Will Haswell finally give the 11" Air acceptable battery life?

waa1futs · Jan 23, 2013, 01:34 AM

I love the 11" form factor and would vastly prefer it over the 13" version except for one thing: the horrible battery life

3.5 - 4 hours of battery life during medium usage is completely unacceptable for a $1000 machine. Especially since using it over time that number will get worn down ever more.

Will the 2013 versions with Haswell chips finally give the 11" Air the 5-7 hours of medium usage battery life it deserves?

krspkbl · Jan 23, 2013, 02:12 AM

Obviously I can't give you an exact number but the haswell architecture will improve battery life for sure. From what I've read on here it could only be between 30-60 minutes extra battery life. That's 4-5 hrs life. Still no where near the 13" battery life on ivy bridge (6.5/9hrs)

Mrbobb · Jan 23, 2013, 02:16 AM

Nope, they will make it still thinner and even lighter with a smaller battery...

Kidding!

Hey lately am seeing lots of people with iPad + Physical keyboard, and is Office IOS out yet?

The-Pro · Jan 23, 2013, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrbobb

Nope, they will make it still thinner and even lighter with a smaller battery...

Kidding!

Hey lately am seeing lots of people with iPad + Physical keyboard, and is Office IOS out yet?

Funny thing is your right. Apple wont just make a product thicker and heavier then a previous generation model. Just not going to happen. If not thinner and lighter they will keep it the same. Unlike the iPad to iPad retina where the HAD to make it minimally thicker they don't have to do that with the air. I am very sure they will keep have the same battery life in the new model. Maybe they will say it has 6hrs if we are lucky. Problems is they wanted to make the air so thin that there is little space for a battery. They could have just made the the entire computer 1-2mm thicker, and fitted a much bigger battery.

You can also look at external battery solutions or even build one yourself. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1385372

I too see that a lot lately. I have one aswell. Its quite convenient actually. I wish you had more control with the keyboard though. I hate having to reach up to tap something.

Robyr · Jan 23, 2013, 05:20 AM

Uh, my 2011 11" Air gets 5 hours pretty consistently as it is.

msjones · Jan 23, 2013, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyr

Uh, my 2011 11" Air gets 5 hours pretty consistently as it is.

I concur. I get about this from my 2012 11"MBA. Though I am mainly working in a terminal or text wrangler. But always with a wifi connection, half brightness.

Robyr · Jan 23, 2013, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msjones

I concur. I get about this from my 2012 11"MBA. Though I am mainly working in a terminal or text wrangler. But always with a wifi connection, half brightness.

There is something to be said for the charge-time too. It take ~1.5 hours to go from 10% to 100% on the 11", and that is fine by me. Realistically, the 11" is fine for me now, but I would like a real increase in battery runtime.

11-12 hours with a Retina Pro styled casing, but the same LCD thickness and a 2mm reduction in the base thickness would be the perfect chassis.

Hirakata · Jan 23, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyr

Uh, my 2011 11" Air gets 5 hours pretty consistently as it is.

I agree with this as well. I use my 2012 11" for writing (Word) with wi-fi on (for reference searching on the internet) and with iTunes running.

KPOM · Jan 23, 2013, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The-Pro

Funny thing is your right. Apple wont just make a product thicker and heavier then a previous generation model. Just not going to happen. If not thinner and lighter they will keep it the same. Unlike the iPad to iPad retina where the HAD to make it minimally thicker they don't have to do that with the air. I am very sure they will keep have the same battery life in the new model. Maybe they will say it has 6hrs if we are lucky. Problems is they wanted to make the air so thin that there is little space for a battery. They could have just made the the entire computer 1-2mm thicker, and fitted a much bigger battery.

That said, they did introduce the 13" rMBP, which in many respects is like a thicker 13" MBA with a bigger battery. I'm wondering how much more battery life they might have gotten had they used the ULV chips from the 13" Air.

I recently lost my 2012 11.6" MacBook Air and replaced it with a 13" rMBP, but the Retina Display, rather than the battery life was my primary motivation. I had owned 11.6" models since 2010, and was reasonably pleased with the battery life. Apple is one of the few manufacturers that sells an 11.6" notebook in large volumes. It isn't reasonable to expect 13.3" notebook battery life out of something that small.

Haswell will help, but then people will be complaining that the 11.6" Air gets 6-7 hours of battery life while the 13.3" gets 8-9 hours.

Ray Brady · Jan 23, 2013, 10:34 AM

I get more than 7 hours out of my Air's battery, though I only turn on Wi-Fi when I'm actually using it.

chrisrosemusic1 · Jan 23, 2013, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The-Pro

Funny thing is your right. Apple wont just make a product thicker and heavier then a previous generation model. Just not going to happen. If not thinner and lighter they will keep it the same. Unlike the iPad to iPad retina where the HAD to make it minimally thicker they don't have to do that with the air. I am very sure they will keep have the same battery life in the new model. Maybe they will say it has 6hrs if we are lucky. Problems is they wanted to make the air so thin that there is little space for a battery. They could have just made the the entire computer 1-2mm thicker, and fitted a much bigger battery.

You can also look at external battery solutions or even build one yourself. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1385372

I too see that a lot lately. I have one aswell. Its quite convenient actually. I wish you had more control with the keyboard though. I hate having to reach up to tap something.

I'd like to correct you on this. The retina iPad is heavier and thicker than the 2!

Robyr · Jan 23, 2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisrosemusic1

I'd like to correct you on this. The retina iPad is heavier and thicker than the 2!

Did you not read his post?!

chrisrosemusic1 · Jan 23, 2013, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyr

Did you not read his post?!

LOL it seems not - just re read it. Read the first line and just assumed the rest! xD

+1 tool point for me!

Jan 23, 2013, 01:34 AM	#1
waa1futs macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2012	Will Haswell finally give the 11" Air acceptable battery life? I love the 11" form factor and would vastly prefer it over the 13" version except for one thing: the horrible battery life 3.5 - 4 hours of battery life during medium usage is completely unacceptable for a $1000 machine. Especially since using it over time that number will get worn down ever more. Will the 2013 versions with Haswell chips finally give the 11" Air the 5-7 hours of medium usage battery life it deserves?
	0

Jan 23, 2013, 02:16 AM	#3
Mrbobb macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2012	Nope, they will make it still thinner and even lighter with a smaller battery... Kidding! Hey lately am seeing lots of people with iPad + Physical keyboard, and is Office IOS out yet? __________________ Solution: FREE, Explanation: Is gonna cost ya.
	0

Jan 23, 2013, 05:20 AM	#5
Robyr macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2010	Uh, my 2011 11" Air gets 5 hours pretty consistently as it is. __________________ Do not fark with your Mac if you don't know what you are doing.
	1

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Jan 23, 2013, 02:12 AM	#2
krspkbl macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: UK	Obviously I can't give you an exact number but the haswell architecture will improve battery life for sure. From what I've read on here it could only be between 30-60 minutes extra battery life. That's 4-5 hrs life. Still no where near the 13" battery life on ivy bridge (6.5/9hrs)
	0

Jan 23, 2013, 10:34 AM	#10
Ray Brady macrumors member Join Date: Dec 2011	I get more than 7 hours out of my Air's battery, though I only turn on Wi-Fi when I'm actually using it.
	0