What is the difference between cycle count and charge cycle?

A charge cycle is the unit. It is 100% of the battery's capacity used. The cycle count is the total number of those cycles the battery has completed so far.

Is one charge cycle the same as one time plugged in?

No. One cycle is 100% of the battery's capacity used. Using 50% today and 50% tomorrow adds up to one cycle, however many times you plug in.

How many charge cycles does a MacBook battery last?

Apple designs the batteries of current MacBook models to keep up to 80% of their original capacity at 1000 cycles. The battery still works after that, with a shorter time on battery.

How many charge cycles does an iPhone battery last?

Apple designs the battery of iPhone 14 and earlier to keep 80% of its capacity at 500 cycles, and the battery of iPhone 15 and later to keep 80% at 1000 cycles.

Does charging to 100% every night add a cycle each time?

No. A top-up from 80% to 100% uses a fifth of a cycle. The count goes by the charge you use, not by the number of times you charge.

What is a battery charge cycle? (Mac, iPhone and iPad)

A battery charge cycle is complete when you have used an amount of charge equal to 100% of the battery’s capacity. It does not have to be in one go, and it is not the same as plugging in once. Apple uses cycles to measure how much work the battery of a Mac, iPhone or iPad has done.

One cycle is 100% used

You complete one charge cycle when you have used an amount of charge equal to 100% of the battery’s capacity. It does not have to be in one go.

For example, you use 60% of your MacBook’s battery today and charge it overnight. Tomorrow you use 40%. Those two days add up to one cycle.

So the count does not go up each time you plug in. A short top-up from 80% to 100% is a fifth of a cycle.

Cycle count vs charge cycle

The two terms are easy to mix up.

A charge cycle is the unit: 100% of the battery’s capacity used.
The cycle count is how many of those cycles the battery has completed since it was new.

So a MacBook with a cycle count of 212 has used 212 full charges’ worth of energy. It may have been plugged in many more times than that.

How many cycles a battery is made for

A battery holds a little less charge after each cycle. Apple gives a figure for each product:

MacBook. Current models keep up to 80% of their original capacity at 1000 cycles.
iPhone 15 and later. 80% at 1000 cycles, under ideal conditions.
iPhone 14 and earlier. 80% at 500 cycles, under ideal conditions.
iPad. Up to 80% at 1000 cycles.

The battery still works after that. It holds less, so a full charge lasts a shorter time.

Older MacBook models have a lower limit of 300 or 500 cycles. The cycle count limit of each MacBook model is in a table in the cycle count guide.

Where to see your cycle count

Mac. Hold Option, open the Apple menu, choose System Information, select Power, and read Cycle Count. The guide to the MacBook battery cycle count has the steps.
iPhone 15 and later. Open Settings, tap Battery, then Battery Health. See how to check iPhone battery health and cycle count.
iPad. Open Settings, tap Battery, then Battery Health. This screen is on the iPad Pro (M4 and M5), iPad Air (M2, M3 and M4), iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad (A16).

The cycle count is one of the numbers behind battery health. The other is the maximum capacity. See how to check battery health on a Mac for both.

What macOS and iOS do not show

Each number is today’s count. Neither macOS nor iOS keeps a record of it. So you cannot see how many cycles you use in a month, or how the capacity falls with them.

Watch the count over time

BatteryBud records the charge cycles and the maximum capacity of your Mac, iPhone and iPad, and charts how they change. That shows how many cycles you use in a month, and how the capacity falls with them.

The page about a battery monitor for Mac lists everything BatteryBud shows and what it does not do.

What is a battery charge cycle?