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My battery drains about 25% faster than my iPad 2

N

NameUndecided

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 28, 2011
751
68
Since yesterday, I've suspected that my new iPad's battery goes down faster than what I'm used to with my iPad 2. Today I did three tests alongside the iPad 2 that I haven't yet sold off. Each test was one hour. This is how it went:

-- Both iPads on at full brightness with wi-fi on (bluetooth off on both). Not doing much else.
New iPad - lost 19%
iPad 2 - lost 15%

-- Both iPads streaming video from HBOGo / MaxGo apps w/ brightness at 75%.
New iPad - lost 11%
iPad 2 - lost 4%

-- Both iPads playing the same video file stored on device, brightness at 50% while in airplane mode:
New iPad - lost 7%
iPad 2 - lost 5%

I thought it surprising that while there was always a loss for my new iPad's battery, the differences are really pretty varying. It might be that wi-fi drains my new iPad even more, still.

From the other bits of feedback I've read about the new iPad, it really sounds like this shouldn't be the case. I guess I might have to try to exchange it at the Apple Store where I bought it. A little bit disappointing.

There is also one single dead pixel. I thought I would be fine with it, but this battery issue alone seems like reason enough.

Any ideas for an additional test? I thought that once they're both charged back up to 100%, I might let them both play the same two-hour movie on device with wi-fi (and maybe bluetooth?) turned on on both with brightness at 75%.
 
Interesting. I wonder if there would be a difference if you do a reading after 2 hours as opposed to just 1.
 
I was waiting for someone to mention this. I am going through the same thing. I use my iPad a lot, about 12 hours a day. iPads 1 and 2 only needed to be recharged towards the end of the day. My iPad 3 only lasted 6.5 hours today. It is wifi only and I use it with the brightness pretty high.

:mad:
 
doboy said:
New battery needs few charge cycles for conditioning.
Click to expand...

I mean no disrespect at all when I say… no, I don't buy that. I have never heard of a rechargeable battery needing to get broken in a bit before it can better hold a charge. I may be wrong.

My experience also doesn't seem to match up with statements like this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1343677/

And I'm sure I would have seen some more worried sounding posts about a not as strong battery. (Maybe I've missed them?)

Remarks about battery life in tech-site reviews where they've only had the device for a day or so also seem to say that the battery lives up to standard.

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I wrote my reply while other responses were coming in.

I think that I'll let it go up and down for a couple of days before being quick to return it. I'll be keeping record, and it will be tedious.
 
Mine has been lasting 7-8 hours a day so far. This really isn't a concern though because I won't be using it as often starting Monday.
 
NameUndecided said:
I mean no disrespect at all when I say… no, I don't buy that. I have never heard of a rechargeable battery needing to get broken in a bit before it can better hold a charge. I may be wrong.
Click to expand...

none taken. I think it has to do with iPad's circuitry knowing when it's really full. By doing full charges and discharges, it lets iPad know the limits of the battery.
Did you restore from a backup? It could also be corrupted during restoration.
 
doboy said:
none taken. I think it has to do with iPad's circuitry knowing when it's really full. By doing full charges and discharges, it lets iPad know the limits of the battery.
Did you restore from a backup? It could also be corrupted during restoration.
Click to expand...

Oooh, I did restore from a backup about an hour after opening the box. I'm afraid I don't follow you on how that ties together. Is there a fix that you might recommend?
 
If you think there's an issue, I'd suggest taking it back and trying a new one. I don't have a previous iPad to compare, but from Apple's claims and most reviews I've seen the battery life should be comparable.
 
It's not that the battery needs to be 'broken in'. It's that the calibration may be off. Even Apple recommends you do a full discharge and recharge once in a while. In other words, your meter may be off. It can't hurt and it might just be the issue.
 
NameUndecided said:
Oooh, I did restore from a backup about an hour after opening the box. I'm afraid I don't follow you on how that ties together. Is there a fix that you might recommend?
Click to expand...

What I meant is that if battery conditioning is not the problem then it could possibly be related to restoring from a backup. Some people in the past have had problems when they restored from a backup, especially with a new version of the hardware. I'm not saying that's definitely your case. I would use the device for a week or so then do the test again. However, if you feel that it's not up to your standards right now, you can just get it exchanged. It may get tougher to get a replacement immediately as the stock dwindles later on. It's up to you.
 
The battery's watt-hours increased from 25 to 42.5, a 70% increase; pixels went from 786432 to 3145728, a 300% increase. Maybe that ratio imbalance results in a shorter battery life? If so, running on high brightness would probably tax this battery more than the same brightness would have on iPad 2, further shortening battery life.

I'm no engineer and am willing to buy that it needs a bit of time to learn it's limits, or that its meter might be off, but I think mine drained faster also. The numbers might be of concern.
 
doboy said:
What I meant is that if battery conditioning is not the problem then it could possibly be related to restoring from a backup. Some people in the past have had problems when they restored from a backup, especially with a new version of the hardware. I'm not saying that's your case. I would use the device for a week or so then do the test again. However, if you feel that it's not up to your standards right now, you can just get it exchanged. It may get tougher to get a replacement immediately as the stock dwindles later on. It's up to you.
Click to expand...

I will certainly be giving it more of a chance. I'm in no rush to exchange it. It might actually be kind of terrible that part of the reason I don't want to trade it in is because I'm so happy with the screen (hint hint: I like its tint) and all else about it.

Ooof. I'm becoming sentimentally attached to an entirely interchangeable piece of glass. Technology is turning us all into nutcases and it makes my heart warm.
 
I remember in the iPad/iPad 2 benchmarks, battery life was routinely above 11 hours whereas I believe for the new iPad they're closer to 9 so it may be a case of going from way over-performing to underperforming.
 
Cembandit said:
Losing 19% in an hour not doing anything? Sounds like bull.
Click to expand...

Sitting and doing nothing with the brightness turned all the way up seemed to be the biggest drain on both devices. Quite a lot more than streaming a movie at 75% brightness. It blows my mind. I'm trying to not think about it too much.
 
NameUndecided said:
Sitting and doing nothing with the brightness turned all the way up seemed to be the biggest drain on both devices. Quite a lot more than streaming a movie at 75% brightness. It blows my mind. I'm trying to not think about it too much.
Click to expand...

Yeah, displays are the biggest battery hog. Display is the biggest battery hog on my android phone according to the battery usage stats.
 
Ok I'm at 32% at 0116 hours. I just turned brightness up to 100%. I'll post back in an hour how much battery I use reading forums. My patients are all sleeping anyways. Blue tooth is off. Wi Fi 16 GB

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31% :eek: at 0120 already
 
Cembandit said:
Ok I'm at 32% at 0116 hours. I just turned brightness up to 100%. I'll post back in an hour how much battery I use reading forums. My patients are all sleeping anyways. Blue tooth is off. Wi Fi 16 GB

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31% :eek: at 0120 already
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that's just stating the obvious. I think Apple's battery tests are conducted at 50% brightness, so you clearly won't get a full 10 hours.

But, anyway, the point of this thread is to compare the new iPad and the iPad 2. So far, all official reviews have said that the new iPad is on par with the iPad 2 in battery life.
 
I work out pretty regularly and I watch 2, 1 hour long shows (42-43 min commercial free) each time I work out. Usually my iPad is at about 60-70% brightness. On the iPad 2 I was getting down to about 95% after 1 show, today I got down to 99% after the first show and was at 95% after the second. Not really scientific, but I got better battery life out of my new iPad.

This was with no wifi connected and Bluetooth off.
 
lympero said:
Yeah not possible
Click to expand...

Unless, um, something's wonky with the battery or with the bits that read its levels, which is exactly what all of this discussion is centered upon. Thanks for the cynical skepticism though (?), it's helpful.

Also, I just watched 45minutes of Netflix with the brightness all the way up. Brought it down 20%. Another 5% after sitting about 10-15 minutes. It does seem to be the full brightness that brings it down. I'm just going to let it die off and then plug it in for the night.

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richpjr said:
According to the review by Walt Mossberg, his real world experience was that the new iPad had slightly less battery life than the iPad 2, about 2 minutes short of the claimed 10 hours by Apple.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304459804577281472610072322.html
Click to expand...

Mine's… doing a little worse than that. ;)
 
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