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- macOS 26.4 has introduced a new feature to protect your battery
- Allows you to set a charge limit that prevents the battery from overcharging
- The limit can be set between 80% and 100% and reflects an iOS feature
Apple users have been able to set charging limits on their iPhones for some time now, and now the feature will finally make the jump to Macs in macOS Tahoe 26, allowing users of the best Macs to protect their devices from battery drain.
The upload limit feature was just revealed as part of the macOS 26.4 update, which is currently available for beta testing. We don’t know when the full version of macOS 26.4 will be released, but Apple’s .4 versions tend to drop sometime in the spring (or sometime between March and May).
Once your Mac is running macOS 26.4, you’ll be able to set a load limit from 80% to 100% in 5% increments, meaning you can set a limit of 85% if you wish. That would ensure that your MacBook would stop charging once it reached 85% instead of the usual 100% limit.
Why would you do this? Well, it is believed that charging your laptop fully regularly can add extra wear and tear to the battery, which in turn shortens its lifespan. By stopping your MacBook’s charging process at a lower limit, you can potentially slow down battery degradation, thus helping your laptop last longer.
This is a feature that was previously offered by third-party apps like AlDente, but now Apple is finally integrating it into its Mac operating system.
How to set an upload limit
To get macOS 26.4, you’ll need to sign up for Apple’s macOS 26 beta program. Then, open the System Settings app and go to General > Software Update and download the beta from there. Once this is done, you can find the new charge limit feature by going to System Settings > Battery, clicking the ‘i’ button next to Charging, and then setting a charge limit using the slider at the top of the window.
Interestingly, Apple also added a new feature to the Shortcuts app in macOS 26.4 that allows you to create an upload limit on your workflows. For example, you can create a shortcut that automatically sets a higher or lower charge limit based on the active focus mode: If you’re going to be busy or away from a charger and know you need more power, you can set a work or travel focus mode, activate a higher charge limit, and get more power from your battery. This shortcut is also available in iOS 26.4.
The collection limit has one notable exception. As Apple says on its website, your device will “occasionally charge to 100 percent to maintain accurate estimates of the battery’s state of charge” if its charge limit is less than 100 percent. That’s Apple’s guidance for the iPhone, but it’s expected to be the same for the Mac as well.
And now that the Mac has feature parity with the iPhone in this regard, you’ll have ways to extend your device’s battery life, regardless of which Apple product you’re using. If you’re worried about your battery dying prematurely, it might be worth trying to set a charge limit.
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