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15" MacBook Pro Battery Tests: "Eight, freakin, hours"

Believe it or not, my power went out while reading this thread earlier so I decided to do my own "test".
Late 2008 Unibody MBP 2.4 GHz, 4 GB ram, 250 GB HD @5400rpm, OS X 10.5.7.
Lowered the screen brightness to 50%,
Volume set to second tick mark in settings. Use built in speakers.
Dropped SMC FanControl speed to 2500rpm,
Bluetooth, Time machine, Spaces off, Wifi connected.
Quit all applications except Firefox beta 4 and iTunes.
iTunes played continuously and was hidden
Browsed and posted on MacRumor's forums using Forum Spy, searched and watched 4 3-5 minutes Youtube videos, and a few other websites.

Time start 10:43 pm; low battery warning 2:28am.
I got exactly 3 hours and 45 minutes with only 4% battery remaining.
Where is my other hour?:rolleyes: I think this is a very good result considering other notebooks.
 
spillproof said:
Believe it or not, my power went out while reading this thread earlier so I decided to do my own "test".
Late 2008 Unibody MBP 2.4 GHz, 4 GB ram, 250 GB HD @5400rpm, OS X 10.5.7.
Lowered the screen brightness to 50%,
Volume set to second tick mark in settings. Use built in speakers.
Dropped SMC FanControl speed to 2500rpm,
Bluetooth, Time machine, Spaces off, Wifi connected.
Quit all applications except Firefox beta 4 and iTunes.
iTunes played continuously and was hidden
Browsed and posted on MacRumor's forums using Forum Spy, searched and watched 4 3-5 minutes Youtube videos, and a few other websites.

Time start 10:43 pm; low battery warning 2:28am.
I got exactly 3 hours and 45 minutes with only 4% battery remaining.
Where is my other hour?:rolleyes: I think this is a very good result considering other notebooks.
Click to expand...

That's about what I get too. Wish it were a bit more...
 
This is hilarious. 8 hours of "light" usage? Who the heck buys a Macbook "PRO" to lightly surf web pages without flash? Talk about tailoring a test to cast the MBP in a positive light. Also note that the MBP tested is essentially a 15" Macbook since it only has the integrated graphics. If anything, Apple should have added a 15" MB and kept the pro line intact with a removable battery and ExpressCard.

There's nothing stopping them from using the new battery technology AND keeping it removable. If you don't remove your battery or own a spare then it shouldn't bother you at all. But having it non-removable just screwed people that do need access.

So what happens when somebody is on location in the Grand Canyon/North Pole/rainforest/some place remote and cutting footage on FCP or doing something "pro" on site? How long will the battery last under moderately heavy usage? 2 hours? And what happens when it runs out and there's no outlet to plug into? You're dead in the water if you have a '09 MBP. Older gen MBP users can just swap in a new battery and keep on running.
 
Mad Mac said:
This is hilarious. 8 hours of "light" usage? Who the heck buys a Macbook "PRO" to lightly surf web pages without flash? Talk about tailoring a test to cast the MBP in a positive light. Also note that the MBP tested is essentially a 15" Macbook since it only has the integrated graphics. If anything, Apple should have added a 15" MB and kept the pro line intact with a removable battery and ExpressCard.

There's nothing stopping them from using the new battery technology AND keeping it removable. If you don't remove your battery or own a spare then it shouldn't bother you at all. But having it non-removable just screwed people that do need access.

So what happens when somebody is on location in the Grand Canyon/North Pole/rainforest/some place remote and cutting footage on FCP or doing something "pro" on site? How long will the battery last under moderately heavy usage? 2 hours? And what happens when it runs out and there's no outlet to plug into? You're dead in the water if you have a '09 MBP. Older gen MBP users can just swap in a new battery and keep on running.
Click to expand...

So your mad that the new 15" MBP has the longest lasting battery in its class? Please show me a PC that does better. I smell Windoze fanboyism.

Mad Mac said:
So what happens when somebody is on location in the Grand Canyon/North Pole/rainforest/some place remote and cutting footage on FCP or doing something "pro" on site? How long will the battery last under moderately heavy usage? 2 hours? And what happens when it runs out and there's no outlet to plug into? You're dead in the water if you have a '09 MBP. Older gen MBP users can just swap in a new battery and keep on running.
Click to expand...

Your kidding me right? LOL thanks for the laugh.
 
TBH, it seems easier to keep an external pack charged than making sure each battery is charged at 100%. Also when you can get external packs that could probably have %200 more juice than a single battery at the same size.
 
i have the new macbook pro with the built in battery but i only get 6hours with light usage. Where is the 8 hours?
 
Chase R said:
So your mad that the new 15" MBP has the longest lasting battery in its class? Please show me a PC that does better. I smell Windoze fanboyism.
Click to expand...
How about I show you my early '08 MBP instead? We'll do some heavy photoshop or FCP and see who can last 6 hours without an outlet. I guarantee you that it won't be you with a '09 MBP. All I have to do is swap in a new battery whenever I run out of juice. You, on the other hand, will just be able to stare at yourself thru the 15" glare on the glossy screen. The only thing you're smelling is rotten apples.
 
Mad Mac said:
How about I show you my early '08 MBP instead? We'll do some heavy photoshop or FCP and see who can last 6 hours without an outlet. I guarantee you that it won't be you with a '09 MBP. All I have to do is swap in a new battery whenever I run out of juice. You, on the other hand, will just be able to stare at yourself thru the 15" glare on the glossy screen. The only thing you're smelling is rotten apples.
Click to expand...
I think the point is that the '09 MBP lasts almost as long as the late '08 WITH a spare battery. You would have to have 2 fully charged spares to have a significantly longer running time with yours. And spare batteries tend to not hold their charges as well because they are not properly cycled most of the time.

Not to mention that polls on this subject in the past have shown that the vast majority of users don't even have a spare battery...
 
Mad Mac said:
How about I show you my early '08 MBP instead? We'll do some heavy photoshop or FCP and see who can last 6 hours without an outlet. I guarantee you that it won't be you with a '09 MBP. All I have to do is swap in a new battery whenever I run out of juice. You, on the other hand, will just be able to stare at yourself thru the 15" glare on the glossy screen. The only thing you're smelling is rotten apples.
Click to expand...

ZZZZzzzzzzz..:rolleyes:

I have been working now for more than 10 years as a consultant in many different companies. I have yet to encounter a person who brings a spare battery for his laptop (or cellphone for that matter), and I'm surrounded with people with high performance laptops all the time. And no, we don't only sit in offices, but spend a lot of time in the field.

I would like to see some reliable numbers of people that carry a spare battery for work. I'm sure it will be somewhere close to the people that use the Expresscard port.
 
bobertoq said:
Yes, but Apple said these new batteries will last 5 years before it even starts to loose its life and that it will replace it for free (I doubt for free) at any Apple Store.

Then you might want my MacBook, because there is never anything protruding out of it except for the charging cord at night.
Click to expand...

Not an "innie" but an "outie". ;):p

15mxxer.jpg


:apple:
 
looking at the tech, and the teardowns, am I the only one thinking they didn't need to seal that thing in there? Feels like they chose to do that for other reasons

As for innovating, well it is impressive, but its just moving to a lipo battery rather than li-ion. You get more usable capacity due to its flat voltage curve, and you get more real capacity due to the flat cells.

But they could have done all that and still made it removable. Maybe they wouldn't have hit 8 hours, but they'd still be way more than the old MBP just by replacing li-ion with li-po
 
This is just to say "bloody hell!". I was expecting the battery life figures to be better with the new laptops but I wasn't actually expecting independent verification that Apple's claims were genuine (battery life specifications and reality tend to differ). All in all, it's very good news.

Now I just wish that Apple would finally offer the 15" MBP with an anti-glare screen option like the 17".
 
gfountain said:
Sure - the case is sealed - crack the case, void your warranty. The battery in the iPhone isn't soldered in, either, but I have *YET* to see one that has been opened up that you cannot see through inspection has been opened up - unless it has been SENT AWAY to Apple where they have the *magic* tools to do so
Click to expand...
If the battery lasts three to five years, you will be out of warranty when you change the battery anyway.
 
Can i have some advice?

masse said:
wow i never would have guessed they would change the unibody design after the initial release. Still happy to have a perfect laptop though.

Guess I have at least 7 hours of battery life to look forward to with my next purchase (probably in 2012).
Click to expand...


I am thinking about ordering the refurbished version of the 15" 2.53 320 4GB 512 Video Macbook Pro. It is on sale for $650 less than the new mid-level MBP. Would you (or anyone) recommend this? Or would it be better to go with the newest version? I think I would miss the Express34 slot, maybe. What is the battery life like on the older 2.53? Any advice anyone? I have a friend that if offering me $800 for my 2.2 Santa Rosa MBP, fair price?

Thanks!
 
kockgunner said:
Because 10% of the computer market is greater than 1% of the 10%. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Dude, specious accounting. (1) No-one suggested that it's only Apple users who want replaceable batteries; (2) Those who want replaceable batteries are implicitly less likely to be Apple laptop users, though they may yearn for OS X.

bit density said:
Which is valid. The next question would be how many have 3 batteries. Because 2 batteries are going to largely be solved by the current better batteries.
Click to expand...
Confirmed 50% extra capacity on light load (don't assume runtime is inversely proportional to load - consider heat effects etc.) during the first few days of ownership does not equate by any means to 2 batteries, each of which can be kept fairly "new" because of the lack of hassle and security risk of having to find a suitable time/place to give your equipment to a third party for a few hours/days. People who are technically competent and live in metropolitan California are not the worldwide user.

And then would you be better with an external power system that should give you DRAMATIC amounts of extra power, and is easier to manage than an extra battery.
Click to expand...
So let's take a typical commuter scenario, the crowded train. Currently, it's click; slide; slide; click to replace the battery. With your li'l scheme we are clearing an extra space *somewhere* for an external battery pack (sure, we could run the battery pack inside an insulated case/backpack, but that's just going to give it an early death) and running a wire to it. Do I really want to be "that guy with the Mac who annoys everyone he's sitting next to by dangling bits everywhere and getting in people's way?" Oh, the train's stopped quickly, it's slipped onto the floor. Excuse me, can I just get that? It's my laptop thingy, I can't replace the battery. Let me just untangle that from your leg. It's a Macbook Pro, I'm sure you'll understand.

peterdevries said:
I have been working now for more than 10 years as a consultant in many different companies. I have yet to encounter a person who brings a spare battery for his laptop (or cellphone for that matter), and I'm surrounded with people with high performance laptops all the time. And no, we don't only sit in offices, but spend a lot of time in the field.
Click to expand...
7-10 years ago, "performance" laptop battery life was awful (and even the average machine was fairly bad). It sounds like you've been working around people who mostly use powerful laptops as desktop replacements, because you're effectively saying that no-one you'd met had needed to use their laptop for more than 2-3 hours on battery.
 
Veri said:
This is well illustrating the problem. Most parts in a laptop, treated well and past the first few months, will last for years: indeed, it's very rare for me to find my equipment failing in between years 2 and 6 of usage, with the exception of moving parts (rarely) and (always) the battery. They seem to have wildly different longevities even when supposedly the same part. You might have a very similar usage pattern to your neighbour, but slight differences in ambient temperature or manufacture of battery will make a huge difference to lifespan.
Click to expand...

i'll count me as a lucky guy ;) although if there is a problem at the manufactoring process, apple really should think about a solution. with so many people experiencing great differences in battery life, the battery does not *fully* contribute to a positive opinion about apple's battery tech. it shouldn't be the case that one person gets 2hrs productivity with 300 charges, while i get 3-4 hrs (using eclipse, browsing, several other programms in the background, not active though) with 586 charges...

parapup said:
That would be outstanding [*] - at that rate I don't see how it could drop to 80% capacity in another 1500 cycles. Have you ever opened the battery compartment? May be you will find Apple sneaked in a R&D prototype there - future batteries are supposed to last long enough to serve a person his/her lifetime ;)

[*] Apple Says 80% at 300 cycles
Click to expand...

yes, once to swap my HD. never did it again though. honestly i have no idea why the battery lasts that long. maybe i just took "good care", let it charge completely and then used it with out plugging it in untill it went off by itself. did 100 calibration without even knowing what calibration is good for...
as you see i have no idea, but im happy the way it is ;)
 
Veri said:
So let's take a typical commuter scenario, the crowded train. Currently, it's click; slide; slide; click to replace the battery. With your li'l scheme we are clearing an extra space *somewhere* for an external battery pack (sure, we could run the battery pack inside an insulated case/backpack, but that's just going to give it an early death) and running a wire to it. Do I really want to be "that guy with the Mac who annoys everyone he's sitting next to by dangling bits everywhere and getting in people's way?" Oh, the train's stopped quickly, it's slipped onto the floor. Excuse me, can I just get that? It's my laptop thingy, I can't replace the battery. Let me just untangle that from your leg. It's a Macbook Pro, I'm sure you'll understand.
Click to expand...

Then you'd have to be the only person stupid enough that I know to take a MacBook Pro onto a train.
Anyway Ive seen batteries that clip onto the bottom.
 
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