Did I just confirm the lower battery life?

[revelated]

2010 MacBook Pro 17" system information reads full charge capacity @ 12392.

2011 MacBook Pro 17" system information reads full charge capacity @ 8850.

That's quite the difference in battery capacity, assuming it's the same type of battery. I wonder what would happen if I were to put the 2010 battery in the 2011. This could get quite interesting.

 

[iPhone1]

2011's only rated for 7 hours.

 

[alust2013]

I can't imagine that that is accurate. I'm fairly certain that they used the same battery in both models, it would be absolutely ridiculous to put a lower capacity battery in when you have the same amount of space.

 

[ECUpirate44]

The battery is the same capacity for the 2010 and 2011 model.

 

[axu539]

iFixit confirmed that at least the 15" has the same battery as last year.

 

[TheHoff]

On only my second cycle with a 17", I got 6.5 hours of constant work in Safari, Coda, and Skype including voice calls, so I'd say 7 hours is a very fair rating and accurate.

 

[rossmadden]

CNET says that during video playback, it got 7 hours and 5 minutes.

I've just put up a thread about it: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=11997725#post11997725

 

[shstiger2009]

If you look at this thread posted a few minutes ago, shows CNET did testing and the battery actually lasted longer. Don't really think they'd go with a lower battery life.

 

[kobyh15]

They got a full hour longer than the 2010. Impressive. Those waiting for the 15" got a very nice refresh.

 

[revelated]

All I know is what the system information screen shows me.

I'll run a calibrate tonight. Then I'll see what the capacity reports. Again, this is the 17" I'm referring to, not the 15". Seems everybody is all about the 13" and 15".

 

[TheHoff]

All I know is what the system information screen shows me.

I'll run a calibrate tonight. Then I'll see what the capacity reports. Again, this is the 17" I'm referring to, not the 15". Seems everybody is all about the 13" and 15".

My 17" reads the same charge as yours. My previous was a 15" so I can't compare. Do you really think, though, that they purposefully gimped the 17 out of 33% of its battery capacity? Or is it more likely that the battery tech changed or it simply reports differently.

Why would Apple purposefully lower battery capacity by so much without changing anything else about the case or dimensions or internal layout?

 

[AlphaDogg]

What battery monitoring applications are you all using? I would recommend using CoconutBattery.

 

[GGJstudios]

What battery monitoring applications are you all using? I would recommend using CoconutBattery.

iStat Pro, iStat Menus or coconutBattery will all perform pretty much the same with regard to reporting battery status.

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

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[revelated]

My 17" reads the same charge as yours. My previous was a 15" so I can't compare. Do you really think, though, that they purposefully gimped the 17 out of 33% of its battery capacity? Or is it more likely that the battery tech changed or it simply reports differently.

Why would Apple purposefully lower battery capacity by so much without changing anything else about the case or dimensions or internal layout?

Not sure. The battery appears to be the same size, but that doesn't necessarily mean the same # of cells. Might have less, but larger, cells that are not capable of holding the same capacity. I'm just wondering if that's the case, is all. The capacity doesn't lie, is all I'm saying.

 

[DustinT]

Not sure. The battery appears to be the same size, but that doesn't necessarily mean the same # of cells. Might have less, but larger, cells that are not capable of holding the same capacity. I'm just wondering if that's the case, is all. The capacity doesn't lie, is all I'm saying.

Ya, your software just didn't read it correctly for some reason. Its the same battery man.

 

[revelated]

Ya, your software just didn't read it correctly for some reason. Its the same battery man.

I am not using any special software. The readouts are from Snow Leopard itself.

 

[dw3bb10]

the battery in my base 15 2011 model doesnt seem to last very long.

 

[GGJstudios]

the battery in my base 15 2011 model doesnt seem to last very long.

It's completely dependent on your settings and what you have running. Read the Battery FAQ I posted for more details.