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Battery life - 13" MBPro vs MBAir

L

leenak

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 10, 2011
2,416
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So, for my own reasons, I am looking at notebooks with the longest battery life and ultra portability. I have a 15" rMBP but since I got a iMac, I think I can downgrade my laptop.

Based on the specs, the 13" MBAir gets up to 12 hours of battery life while the 13" MBPro gets 10. According to this though, the 13" MBP got 12 hours:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/all-day-strong-longest-lasting-notebooks

So I'm wondering, if the difference isn't all that much, maybe I should just get the MBP? Although I really like the thinness on the MBAir.

Any thoughts? Opinions?
 
Battery

leenak said:
So, for my own reasons, I am looking at notebooks with the longest battery life and ultra portability. I have a 15" rMBP but since I got a iMac, I think I can downgrade my laptop.

Based on the specs, the 13" MBAir gets up to 12 hours of battery life while the 13" MBPro gets 10. According to this though, the 13" MBP got 12 hours:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/all-day-strong-longest-lasting-notebooks

So I'm wondering, if the difference isn't all that much, maybe I should just get the MBP? Although I really like the thinness on the MBAir.

Any thoughts? Opinions?
Click to expand...

It all depends on how you use your computer and what for. I can tell you that for light usage apples numbers are pretty much spot on. Anything other than that can be so varied depending on apps used number left running etc that it is impossible to give you any real idea what you'll get. For example if you run chrome with flash you'll as much as halve your battery life!!!
 
When shopping for a new mac recently I decided that 10 hours vs 12 hours didn't really make a difference because they're both a very long time. I went with the rMBP.
 
I think for my needs and since I've been wanting an Air since they came out but couldn't justify the lack of video card, I decided to go with the Air. I really do want max battery time. I'll just have to watch things that drain it.
 
leenak said:
I think for my needs and since I've been wanting an Air since they came out but couldn't justify the lack of video card, I decided to go with the Air. I really do want max battery time. I'll just have to watch things that drain it.
Click to expand...

The 13" air and 13" rMBP both have integrated GPUs. The rMBP has a slightly better GPU, but it also has a higher resolution screen so it has more work to do.
 
T5BRICK said:
The 13" air and 13" rMBP both have integrated GPUs. The rMBP has a slightly better GPU, but it also has a higher resolution screen so it has more work to do.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm aware. I just meant that up until this point, I wouldn't have been satisfied with an integrated GPU. Now since it will be a secondary computer, I'll be fine with it.
 
leenak said:
I think for my needs and since I've been wanting an Air since they came out but couldn't justify the lack of video card, I decided to go with the Air. I really do want max battery time. I'll just have to watch things that drain it.
Click to expand...
There are many factors that impact your battery life. See the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link for details, including tips on how to maximize your battery life.
​
The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
 
I was looking for exactly some thing just yesterday, as in the laptop with the best battery life possible, If you check online deep enough you will find enough reviews that clarify this topic.

Basically the 2014 Air tends to have a slightly better battery than 2015 (as in 40-50min) when it's idle, but when CPU/iGPU used (basically why we use our computers) the 2015 is the winner (by the same small margin).

However, the 2015 MBP is surprinsingly the same battery in real life as the Air.
Many reviews stated how great the 2015 MBP actually was.

Lisa from MobileTechReview got almost 13 hours, while this reviewer managed to get 17(!) hours out of it (https://twitter.com/aitchharrison/status/581093143631818752).
Others got almost 10 hours out of it with a normal-decent workload but with max brightness, so it's realistic to asume they would get around 12 hours with lower brightness.


Unless you really really want to lightest laptop possible and you don't care about Retina screen, I think the rMBP 2015 is the clear winner.
 
Ugh, it is hard. I think part of the difficulty is that going back to non retina may be difficult for me :) I thought I could do it for sake of the battery but not sure I can. Anyway, I ordered the rMBP. I only saw one bench mark when the battery was drained super fast on the rMBP and it was graphics intensive. At the time when I will need a lot of battery power, I won't be doing anything graphically intensive.
 
leenak said:
Ugh, it is hard. I think part of the difficulty is that going back to non retina may be difficult for me :) I thought I could do it for sake of the battery but not sure I can. Anyway, I ordered the rMBP. I only saw one bench mark when the battery was drained super fast on the rMBP and it was graphics intensive. At the time when I will need a lot of battery power, I won't be doing anything graphically intensive.
Click to expand...

Wise choice. I went from a 13" Air (2014) to a 13" Pro (2015). Didn't think I'd care about screen quality all that much but I do and can't go back. It's so much better.
 
After canceling and reordering between the Air and Pro all day long, I decided to go to Best Buy. They had the MBPros on sale so I got the 13" mid level model :)
 
I was also deciding between the Air and the Pro and went with the Pro because of the retina display. Once I used a retina MBP, going back to non-retina non-IPS macbook air was just not an option.

The Pro is only 1/2 pound heavier than the Air, which will surely bother some people but doesn't bother me (and I'm coming from a 2012 2.4 pound 11" MB Air).

Apple rates the Pro's battery life at 10 hours, the Air's at 12. I'd prefer 12, but 10 is pretty dang good. And the Pro has more connectivity options.

The Air is still a great choice for many people. It has evolved from a niche computer that made compromises to achieve extreme portability to a powerful, mainstream machine. I just can't deal with the Air's non-IPS non-Retina display; I've been spoiled by the pro's retina IPS display.

Good luck!


leenak said:
So, for my own reasons, I am looking at notebooks with the longest battery life and ultra portability. I have a 15" rMBP but since I got a iMac, I think I can downgrade my laptop.

Based on the specs, the 13" MBAir gets up to 12 hours of battery life while the 13" MBPro gets 10. According to this though, the 13" MBP got 12 hours:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/all-day-strong-longest-lasting-notebooks

So I'm wondering, if the difference isn't all that much, maybe I should just get the MBP? Although I really like the thinness on the MBAir.

Any thoughts? Opinions?
Click to expand...
 
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