The big question: Battery 2012 Vs 2011 Vs 2010 MBAs

[chanyitian]

Anandtech comprehensively benched the 2010 MBAs as having a longer lasting battery than the 2011 models, my main reason for not upgrading my 2010 models then, anyone have any info on the 2012 models' battery?

I hope Anandtech bench these soon, this will be a major factor in my decision to go for the 2012 model, even if it means getting the lower clocked processor to conserve even more power.

Also, any word on this configurable TDP?

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Just to add that I'm specifically looking at the 11" models, which seem to drain the thing in no time.

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Also, I'm very curious to know about the effect on battery not only if you go with the higher clocked CPU, but if you go for 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD vs smaller configurations. Any info appreciated.

I watched a Youtube video ( forgot the title, sorry) but it says that 2012 macbook air has a greater battery life than the 2011 model for 50-55 minutes

 

[Jobsian]

Good news for 11" owners (strictly MBAs), Macworld's review shows a better battery than 2011's model. No comparison to 2010 made.

13" 2011+2012 MBAs are almost identical in battery life in their tests.

http://www.macworld.com/article/116...er_improved_performance_and_connectivity.html

 

[arctic]

Good news for 11" owners (strictly MBAs), Macworld's review shows a better battery than 2011's model. No comparison to 2010 made.

13" 2011+2012 MBAs are almost identical in battery life in their tests.

http://www.macworld.com/article/116...er_improved_performance_and_connectivity.html

Nice to see Macworld's MBA numbers are up (still waiting for AnadTech's). As for different battery life results from other sites, I heard Macworld's podcast a few days ago of them mentioning their method in Battery Testing. Unlike other sites who use lower brightness, Macworld actually uses 100% for their rigorous battery draining test. They loop the playback of a hi-res video in order to get a "worse case scenario" in battery figures. Meaning with our real life usage, we can never get worse than those numbers. So the 2012 11" MBA getting 4 hours and 11 minutes is actually pretty kick-ass. Big difference from last year's by 30 minutes. And the 13" MBA is actually beating the bigger battery of the 2.3GHz MBA Retina by 14 minutes.

 

[nilart]

Just posted on another thread, but it is more relevant here.

"I contemplated buying the new 11.6" and passing my basic 2010 one over to my wife, but the upgrades are just not worth it for me.

Obviously it depends what your usage is, but as I am retired, mine spends the day on the Internet with virtually no other use, so weight and a good display are my criteria, though I would have liked the backlit keyboard from last years.

Biggest disappointment is the reduction in battery life, used to be over four hours especially with Coolbook, now after 18 months it is down to barely two. I know there is a gradual % drop off with age, Coconut shows 75% left, but mine is over 50%, so I will have a word with Apple Care as I have a two year warranty.

tut"

Just as a kick note, macbooks start with a little more than 100% of battery life, 115% or so, I've even seen some with 120%, that means 75% is not actually 3/4 of your battery life