Choosing a Macbook Air and Battery Life Question

[ryan101]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum.

I am looking to buy a Macbook Air. My preference is with the Macbook Air 11" model because I want it to be small. However, I noticed that the 11" models have 2 hours less battery life than the other models.

My questions are aimed at those who own any of the current models of Macbook Airs. Is the advertised battery life fairly accurate? Or is it an exageration.

Battery life is my second most important factor, and I want to know is there way of increasing the battery life on an 11" Macbook Air to make it the same as the 13" models?

I also noticed that the 11" ones don't give you the choice of the more powerful processors. I assume that's because the power supply unit won't be able to handle the processors.

Any thoughts or advice on all the above is welcome.

 

[GGJstudios]

I am new to the forum.

Welcome!

My questions are aimed at those who own any of the current models of Macbook Airs. Is the advertised battery life fairly accurate? Or is it an exageration.

Battery life is my second most important factor, and I want to know is there way of increasing the battery life on an 11" Macbook Air to make it the same as the 13" models?

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.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[Weaselboy]

I have a 2012 13" Macbook Air and get just slightly better than the seven hours Apple advertises when just doing reading/web browsing. If you start watching 1080p YouTube videos, then that is a different story and battery life goes down the tubes.

I never have had an 11", but just from reading reviews etc., it looks like the five hours Apple advertises for that is accurate also.

I don't know of anything you can do to the 11" to make it get seven hours battery life like the 13".

Short answer... Apple's battery life claims are not exaggerated.

 

[Wokis]

Though I've never timed it, I'm fairly convinced that I've exceeded 7 hours of battery life when doing very light web browsing at a low backlight setting. 13 inch.

 

[ryan101]

Thanks Guys.

I ended up buying the 11inch model as it was the most portable.