wave of attacks on companies’ Salesforce databases.

Sensitive personal information belonging to 4.4 million customers, including their names and Social Security numbers, was exposed in a data breach on credit bureau TransUnion, in what is believed to be the latest in a string of attacks targeting companies’ Salesforce databases. 

The data breach, which occurred on July 28, was identified and contained within hours, a TransUnion spokesperson told CNET. TransUnion is one of three credit bureaus — along with Equifax and Experian — that compile your financial activity into credit reports that are then used to create your credit scores. The credit bureau said it’s notifying people who may have been affected and sharing the actions the company is taking. 


Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source on Chrome.


Two separate state filings shed more details on the situation. A court filing in Maine shows that TransUnion acknowledged unauthorized access from a third-party application that stored personal customer data. While the notice to consumers says that no credit information was accessed, «limited personal information» was exposed. However, another filing from Texas states that names of individuals, Social Security numbers and birthdates were exposed in the breach. 

The TransUnion spokesperson further clarified that the breach involved a third-party application serving its US consumer support operations but did not include its core credit database or credit reports. The bureau has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts for an independent forensics review. 

The breach came after Google reported in June that hackers were using a modified version of a Salesforce-related app to steal vast stores of data, infiltrate other cloud systems and extort compromised companies. The same report named the cybercriminal hacking group ShinyHunters, which it said was linked to extortion demands to employees of the victim organizations.

Several global organizations have already been caught in a wave of Salesforce-linked attacks, according to BleepingComputer, including Google, Farmers Insurance, Allianz Life, Workday, Pandora, Cisco, Chanel and Qantas. Salesforce said social engineering, and not its platform, were to blame for the attacks.

«The Salesforce platform has not been compromised, and this issue is not due to any known vulnerability in our technology,» Salesforce said in a statement in August, adding that customers can mitigate the risk by enabling multi-factor authentication and closley managing connected applications.

Consumer rights law firm Wolf Haldenstein issued an alert on the breach and encouraged those who have received a notice and spot unusual activity on their credit report to reach out.

If you’re not sure if your private data was leaked or you haven’t received any communication from TransUnion, you can check by calling its Fraud Victim Assistance Department at 800-680-7289.  

Even if you haven’t received a notice, if you’ve experienced unusual activity on your credit report, you can always freeze your credit for free, enable two-factor authentication or add a security key to your accounts.

Continue Reading

Technologies

Will the iPhone 17 Be Able to Run GTA 6?

The new iPhone Air and iPhone Pro promise big performance from Apple’s new A19 Pro chips.

Apple held its big annual iPhone event Tuesday, showing off the upcoming ultrathin iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. There were a few mentions of video games during the show, but in one sequence showing off the new camera for the iPhone 17, it was hard to ignore that this particular shot looked like something out of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6. 

Megan Nash, product manager for iPhone, spoke during the event about the iPhone 17’s new 48-megapixel main camera that Apple calls Dual Fusion, which can take sharp photos at full resolution or take 2x crop-zoomed images at 24 megapixels. Behind her was an iconic backdrop of a strip from Miami that made some GTA fans wonder if maybe Apple was going to announce a deal with Rockstar Games. 

A thread on the GTA subreddit titled Did Apple just tease GTA VI on iPhone? appeared shortly after Nash’s sequence in the iPhone event. Most posters on the thread joked and reminded everyone that the fictional Vice City is based on the real Miami. The upcoming GTA 6 takes place in the fictional state of Leonida, a parody of Florida, with one of the cities players can visit being Vice City. 

CNET did reach out to Apple and Rockstar Games just in case. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment. 

GTA 6 was slated to come out this year, but Rockstar Games announced in May that it was delayed. The new date is currently set for May 26, 2026. This would mean that if there were an iOS version of the game, it would be playable on an iPhone 17. Even though the new iPhone 17 will come with an A19 chip’s five-core GPU that can improve gaming, it’s unlikely it could run the next GTA game without some modifications. 

On the other hand, the iPhone Air, iPhone Pro and Pro Max have A19 Pro chips with a more powerful six-core GPU (at least for the latter two), which Apple said has «MacBook Pro levels of compute … perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads.» If Apple is comparing the A19 Pro’s performance to that of a MacBook Pro (though which MacBook Pro, specifically, we don’t know), it’s possible GTA 6 could be playable. 

GTA 6 is arguably the most anticipated game coming for the current generation of consoles, and there has been speculation that it could be priced at $100. This is much higher than the current price tag of $70 for most games, although Nintendo did start releasing new games for $80 on its Switch 2. 

Preorders for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air will start at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 12.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media