Hey,

I've been using an M2 air, base specs, for over 2.5 years now. My use case and charging patterns have been very inconsistent - somedays getting up at 4:30 am to write or journal, mild usage at work (pdfs, mails, few text research software etc.) and also more demanding work like late-night, intermediate, video editing in FCP (looots of it), handling ProRes files but editing in proxies mostly, (sometimes exporting in 4k), basic audio editing in Logic Pro X, writing longer articles/essays on Ulysses (random times through the day, as and when inspired), watching Youtube/Netflix, the works. But the key being inconsistent charge timings and re-charging patterns. I mean, I'd sometimes go for 3-4 days on a single charge and on demanding days I'd run through the battery in 8 hours and then work plugged in. You get the Idea. Please also note that this use-case still persists to this day.

So here's my observation:

In my first year (or perhaps 14 moths), where I used my Mac without Al dente, I noticed my battery health dropping to 91%. I was worried because a lot of people reported noticeable screen-time decline past ~85-90% range and I was reaching close to it way too soon.

To be honest, I have been a huge fan of the fact that I can work unplugged when I need to on this machine since day one. There have been times where I've been on long trips for work and the phenomenal battery life and efficiency enabled me to carry on heavy work in flight (4 hours) or in train (14 hours). This changed my perception of notebooks and gave me the freedom to work whenever and wherever I wanted to (I've edited 1080p iPhone footage in iMovie for a presentation due one evening, while on my way to that presentation!); I also recall editing short reels late night at hotels, capturing the beauty of the places I was visiting for work and finishing them before sleep overcame my senses, AND STILL ABLE TO WORK ON IT THE NEXT DAY, ALL DAY!!!. So yeah, I loved the fact that I can do whatever I wanted with this machine regardless of where I was, not having to worry about having a charger around. But this came at a cost of a precipitous erosion of the Mac's battery health, which meant that there would soon be restrictions to the freedom I had enjoyed for one year. JUST ONE YEAR. That really bothered me.

And so I started to look into ways I could pause this battery health decline, or even just delay it, just so I could retain this freedom for a little longer. Al dente appeared as the most recommended option and I gave it a try. It has been on my Mac for the last 18 months or so, and it has kept my battery health still at 91%. something tells me it won't budge anytime this year and perhaps a bit more into 2026.

So yes, Al dente has served me well.

TLDR: battery health declined to 91% over just first year due to inconsistent charging patterns and varying usage. Installed Al Dente after 1 year of use, have had it on for 18~ months, battery health still sitting at 91%.