The next update for your MacBook will likely introduce a new battery charge limiter to help maintain your laptop’s health, as regularly charging to 100% can shorten its lifespan.
Spotted in the macOS Tahoe 26.4 beta by MacRumors, the new feature, called Charge Threshold, is separate from the existing Optimized Battery Charging.
The new feature for MacBook lets you set a firm charging threshold between 80% and 100%. You can set it in 5% increments, so you can choose 85%, 90%, or even 95%.
This is a hard upper limit, and Apple’s software won’t override it unless you do so manually. Optimized Battery Charging is an existing option that learns your habits and will only push the battery beyond 80 percent when it predicts that you might need additional battery.
If this isn’t a regular occurrence for your MacBook, you may find this new charge limit useful. For example, if you use your Mac plugged in most of the time, you might find it helpful to set a charge limit, but if you plan to use the extra battery you’ll need to remember to turn the feature off beforehand.
When this feature arrives, you’ll find it below. System settings > Battery. Next to the word charging is a small icon, which lets you tweak the settings. It’s not yet clear if there will be another way to override these features, or if you’ll need to access this menu to turn them off.
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The feature is expected to roll out as part of the official macOS Tahoe 26.4 rollout in the next couple of months. Rumors suggest that it could land by the end of March. There’s also a chance that Apple will wait to roll it out officially, so be aware that it may take longer to see this feature on your Mac.
The beta for macOS 26.4 also brings back the compact tab bar option within Safari. It also displays a warning for any apps you use that run on Apple’s software Rosetta 2 that lets you run Intel apps on Apple’s silicon products. Those apps aren’t compatible with macOS 28, so macOS 26.4 will start issuing warnings to users.
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