I love the new MacBook Pro's non-removable battery, and I was wondering on the likelihood and/or time frame of Apple implementing this technology in the new 13" and 15" MacBooks.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New battery in MacBook Pro for the MacBook?
- Thread starter mi.mac.rules
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Probably not for a long time. The 17" MacBook Pro never really sold all that many units as it possibly could have done if it had been sold slightly cheaper, and Apple has found a way in which we now desire the 17" model despite the pricing - it has an awesome battery and the much sought after anti-glare display that we all miss.
Its all a clever plan. I guess it'll filter down a couple of generations down the way.
Its all a clever plan. I guess it'll filter down a couple of generations down the way.
That makes me sad because I, as well as every Mac user (I assume), love the new battery; its life span and cycle increase; but want to stick with the MacBook (for size reasons and meeting my needs vs. price).
I personally doubt they will include it in the MacBooks or 15" Pros anytime soon. They just released the redesign of these machines a few months ago and it would make absolutely no sense for them to do a redesign this soon. I think the removable batteries are here to stay if only until the next product refresh.
i would love a long life battery for the macbook. even if it had the same runtime and was removable, if they made one which would easily last 600 cycles i would be more inclined to use the battery. i find that i quite often avoid using the battery just so i dont clock up the cycles too fast. i know that the batterys do naturally deterioate over time but ultimately they have a lifetime of about 300 cycles so i dont really want to replace batteries every couple of years.
That would be so great but I don't think it's going to happen. For one, it's something that might make someone opt to spend the extra cash on a 17inch mbp over an mb or the 15in mbp, and also, they'd have to design a new battery to fit in the 13 and 15inch models. For the 17inch they made teh bat not user replaceable so that they could make it bigger so that it could be more powerful. That same bigger battery would not fit into the smaller models...
Well I thought that was obvious... so I like the answer about 14 to 16 months being the next possible update. I'm actually glad it wouldn't be for another year or so, because my white MacBook from Nov. of 2006 is definitely good for another year or 3 as long as I can update the battery eventually.
Its $50 more for a battery with, at least, twice the life span, as opposed to $129 more for a second removable battery. Seems like good economics to me.
Regardless, if they did the same thing with the MacBook you wouldn't get anywhere near the battery life as you do in the 17".
The minute Apple goes across the board with non-removables is when I'll have to start working on a hackintosh, or more over I could then just get a nice laptop with good battery that runs Linux.
I guess I look at it differently. It would seem that Apple wants to appear "green" - less batteries in landfills (whether they are or not is a separate debate) and that was part of the advertising for the 17" MBP. So why wouldn't they want to incorporate them into the other models?
That said, I don't know much about the technology of the new battery. I would think that if they can be put in the 13" and 15" models, they would. When it happens probably depends on how much re-configuring there needs to be done under the hood as it would require a larger battery.
It would be a smart move on Apple's part as would help with all the comparisons to lower-priced PC notebooks with "similar" specs. I would be surprised if they other MacBooks don't have the new battery by the end of the year.
Then again, Apple has other confusing strategies so who knows.....
That said, I don't know much about the technology of the new battery. I would think that if they can be put in the 13" and 15" models, they would. When it happens probably depends on how much re-configuring there needs to be done under the hood as it would require a larger battery.
It would be a smart move on Apple's part as would help with all the comparisons to lower-priced PC notebooks with "similar" specs. I would be surprised if they other MacBooks don't have the new battery by the end of the year.
Then again, Apple has other confusing strategies so who knows.....