Over time, each charge cycle decreases a battery's capacity from its design specifications, meaning that the fewer times you drain it, the longer the battery lasts – all other things being equal.
A discharge down to 50% and then back to 100% would equal half a cycle. Essentially, a charge cycle equals one full discharge down to 0% and then a recharge back up to 100%. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends Save cycles, save your batteryĪll laptop batteries are built to handle a certain number of charge cycles, usually somewhere around 500 full cycles – and sometimes even more. Our tips apply to lithium-ion batteries, which are, by far, the most widely used batteries in modern laptops. Every machine is a little different, so finding out as much as you can about your laptop and its battery is important. Unlike many desktop computers, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to laptops.
