76 Macworld • January 2022MACOS MONTEREY
consumes so little energy when not
in use and the screen is dim, macOS
doesn’t limit charging to 80 per cent –
it seems to keep it at 100 per cent. But
that’s because it’s essentially micro-
charging: it provides a trickle of power
to keep it at that rate. According to
Apple’s algorithm, that’s ideal.
If you’re trying to eke out the most
life from your battery, check out the
other settings in Big Sur and the
upcoming Monterey:Slight dim the display on battery
power: This reduces one major
battery drain, and if you don’t mindslightly less
brightness, it can
add hours to run
time.
Optimize video
streaming while on
battery: while M1-
based laptops can
seemingly stream
video forever,
older Intel models
benefit from
having this setting
enabled.
Low power mode
(Monterey only):
Monterey will offer
the low-power
mode added previously to iOS and
iPadOS. When selected, this mode
reduces background activities that
drain the battery. This can keep
you running for an extra hour or far
more, depending on how intensive
your foreground task is. (In iOS and
iPadOS, you’re prompted to enable
Low Power Mode when the battery
drops to 20 per cent; Monterey, so
far, appears to require checking
this box manually.)In Big Sur and Monterey, you can optimized battery usage
with a check of a box; Monterey adds low-power mode, too.