SMC Hardware Control — Apple Silicon & Intel

Hardware control.
Not software tricks.

Apple limits at 80%. AlDente adjusts software. ThunderVolt writes to your Mac's SMC chip directly — the hardware that actually controls charging.

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No credit card required  ·  Apple Notarized

BATTERY HEALTH
97%
Health
80%
Limit
238
Cycles
SMC Control
Active
Health trend
Good
Charging
Paused
✦ Apple Notarized ✦ Real SMC Hardware Control ✦ 7-Day Free Trial ✦ Apple Silicon & Intel
97%
Average battery health
after 6 months
3×
Longer cycle life vs.
default macOS behaviour
15K+
Mac users protecting
their battery with ThunderVolt

Everything you need.
In one place.

Hardware-level battery management built for serious Mac users.

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SMC Control
Remote Control
AI Prediction
Fleet Sync
Smart Calendar
Thermal Guard
Real-time Battery Intelligence
Live health tracking with AI-powered trend analysis. Predicts your battery replacement date months before Apple's indicator moves a single point.
Top Up to 100%.
Unlocked.
One click to charge to full for travel days, then automatically returns to your limit.
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SMC Thermal Guard
Hardware-level charging inhibit when your Mac runs hot. Not a software pause — a real SMC signal.
Ecosystem Sync
Monitor and control every Mac in your household from iPhone or Apple Watch. Private CloudKit sync — your data never leaves Apple's infrastructure.
iPhone
Watch
Mac
Full Ecosystem

Your battery.
On every screen.

ThunderVolt follows you across your entire Apple ecosystem. Monitor charge health on your iPhone, glance at your wrist, and control everything from anywhere — no Mac required.

iPhone Apple Watch Mac
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ThunderVolt
74%
Charging
97%
Health
80%
Limit
238
Cycles
Storage Mode
Top Up →
Fleet
MacBook Pro 16" 74%
MacBook Air M3 Limit 80%
ThunderVolt
97%
Health
80% limit active
The Architecture

Other apps talk to macOS.
ThunderVolt talks to
your hardware.

AlDente and every other battery manager send instructions to macOS, which relays them to the SMC chip. ThunderVolt writes to the SMC directly — bypassing the software layer entirely. That's why we can build features they architecturally cannot.

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How charging is controlled
AlDente → macOS → SMC
macOS 26.4 → Settings → SMC
ThunderVolt → SMC directly
SMC — System Management Controller
Ecosystem Control

Your Mac's battery.
From your wrist.

Apple's native charge limiter is Mac-only. ThunderVolt lets you monitor and adjust every MacBook in your household from your iPhone or Apple Watch. Toggle Storage Mode, view live charge, get heat alerts — from any room, any device.

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Live Fleet View
MacBook Pro 16"  ·  74%
MacBook Air M3  ·  80% limit
Mac mini  ·  Desk mode
Private CloudKit Sync
Battery Intelligence

Know before
Apple's indicator moves.

ThunderVolt tracks your real health trend as −%/month and predicts your battery replacement date months before Apple's Battery Health indicator moves a single point. No guesswork. Just data.

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Battery Health
97%
−0.2% / month  ·  Est. replacement: 2028
12-month trend — above average
Smart Context

Charges before
your meetings.
Automatically.

Your limit is 75%. You have a 3-hour flight tomorrow at 9am. ThunderVolt sees it in your calendar, charges to 100% tonight, then drops back after you land. No other app in the world does this.

Calendar
detects flight
→
ThunderVolt
charges to 100%
→
Back to limit
after landing
Learn More →
The Real Comparison

ThunderVolt vs. AlDente vs. macOS

AlDente is the category leader with 700,000 users. Here's what it can't do.

Capability macOS Native
(26.4+)		 AlDente Pro
(software)		 ThunderVolt
(hardware)
80–100% charge limit ✔ ✔ ✔
Battery health monitoring ✔ ✔ ✔
Sub-80% limits (50%, 60%, 70%) ✘ ✔ ✔
Discharge to target % while plugged in ✘ ✔ ✔
SMC hardware control ✘ ✔ via macOS relay ✔ direct hardware
Sailing / Hysteresis band ✘ ✔ Pro ✔ configurable
Calendar-aware charging ✘ ✘ ✔
AI degradation prediction ✘ ✘ ✔
Remote control from iPhone & Watch ✘ ✘ ✔
Fleet sync — multiple Macs ✘ ✘ ✔
Thermal hardware inhibit ✘ ✔ software ✔ SMC
Download Free Get Pro — from $2.99/mo

Pro includes 7-day free trial. No credit card required.

How It Works

Up and running in 60 seconds.

One install. No configuration needed. ThunderVolt handles every edge case from there.

1

Download & Install

One .dmg install. Grant the daemon permission once — ThunderVolt is the only battery app that operates at the hardware level.

2

Set Your Limit

Pick 80%, 75%, 60%, or any custom threshold — including sub-80% levels macOS and AlDente can't reach.

3

Forget About It

Smart Context, thermal protection, and fleet sync run silently. ThunderVolt handles every edge case automatically.

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Common Questions

Before you ask.

Apple Notarized. Uses documented SMC calls only. Fully removable — uninstall and charging returns to macOS defaults with no residue.
AlDente works at the software layer — it asks macOS to stop charging. ThunderVolt writes to the SMC directly, the hardware chip that actually controls power. That's why ThunderVolt can do calendar-aware charging, thermal hardware inhibit, and sub-50% storage limits that AlDente architecturally cannot build.
Yes. M1, M2, M3, M4, and Intel. Universal binary — no Rosetta required.
The daemon is fully removed. Charging returns to macOS defaults immediately. No residue, no locked settings.
No. ThunderVolt only controls when charging starts and stops — the same thing macOS does natively. Applying a charge limit extends battery life; it does not void warranties.
Yes. All data stays on your device and syncs privately via iCloud when using the iPhone or Apple Watch companion. Nothing is sent to ThunderVolt servers.
Install ThunderVolt Advanced and open it — the trial starts automatically. No credit card required. After 7 days, Pro features lock unless you activate a license key.
Yes. The companion apps let you set charge limits, enable Storage Mode, or trigger a top-up from your wrist or phone. Changes sync to your Mac via iCloud in under a minute.
Get In Touch

We're here to help.

Email Support
Questions, billing, or feature requests — drop us a line.
Typically within 24 hours
support@thundervolt.app
Bug Reports
Found something broken? Tell us exactly what happened.
Include your macOS version and Mac model
Report a Bug