Apple Mac update changes how MacBooks charge to make them live longer

Apple has rolled out a new Mac update that changes the way its computers charge.

The company says the new technology will allow those batteries – and therefore the computers they are in – to last longer.

Over time, many batteries such as those in MacBooks chemically age. As they do, the amount of charge they can hold drops, until they eventually become so short their life is over.

The new feature aims to slow down the rate at which that ageing process happens. It does so by watching how hot it gets and when it tends to be charged.

The feature is switched on by default and arrives in the latest update, which is numbered macOS 10.15.5. That update may download automatically, and may already have installed itself on many MacBooks.

As it gathers data about how the computer is used, the feature could stop the laptop charging all the way up. By doing so, it reduces strain on the battery by avoiding filling up with charge when that power would not necessarily be needed straight away.

As such, the feature could leave some Macs with less charge than might normally be expected. Apple allows users to turn the feature off if they need to ensure they have full charge on their computer.

A similar tool is already present in iOS for the iPhone and iPad, where it can also be switched off.

In addition to the battery changes, the new update makes some minor adjustments to the operating system. A change to FaceTime makes it possible to stop the automatic resizing of people's faces during a video call, which is intended to highlight the person speaking but can prove confusing, and there are new controls for Apple's Pro Display XDR screen.

It also adds small fixes to bugs including issues with Reminders and a problem that meant the built-in camera might not work when using with a video conferencing app.

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