Understanding Metrics
jolt displays various metrics about your laptop’s battery and power consumption. Here’s what they mean and how to interpret them.
Battery Metrics
Section titled “Battery Metrics”Charge Percentage
Section titled “Charge Percentage”The current battery charge level (0-100%). This matches the value shown in your system’s battery indicator.
Battery State
Section titled “Battery State”| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Charging | Connected to power, battery is charging |
| Discharging | Running on battery power |
| Full | Battery is at 100% and connected to power |
| Not Charging | Connected to power but not charging (battery optimization) |
Time Remaining
Section titled “Time Remaining”Estimated time until the battery is fully charged (when charging) or depleted (when discharging).
Battery Health
Section titled “Battery Health”The battery’s maximum capacity compared to its original design capacity, shown as a percentage.
- 95-100% — Excellent condition
- 80-95% — Good condition
- Below 80% — Consider battery service
Cycle Count
Section titled “Cycle Count”The total number of charge cycles the battery has completed. One cycle = using 100% of battery capacity (can be spread across multiple charges).
Apple considers batteries consumed after ~1000 cycles for most MacBooks.
Charger Wattage
Section titled “Charger Wattage”When connected to power, shows the charger’s wattage. Useful for identifying if you’re using an underpowered charger.
Power Metrics
Section titled “Power Metrics”Total Power (Watts)
Section titled “Total Power (Watts)”Combined power draw of all system components. This is the primary indicator of how fast your battery will drain.
| Power Level | Typical Activity |
|---|---|
| 2-5W | Idle, light tasks |
| 5-15W | Web browsing, documents |
| 15-30W | Development, video calls |
| 30-50W | Video editing, compilation |
| 50W+ | Heavy workloads, gaming |
Platform Notes:
- Intel Macs cannot report power consumption
- Linux requires RAPL support and permissions
CPU Power
Section titled “CPU Power”Power consumed by the processor cores (both efficiency and performance cores on Apple Silicon).
Higher values indicate:
- More active processes
- Computationally intensive tasks
- Background indexing or updates
GPU Power
Section titled “GPU Power”Power consumed by the graphics processor.
Higher values when:
- External display connected
- Video playback
- Graphics-intensive applications
- GPU compute workloads (Metal on macOS, OpenGL/Vulkan on Linux)
ANE Power (Neural Engine)
Section titled “ANE Power (Neural Engine)”Power consumed by Apple’s Neural Engine for machine learning tasks.
Active during:
- Photo analysis
- Siri/dictation
- ML-based app features
- Core ML workloads
Power Mode
Section titled “Power Mode”System power management mode (macOS-specific):
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Low Power | Reduced performance to save battery |
| Normal | Balanced performance and efficiency |
| High Performance | Maximum performance (when plugged in) |
Note: Power mode detection is currently only available on macOS. Linux users can manage power profiles through system tools like tlp or power-profiles-daemon.
Process Energy Impact
Section titled “Process Energy Impact”The energy impact rating is a composite score that considers:
- CPU usage over time
- GPU usage
- Disk activity
- Network activity
Impact Levels
Section titled “Impact Levels”| Level | Color | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Green | Minimal battery impact |
| Moderate | Yellow | Normal usage |
| Elevated | Orange | Higher than typical |
| High | Red | Significant battery drain |
Interpreting Process Data
Section titled “Interpreting Process Data”- Steady high impact — The process is consistently working hard
- Spikes — Occasional intensive tasks (usually normal)
- Background processes with high impact — May indicate runaway process
Tips for Battery Life
Section titled “Tips for Battery Life”- Monitor total power — Keep it under 10W for best battery life
- Check high-impact processes — Close apps you’re not using
- Use Low Power Mode — Great for travel or long meetings
- Watch for runaway processes — Unusually high CPU from idle apps
- Reduce display brightness — Major power consumer
- Disconnect external displays — Significant GPU power draw