why doesn't apple focus more on improving battery life ?

[priitv8]

Isn't that "factual support"? Isn't that worth a little hype?

MBA could really get more battery life from CPU change only, because CPU has more weight in it's power balance sheet. On rMBP's power balance the screen tax will lessen CPU's impact.
PS also strange they didn't compare 2012 model against the Haswell MBA. Would that've ruined the nice 2x height difference of the bars?

 

[Moshe1010]

Crazy post. My MBPr is has been in constant use for the last 4 hours and still has 70% (7 hours) left. Who has better battery life?

Not everybody likes their brightness on 20%. If I use 80% brightness, my battery still dies in about 4 hours (15" rMBP).

 

[Yahooligan]

And only at the top end. The stock configurations are, as I said, within a few percentage points of each other.

Seems folks have also been ignoring the other aspect of the new CPUs; the iGPU performance kills the old Intel 4000.

Yeah, you're right, these new chipsets and CPUs...man...50%-100+% better performance with the iGPU, faster CPUs, less power...what pieces of crap. Horrible "upgrades" from the old ones.

First off, you have no idea what I do for a living, or what my processing requirements are. Second, it's small in the context of the usual trajectory of model upgrades, and that was really my point.

I never claimed to know anything about you, simply that your perspective/requirements/whatever aren't the same as everyone else.

I don't know why anyone was expecting to see "huge" performance increases for the CPU anyway, if anyone is disappointed then perhaps they made some bad assumptions about what improvements were coming.

I assure you, I've thought about it plenty. I've been posting about Haswell stuff for half a year now, including crunching through the numbers. I think it's a piss poor upgrade. A single digit CPU increase and a 14% battery time increase (when most of us were hoping for 9 hours, minimum) sucks, IMO. If you feel differently, fantastic for you.

Then you must think the upgrades have been piss-poor for a number of years. If you compare the base model performance increases over the past couple of years, what do you find? I don't know about you, but I found the increases to be fairly consistent for each generation when comparing similar-spec base models.

But whatever, you seem dead-set against admitting the new models are improved over the previous models and I don't know why, and honestly I don't care. For some reason you assumed I bought one of these new models, which I didn't, and that I was trying to justify the purchase, which I wasn't. Numbers don't lie, the data is there. Just because you're disappointed in the results doesn't mean there haven't been notable gains.

Take care.

 

[phsphoenix]

This whole post has troll warning written all over it. The poster obviously hasn't read any of the technical reviews about the Haswell platform, or he/she wouldn't have unrealistic expectations.

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Edit: Everytime I see one of these posts like "Apple needs to focus more on ______" or "Samsung should make smaller phones (my opinion btw)" I can't help but wonder, if the poster is so smart about product design, why isn't he/she doing the design work instead of the person or team that's actually doing it?

I strolled the computer rooms of my school the other day, and whereas before I saw a ton of cmbp 13" it's now half 13" cmbp and 13" rmbp. (How the students managed to get hold of so many 13" haswell rmbp this soon after launch is a bit beyond me though)

So apparently, Apple is doing something right, or I wouldn't be seeing 30+ 13" rmbp this soon after launch. At this rate they're well on to displacing the Airs that used to be a common sight around school.

 

[adnbek]

1) He wasn't trolling. I think there's some validity to his point.
2) I've been reported for calling someone a "troll" on these boards. I think the distinction between saying someone is trolling and calling them a troll is completely stupid, but the mods seem to disagree, so I mention this as something to keep in mind.

You know why he's trolling? Because this thread is about notebook battery life, something which Apple notebooks have always been BEST in their class (and keep improving). Never mind that the premise of this thread itself is stupid and makes no sense to begin with, due to the fact that Apple has always placed heavy focus on battery life in their notebooks. The thread itself seems like troll material.

Then this guy comes in and actually AGREES with the original OP by saying "well yeah of course not. Apple is just style over substance." agreeing with the original ridiculous premise of this thread AND also throwing in a cheap shot by saying that their notebooks in general are substandard. Sounds like he's just trying to keep the thread going.

That's why he's a troll.

 

[john123]

Seems folks have also been ignoring the other aspect of the new CPUs; the iGPU performance kills the old Intel 4000.

That's a straw man argument. The whole point of the dGPU was to give the laptop something to switch over to when the HD4000 isn't enough

Yeah, you're right, these new chipsets and CPUs...man...50%-100+% better performance with the iGPU, faster CPUs, less power...what pieces of crap. Horrible "upgrades" from the old ones.

Go back and look at benchmarks for previous iterations. You'll find that one of two things tends to happen: you get a pretty significant jump in performance (>10%), a form factor change, or introduction of some other "major" feature. The Haswells fall into none of these buckets. They're more comparable to a small speed bump upgrade, but on the lackluster end of that. I'm not sure why you are having such a hard time accepting that.

I don't know why anyone was expecting to see "huge" performance increases for the CPU anyway, if anyone is disappointed then perhaps they made some bad assumptions about what improvements were coming.

Sigh. You are not reading. It's a tad frustrating to say the least. The expectation has been battery life. PCs got a big boost. The MBA got a big boost. Even the 13" got a big boost. The 15" did not. I'd also say it's important to note that if they hadn't gone with Crystalwell parts, they could have achieved a bigger performance boost. None of these configurations are the best Haswell has to offer in terms of CPU power. I'd have personally been happier with a non-GT3e part and the HD4600, but it's pretty clear Apple and Intel didn't want that on the table.

Then you must think the upgrades have been piss-poor for a number of years. If you compare the base model performance increases over the past couple of years, what do you find? I don't know about you, but I found the increases to be fairly consistent for each generation when comparing similar-spec base models.

I've owned 19 PowerBooks, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros since 2001. Almost always base models (since that makes my annual computer "flipping" more cost economical). Nope.

But whatever, you seem dead-set against admitting the new models are improved over the previous models and I don't know why, and honestly I don't care.

Improves slightly in CPU for the same effective price, and unless you want to pony up for the high-end configuration, crippled in GPU. That ain't "improved" to me or a whole bunch of other people, which is why so many people on these boards and elsewhere are gleefully picking up refurbished and closeout Ivy Bridge models.

For some reason you assumed I bought one of these new models, which I didn't, and that I was trying to justify the purchase, which I wasn't.

I was mistaken there, which makes your intransigence on this issue all the more perplexing. Maybe you just enjoy the kool aid. Sip slowly.

 

[channelinspire]

Not everybody likes their brightness on 20%. If I use 80% brightness, my battery still dies in about 4 hours (15" rMBP).

I am usually around 50-60% myself but I don't have that big 15" screen to power.

 

[macred]

There's a large number of people calling troll, which is a violation of forum rules.

Proving:

1) Very few respect the rules of this forum.
2) They're adding to the moderators work load

Specifics aside, overall it's generally accepted that Apple sells premium products.

It's a shame some posters are so insecure and unable to participate in a discussion. Their lack of integrity causes them to act like emotional twits.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

(when most of us were hoping for 9 hours, minimum) sucks

Most of us? Who is us? Do you actually mean "you"?

I guess we do know what you do for a living - you must be in market research to be making claims like "most of us".

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which is why so many people on these boards and elsewhere are gleefully picking up refurbished and closeout Ivy Bridge models.

Again Mister Market Research, what's your source for this claim?

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Go back and look at benchmarks for previous iterations. You'll find that one of two things tends to happen: you get a pretty significant jump in performance (>10%), a form factor change, or introduction of some other "major" feature. The Haswells fall into none of these buckets. They're more comparable to a small speed bump upgrade, but on the lackluster end of that. I'm not sure why you are having such a hard time accepting that.

Except we have a performance bump just below your magical 10% threshold, a battery boost above it, and GPU well above it...

Tick tock......

 

[john123]

Most of us? Who is us? Do you actually mean "you"?

Wow, if you wanted to parse words, you picked a really silly time to do so. Who in their right mind would hope for less battery life? Note that I didn't say "expect"; I said "hope." Second, there was an abundance of posts, especially after the MBA was released, where users speculated on the likely battery increase that Haswell rMBPs would have. I don't recall anyone—ever—saying, "Gee, I hope it's only an hour more!"

I guess we do know what you do for a living - you must be in market research to be making claims like "most of us".

Formerly, yes. If you've followed my posts, you'll know that's not what I do for a living anymore, although I have about a decade of experience in the field.

Again Mister Market Research, what's your source for this claim?

Sorry, you want a source for my statement that many people picked up refurb Ivy Bridge models? Have you even been reading the forums?
• Hint: do a search for "refurb" in this part of the forums and see allllllll the posts from people considering them, as well as those who went that route.
• Note that B&H sold out of their stock of closeout Ivy Bridge base models, priced at $1749, within a few days of the event.
• Note also that the base model refurbs sold out of the Apple Store within 24 hours of they event, too.
• Note also also that the base model refurb is currently sold out as I type this.
• Note that I said "so many"—not "most" or anything like that.

Except we have a performance bump just below your magical 10% threshold, a battery boost above it, and GPU well above it...

Where did you get this threshold number? Not from me. I simply said that >10% is a significant jump in performance. It isn't a discontinuity.

Also, the base GPU is a regression, and if we're talking about the high-end configuration, the 750M is a negligible upgrade over the 650M, according to benchmarks. And besides, most people tend to care—rightly or wrongly—far more about CPU improvements than GPU improvements. (I can't wait for you to ask me for a source on that one, too.)

As such, the previous generation refurbs continue to offer an excellent value without really giving up very much at all. Which has been my point all along. The only logic I can see for the current models is if you really stretch out your battery and that 14% will matter, you're running an 802.11ac network or think you will be during the life of your ownership, you plan to use a TB2 device, or that PCIe storage really matters. Otherwise, on a bang for buck basis, the older refurbs win—and easily at that.

If English is your second language, then I suppose you're off the hook, although you'd be best served not trying to parse someone else's words.