No. The nature of the lithium battery chemistry does not require periodic cycling to maintain capacity. Furthermore, the periodic cycling described in the apple documents listed above (@I-M-JM's Post) *does not have an effect on the battery chemistry*. **It only serves to allow the battery capacity meter to accurately track the battery capacity**. --- **Periodically draining the battery only serves to allow the *Battery metering* systems to accurately estimate the remaining battery capacity. It is *not* needed to maintain the battery itself, and actually wastes a battery cycle.** Basically, if you don't run your battery down for a long time, the next time you disconnect the laptop from AC, the *estimated* time renaming value will be incorrect. However, the actually battery capacity and runtime will be unchanged from normal. The statement "For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally." from Apple's site is actually incorrect regarding the lithium battery chemistry at worst, and an oversimplification at best. --- Furthermore, The *battery metering* and *battery charging* systems are separate, so inaccuracies in the battery metering system will not cause errors in charging the battery (before you ask). Lithium cells are actually quite simple to charge. Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/lithium_based_batteries http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries