iPad Pro Battery usage with the Pencil?

[timothevs]

What kind of battery life is everyone getting on their Pro's while using the Apple Pencil?

I received mine last night, even though I've had the iPad Pro for about 10 days now. I was a little surprised to see the battery drain about 20% in 2 hours, while using the Pencil to write/draw. Surprising because I was seeing just phenomenal battery life on the iPad Pro before using the Pencil. I am sure drawing/writing with the Pencil takes more resources (not to mention the 240Hz screen refresh?), but does the drain seem reasonable?

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Like you, I see a ~10%/hour drain when using the Pencil. Since I didn't buy my iPad Pro until after I had my Apple Pencil in hand (told an Apple Store person the Pro was worthless without the Pencil and they looked at me like I grew a second head right in front of them LOL), I don't have any considerable non-Pencil usage to compare to.

Just wanted to mention I am running the latest 9.2 beta.

 

[timothevs]

Like you, I see a ~10%/hour drain when using the Pencil. Since I didn't buy my iPad Pro until after I had my Apple Pencil in hand (told an Apple Store person the Pro was worthless without the Pencil and they looked at me like I grew a second head right in front of them LOL), I don't have any considerable non-Pencil usage to compare to.

Just wanted to mention I am running the latest 9.2 beta.

I hear you... I felt the same way about using the iPad Pro without the Pencil. The novelty of the large screen wore off after a few days. Sure the comics (especially the European issues) looked GORGEOUS, but as for real "Pro" use, without the Pencil, the iPad Pro felt hobbled.

Thanks for chiming in with your numbers. Although I am on 9.1, it seems like ~ 10% per hour is reasonable, albeit a bit high in my honest opinion. No wonder most YouTube reviewers have their iPad Pro's plugged in during the demos.

 

[ZombiePete]

Although I am on 9.1, it seems like ~ 10% per hour is reasonable, albeit a bit high in my honest opinion. No wonder most YouTube reviewers have their iPad Pro's plugged in during the demos.

That equates to about 10 hours of use, which is what Apple quoted as the expected battery life. Unless a YouTube reviewer was expecting their demo to go past 10 hours, I'm not sure why they would be fussed about the battery life.

I do agree that I generally see more than 10 hours in my personal day-to-day usage, with light pencil use each day and maybe a top off for it every once in a while, but it seems that Apple may have taken constant use of the Pencil into consideration when presenting their battery expectations, which is actually pretty responsible of them.

 

[timothevs]

That equates to about 10 hours of use, which is what Apple quoted as the expected battery life. Unless a YouTube reviewer was expecting their demo to go past 10 hours, I'm not sure why they would be fussed about the battery life.

I do agree that I generally see more than 10 hours in my personal day-to-day usage, with light pencil use each day and maybe a top off for it every once in a while, but it seems that Apple may have taken constant use of the Pencil into consideration when presenting their battery expectations, which is actually pretty responsible of them.

Ah, I must've missed the Apple's battery expectations from the iPad Pro. I do find their estimates are pretty spot on. I found it a bit surprising that I got nearly 19-20 hours from the iPad Pro without the Pencil, and then halved that with the Pencil. But, good to know I am not the only one. Thanks for chiming in!

 

[Nausicaa]

I worry something is off with my battery. The Pencil definitely drains mine quickly as well - but much faster than 10% an hour. That's like low brightness web browsing drainage. Full tilt it gets 6-7 hours. Some reviews seem to reflect that's about right, but you're saying you get more than 10 hours regularly!?

 

[timothevs]

I worry something is off with my battery. The Pencil definitely drains mine quickly as well - but much faster than 10% an hour. That's like low brightness web browsing drainage. Full tilt it gets 6-7 hours. Some reviews seem to reflect that's about right, but you're saying you get more than 10 hours regularly!?

That does seem low. As for me, I don't have the historical data to back up "regularly" over 10 hours. But yes, that seems to be what it is on course for, currently. Mind you, I have a few things switched off - "Reduce Motion" is set, for one.

 

[ZombiePete]

I worry something is off with my battery. The Pencil definitely drains mine quickly as well - but much faster than 10% an hour. That's like low brightness web browsing drainage. Full tilt it gets 6-7 hours. Some reviews seem to reflect that's about right, but you're saying you get more than 10 hours regularly!?

I do keep my brightness fairly low; maybe around 25% most of the time.