Comments on: MacBook Pro Battery Life

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:03:05 +0000

Needbattery.com has these batteries and they have the cheapest prices on the internet. http://www.needbattery.com/Laptops/Apple.html

By: Anders

Anders — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:09:35 +0000

The reason that people have hostility towards Apple on this point is because while Apple makes superb machines, they have a notorious record of being incredibly obtuse when it comes to disk space and battery time. It took them years to realize that one needs more than a minimal pittance of a hard drive on their machines, and if I’m buying a “pro” machine, I expect “pro” performance, especially when it comes to the battery time on a laptop. I’ve never managed to get more than 1.5 hours out of any Apple laptop, and I’ve owned them since 1993.

Will I buy another one? Yes. But not without grilling the hell out of the salesperson on this question of battery life.

By: Sebastien

Sebastien — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:40:11 +0000

hi,
i have a macbook pro 1.83GhZ, 1.5 Gig Ram
ans i have to say that the battery is a big problem.
I did this Battery Exchange Programm, so I have the good one in my macbook pro. But now after six month i can´t use my computer more than an hour without the power supply. I don´t know if my computer has a specific problem but it´s not a Laptop anymore it´s a desktop and a expensive one (i payd for it 3000 dollars). I had a G4 Ibook for 2 years and he was able to make 4 hours without problems. I love Macs but sorry the MacBook Pro is a joke!!! Kind Regards

By: Susanna

Susanna — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:52:14 +0000

I just have a quick question about my battery, since I’m not sure whether I’ve accidentally ruined it or not. The thing is, my Macbook Pro just shuts down when the battery gets to a certain point. Like the first time it happened, it was around 20%, but the second time was when it was around 40%. My question is, is it time for me to get a new battery or is the problem something deeper? Thank you so much in advance.

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:40:28 +0000

Just traded in my 4 year old G4 titanium powerbook for the new MacBookPro 15.4in 2.2 Intel 2. After one week of use, I can say with confidence that my old computer had better battery life! Just running airport, safari, word, and mail so I can work in the living room, I’m getting only about 2.75-3 hours of battery life. This is a big disappointment since I expected an improvement over the old machine, and I agree with the other posts that it’s unfortunate that apple doesn’t display this info in the specs - might have thought twice about it!

By: tonkers

tonkers — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:16:07 +0000

i have a brand new macbook pro bought may 2007, the battery has never lasted more than 2 hours and at one point, when i was running everything and heavy graphics, the battery only lasted 30 min!!!. we realy should get at least 3 hours no matter what!!! ive been using macs now for 10 years and i must admit i do not like the way they look and feel now they are pentium.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:41:49 +0000

I’m barely getting an hour out of brand new MacBook Pro, 15″ 2.33GHz, /core 2 Duo. I’m wondering if it is in fact defective? I think I will go back to the store and demand a new one.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 00:53:06 +0000

I have an Intel MacBook Pro, 15″ 2.33GHz, Core 2 Duo. After a full charge, I will usually get about 3.5 to 4 hours of battery life, assuming normal operation.

But of course the more your computer does, the more energy it takes and there are many ways to adjust your laptop’s performance to get more life out of the battery. For example, turning the display brightness almost all the way down can give you about an extra 30 minutes. Or you can get an extra minutes switching the display from black on while to white on black (this is a feature in the Universal Access System Preferences). If you don’t need Airport, turn it off; that saves still more energy. Turn the speakers off, turn the keyboard backlighting off, etc.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:15:49 +0000

I have a MacBook Pro - got it about a month ago. When I first bought it, the battery was lasting close to four hours. Considering I was lucky to get 90 minutes out of my old laptop battery, this was a dream come true! In the last month though, the performance has started to decrease and today - only three hours. I’m only running an internet browser and iTunes - and occasionally a couple other apps, but nothing that would grind anything to a halt. I’m hoping this isn’t the beginning of the end - or that I’ll need to just suck it up and buy another power cord.

By: Antonio

Antonio — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:56:43 +0000

The folks at http://www.batterygeek.net have several brand new portable power solutions for all the new MacBook 13″ and MacBook Pro laptops.

In order for thier laptop battery solution to work however you must request from them the custom MacBook connector cable and tip at the time of your order.

The compatible BatteryGeek external laptop batteries which are compatible can power the new MacBooks up to 6 hours per charge and are as follows:

BG 15-21-118
BG 15-21-130
Portable Power Station 130Wh
Portable Power Station 140Wh (newest model recommended for the maximum run time per charge)

Here are a couple of product reviews on the new BatteryGeek Portable Power Stations:

Providing my Sony UX-180p over 20 hours of battery life!
-by David Ciccone from Mobility Today
http://mobilitytoday.com/articles/portable_power_station.html

Get powered up on the go with the Portable Power Station
-by Matthew Miller from ZDNet’s The Mobile Gadgeteer
http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=30

By: Pace

Pace — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:17:48 +0000

An UPS is likely to be used in areas where the power supply is interrupted frequently (such as third world countries and some rural areas in first world countries). For valuable information on why you should protect you equipment with an UPS: http://www.batterybackupguide.com/apc-battery-backup.htm

By: Pace

Pace — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:04:40 +0000

Historically, UPS units were very expensive and were most likely to be used on expensive computer systems and in areas where the power supply is interrupted frequently. For valuable information on why you should protect you equipment with an UPS: http://www.batterybackupguide.com/ups-battery-backup.htm

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 05:25:09 +0000

alex_rodr_43@hotmail.com

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 05:21:55 +0000

Saludos:
Tengo un problema con mi bateria y quiero saber que se puede hacer. Lo que pasa es que la laptop se esta apagando de repente sin avisarme cuando todavia le quedan mas de 40%.
En varias ocaciones la laptop amanecio conectada y con la bateria puesta! a veces gran parte del dia.
Quiero saber si la bateria se ha dañado o si el problema se puede solucionar, por favor ayudenme!!!
Cuitense!
Si pueden me responden a mi mail lo mas pronto que se pueda!! bye

By: Pingu

Pingu — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:58:25 +0000

I own a white MacBook, and i read that the maximun battery time is 6 hours on this machine.

6 hours??? How the hell did they manage to get 6 hours out of it?

When mine is fully charged, i can get maybe 2 hours with wireless internet with bluetooth turned off!

I think it´s a joke, but whatever!
.
I would like 3-4 hours even with bluetooth on, but i guess that is not possible.

How about some pirate batteries or more powerful ones?

This and the heat, really drags the machine down as a portable one.

I do love it, but it sure loses points.

By: colin

colin — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 04:11:01 +0000

here is my macbook pro battery

By: jeroen

jeroen — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 08:23:50 +0000

i have used my new mbp with airport on, max 2,5 hours and only internetting… all people here defending this work probably for apple.. its stupid and the last time i ever buy ridiculous expensive apple stuff.. its getting only about beauty and not about the inside quality anymore ..

and for mister philip beny, u work for apple right>?

Jeroen (using apple for 12 years)

By: Mr B

Mr B — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 04:33:13 +0000

Had my MacBook Pro less than a day, have it setup next to me at work to see how the battery life fairs. I must say that it has confused me on several occasions so far as one minute it reckons it has 4-5 hours left, then it recalculates and goes back down to more like 2.5 hours…bizzarre.

By: kevin

kevin — Tue, 23 May 2006 10:22:19 +0000

i only get 3 hrs when fully charged on my mbp 15 inch….not too happy. I thought i had a dodgy battery but now looking at this and other sites it seems normal…doh!!

By: MasterD

MasterD — Sun, 07 May 2006 09:15:34 +0000

look at this…

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/whatsinside.html

Battery and power

15-inch MacBook Pro

60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 4.5 hours of battery life(1)

17-inch MacBook Pro

68-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 5.5 hours of battery life(1)

_________________
85W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
MagSafe Power Adapter port

By: Ron

Ron — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:56:30 +0000

I just got my MacBook and get a little over 2 hours with the battery. I’m a bit disappointed in that fact. Other than that, the machine is great. Another battery will be a small price to pay.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 09:47:39 +0000

I only get 3-3:30 hours when my macbook pro is 100% (according to the Time Remaining indicator). Is this normal or do I have a dodgy battery. Ive only had it 2 weeks.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 17:31:20 +0000

Philip Beni, please - you’re claiming 8 hours outa the thing, what taking notes, surfing the web or what ? Or did you actually leave the mac book in your bag during lessons sleeping ? I don’t believe you got a full school day, with some gaming of the mac book pro, unless you actually left it inyour bag for every lesson and nly had it out at lunch ?

By: Philip Beni

Philip Beni — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 22:47:36 +0000

Wow recently I picked up a mac book pro from the apple store(first shipment). I thought the same thing; however, it gets better battery life than I ever dreamed possible! I am a student in high school, and about a month ago I purchased a powerbook g4 15″(1.67ghz). The battery lasted about four of the six hours i needed it for. So, I returned it and waited for the macbook pro to arrive. When I got it, I charged it up and installed all of my gadgets, keep in mind this was two days ago. I had the screen reasonably bright(half way) and did my school thing, and at lunch I played Doom for a half hour. I was also connected to the wireless network for 1/2 the time. At the end of the 6hr day of school, I still had about 45 minutes left. The battery life on it when using all of the power saving features, I imagine, would be around 8 hrs. This is probably due to the new architecture, cooling system, and the new lithium polymer battery.

By: Calista

Calista — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 13:02:14 +0000

Why not just buy a second battery, they are inexpensive ($50 for a third party version) and will dubble the available time. Many can instead skip the weight (and hassle) of carrying the power adapter for daily use.

And yes, if you throw $2500 on a laptop another $50 to make it a bit more portable shouldn’t be a problem.

By: Otto

Otto — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:08:07 +0000

my pb has 5h of battery life, a bit more for an 15″!
New = more ,I think!

By: Otto

Otto — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:27:40 +0000

When it is more than 4h it is okay for me. I use my pb12″(new) for 5h but, thought the macbookpro has an 15″ screen 4h will be a good time. Hopefully it will!

By: Steven

Steven — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 20:56:36 +0000

I ordered a MacBook Pro few hours after the Keynote without knowing how many hours i will get out of its battery ’cause I’m sure Apple will do the best possible. So no douts here.

By: David

David — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 14:34:40 +0000

For me the most important factor in “going Pro” is the battery life. I currently get 3 hrs on my 1.25GHz G4 15″ PB (which is still a great machine), and would only “go Pro” if there was an improvement. It is probably unrealistic to expect a substantial improvement in the Pro 15″, however, unless Apple finds room for a bigger battery. With all that said, your 17″ PB gets the same battery life as your 14.1″ Sony Z1, yet the 17″ has a much bigger display. We forget that the display draws the most power of all. Given that Apple said that the new Pro displays are brighter, I expect that it may only be the 17″ and 12″ Pro (when they come out) that will offer better battery life.

By: Keeem

Keeem — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 18:41:32 +0000

I have a recent middle-of-the-road Dell laptop and it gets a whopping 5 hours! That’s without any CD/DVD use and with wireless turned on (and other ports disabled) and it’s 15″ hi-res screen. I can even use my usb mouse and it doesn’t noticably impact battery life on this puppy! Now, my 17″ G4 Powerbook gets, if I’m lucky, 2 hours.

By: racer5

racer5 — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 02:43:35 +0000

Okay, I was ticked offf at Apple too for not posting the figures BUT at MacWorl I quickly discovered why.

The Pre-production samples at Mac world had still MAJOR issues with the Power Management. I mean major. With an Apple Rep (Or do we call the Mac Reps now??) standing next to me I closed the MacBook. She instantly said “Doh, gonna need a reboot. The PM is not completely functional as of yet”. Sure enough a forced restart was required.

So the reason no figures are claimed is that it flat out is not fully functional. Can’t do real world tests until you have that nailed down.

In Febuary we WILL know.

By: DannyW

DannyW — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 22:39:13 +0000

2-3 hours would be good for me. I have recently gotten rid of a top of the range vaio, with webcam, 17inch screen, 2GHz processor etc. The battery lasted approx 30 minutes, without using the DVD.

By: Martin MC Brown

Martin MC Brown — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 08:48:15 +0000

Ralph: You are not comparing the same speed or specification of laptop - and you are using two batteries, instead of just one. If I used two batteries on my Vaio I could 12 hours or more, but that’s not the point.

You are in fact doing exactly what I repeatedly point out, both in the original and my replies - you have decided that battery life, rather than the spped and capability of the machine, are more important to you. If you are happy using Pismos, please feel free to continue :))

By: KenC

KenC — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 06:07:03 +0000

Haven’t seen any articles suggesting that the new MacBooks will get 5, 6 or 7hrs of life.

However, I’d agree with you, that I expect the new MB to get about the same to 10% better battery life than the PBs. I’ve posted at other sites that I base it on Steve’s slides where he points out that the new chips are 4x more power efficent. And, that the chips are 4 to 5x faster. Thus, dividing the power/watt ratio by the power fig, you get about the same, or a little more power hungry. Of course, the battery is 20% larger, so, I figure about the same, or slightly longer battery life.

By: Ralph

Ralph — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 03:50:21 +0000

Interesting way of saying that 2-3 hours of battery life is acceptable. No, it’s pathetic!
The Powermac G3 (Pismo, built 2000) with a G4 550 upgrade runs Tiger and all modern programs with acceptable performance, and runs OS9 just fine. It has Firewire 400, USB, a PC card slot, VGA out, and airport. It can burn DVD’s and has a bright 14″ screen.
It also has an 11 hour battery life if you put batteries in both its slots. It blows the doors off the Macbook in that department. And, you can get one, loaded, for $600.
Battery life is more critical to me than speed of gaussian blurs. It looks like I’ll be sticking with Pismos for a while yet.