First cycle of MacBook battery: runs at 97% capacity, is this normal?

Question

I ordered my brand new Macbook Air with 8 GB RAM and picked up from Apple Store two days ago. However after fully running out of battery for first time, I recharged it to 100% and coconutBattery says the capacity is 97%.

I think 3% is considerably high for Macbook batteries, they can still last at 70%-80% capacity after 2-3 years.

Is this normal, or should I return the device? Any thougts are appreciated.

Answer 1

Unplug, let it drain a few percent and replug it back in and see if it restores the percentage. Some times the menulet shows under, but then comes back after a quick decrease before recharging.

Answer 2

This seems well within the range I've seen. What really matters is how the voltage decays and you won't know if the battery is performing until you've had it through about 5 charge and discharge cycles.

If you are worried that your battery isn't going to perform, don't. With details like this, you can make a case for a battery swap from Apple before the one year warranty expires. With tools like pmset -g batt and the one you are using, a bad battery is one of the easiest things to diagnose and get fixed on a Mac these days.