macOS Big Sur Adds Battery Usage History and Brings Back Remaining Battery Estimates

macOS Big Sur does away with the "Energy Saver" section of System Preferences, replacing it with a new "Battery" section that expands the battery reporting capabilities of the Mac.

A new Usage History feature provides details on the Mac's battery life over the course of the last 24 hours or the last 10 days, broken down into Battery Level and Screen On Usage so you can see how your battery is performing.

There does not appear to be a detailed rundown on which apps used the battery the most as there is on iOS, but it does provide a better look at how the battery is being consumed over time.

Along with the Usage History section, there are Battery and Power Adapter sections that replace the functionality that was previously available through Energy Saver. You can choose when to turn the display off, enable or disable power nap, and more, with the settings split for battery usage and usage when connected to power. The schedule feature is also present.

In the menu bar, clicking the battery icon now provides an estimate of remaining battery life, a feature that was removed from macOS Sierra back in 2016. At the time, Apple said that the battery life indicator in macOS Sierra was inaccurate and led to confusion about battery performance.

The menu bar battery icon also displays apps that are using significant energy, as in macOS Catalina, and it provides an option for opening up Battery Preferences. There does not appear to be an option to display current battery life percentage right in the menu bar, however.

‌macOS Big Sur‌ is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple plans to make a public beta available this July ahead of when the software sees a full release in the fall.