11" Battery lasting way longer than 5 hours :)

[yly3]

OK, I came across a very pleasent surprise this week. I have started uni again and I take my 11" at every class, it's such a pleasure to type on it.
With brightness at 3 bars (it might be low for some, but for me is more than enough because it gives a somehow natural real paper-like feeling because of the high res + I have my room properly iluminated) and WiFi turned of, basically JUST Word for Mac 2011 I mananged to type almost continuously for 3 hours and 1/2 and I lost only 30% and that is with a "fast-charge" aka charging from 0 to 100% in almost 2 hours. Fabulous news for me! I doubt I can actually get 10 hours, but I am almost conviced I will surely be getting 8 hours.

 

[MRU]

Same settings as you, I find 3 brightness enough for writing too, I manage to get just under 7 hours, but that includes a little bit of web surfing too and email always open checking in the background.

I'm tempted to try 'coolbook' and see if I can get more.

 

[jamesryanbell]

Wow, that's really impressive!! Good to know for those of us that are on the fence about buying.

 

[kraftzwerg]

Impressive. Is this with a 1.4 or 1.6 GHz machine? And 2 or 4 GB RAM? Thanks.

 

[iRun26.2]

OK, I came across a very pleasent surprise this week. I have started uni again and I take my 11" at every class, it's such a pleasure to type on it.
With brightness at 3 bars (it might be low for some, but for me is more than enough because it gives a somehow natural real paper-like feeling because of the high res + I have my room properly iluminated) and WiFi turned of, basically JUST Word for Mac 2011 I mananged to type almost continuously for 3 hours and 1/2 and I lost only 30% and that is with a "fast-charge" aka charging from 0 to 100% in almost 2 hours. Fabulous news for me! I doubt I can actually get 10 hours, but I am almost conviced I will surely be getting 8 hours.

The battery life was one of the great surprises of my 11.6" MBA purchase. The 5-hour specification, as you have found, is relatively easy to attain for many tasks. I don't think you'll get 10 hours but you might get close to that. It is nice that, if you really don't have the screen too bright, you can easily get 7 hours out of it.

 

[omniatlas]

I'm tempted to try 'coolbook' and see if I can get more.

I'm getting around 6-7 hours with coolbook on my 11" ultimate. Wifi turned on, screen brightness to around 50%. Regular surfing.

 

[iRun26.2]

I'm getting around 6-7 hours with coolbook on my 11" ultimate. Wifi turned on, screen brightness to around 50%. Regular surfing.

Do you know how much of difference Coolbook made?

 

[MRU]

I'm getting around 6-7 hours with coolbook on my 11" ultimate. Wifi turned on, screen brightness to around 50%. Regular surfing.

I just bought coolbook. What settings are you using ?

Impressive. Is this with a 1.4 or 1.6 GHz machine? And 2 or 4 GB RAM? Thanks.

Mine is the 1.4 with 4GB ram.

 

[jdavtz]

If you want even more battery life, I'd also throw in a vote for Coolbook.

Running at a constant 1.6GHz at lowest voltage (can't remember, 0.875V?) is giving me around an extra 30-60 minutes. I've not tested scientifically, but it's definitely noticeable.

 

[MRU]

So with coolbook is better to have 3 (800/1200/1400) settings or just go for the single 1400@.875 setting ?

 

[firewood]

The battery life was one of the great surprises of my 11.6" MBA purchase. The 5-hour specification, as you have found, is relatively easy to attain for many tasks. I don't think you'll get 10 hours but you might get close to that.

If you are on a long International flight with wifi off because you don't want to pay, backlight very low so as not to disturb anyone seated nearby with the glare, and not playing movies or music, you might be able to get closer to 10 hours of reading/writing.

 

[yly3]

Mine is basic with 128 SSD. To be honest, I doubt the config does any significant difference in terms of battery life. Maybe 30 minutes, 40 at most.
I know there were a lot of students here asking this and that. I'm sure this comes in handy to say the least
Btw, I am not using any coolbook material. All is "natural"

 

[omniatlas]

Do you know how much of difference Coolbook made?

Hm, give or take +1 hour.

 

[omniatlas]

I just bought coolbook. What settings are you using ?

0.875 for all mhz frequencies.

 

[iRun26.2]

If you are on a long International flight with wifi off because you don't want to pay, backlight very low so as not to disturb anyone seated nearby with the glare, and not playing movies or music, you might be able to get closer to 10 hours of reading/writing.

When on flights, my typical use is to type in some code, run a simulation using the code (which really uses lots of power, but is surprisingly fast), and then plot and analyze the results (and then repeat). I will also often read a PDF document or reference an Excel file too (and sometimes look at some pictures or short videos of my daughter). With the screen pretty dim, I usually get around 9 hours (WIFI off).

The nicest thing about the power consumption design of the 11.6" MBA is that, if you are not really doing very much, you can easily get close to twice the 5-hour battery life that Apple quotes. Unlike my old Rev A. MBA, I can do two consecutive 4 hour flights without running out of juice.

I love the ULV processor!

 

[elfxmilhouse]

I find my 11 in MBA battery life to be better than expected.

I haven't had a day where I ran down the battery all the way yet.

Coolbook is great! I have my machine set to 1.6GHz at the lowest voltage. No actual battery tests done yet but i have been getting at least 5 hours per charge recently.

 

[iRun26.2]

I find my 11 in MBA battery life to be better than expected.

I haven't had a day where I ran down the battery all the way yet.

Coolbook is great! I have my machine set to 1.6GHz at the lowest voltage. No actual battery tests done yet but i have been getting at least 5 hours per charge recently.

I think that it is recommended, for the health of the battery, that you run the battery all the way sometimes. Whenever I use my MBA on battery power I always run it down all of the way (sometimes just leaving the screen on when I am not looking at it in order to fully discharge the battery). Most of the time I use it plugged into an outlet but I try to run down the batteries at least once a week. (And, of course, when I travel, I use it on battery power all of the time).

 

[wisty]

Looks like my Dell is headed for the dustbin even sooner than previously scheduled.

 

[torbjoern]

I think that it is recommended, for the health of the battery, that you run the battery all the way sometimes. Whenever I use my MBA on battery power I always run it down all of the way (sometimes just leaving the screen on when I am not looking at it in order to fully discharge the battery). Most of the time I use it plugged into an outlet but I try to run down the batteries at least once a week. (And, of course, when I travel, I use it on battery power all of the time).

AFAIK, one should run it down no further than to 40% on a daily basis. Then run it all the way down once a month and let it rest for a few hours.

 

[GGJstudios]

I think that it is recommended, for the health of the battery, that you run the battery all the way sometimes. Whenever I use my MBA on battery power I always run it down all of the way (sometimes just leaving the screen on when I am not looking at it in order to fully discharge the battery).

It's not necessary to drain the battery all the way down every time you use it, but it is recommended that you run on battery for a few hours every few days. It is also recommended that you calibrate your battery every month or two.

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

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[yegon]

General usage, with Coolbook, I regularly get about 6hrs, wifi on, 40-50% brightness. Less, obviously, if I'm watching some hd mkv's. I'm beyond happy with mine, had it since a couple of weeks after launch and I still occasionally get ripples of "wow" when I use it. It addresses all the issues I've had with previous ultraportables ie. great keyboard, good sized trackpad, decent res screen, teeny footprint. I'd love to go back in time 10 years and show it my younger self

 

[anand.rohira]

battery life for macbook air 13

guys, if macbook air 11 inch is such an awesome battery life, whats up with macbook air 13 ?
guys please input your battery experices with macbook air 13.....

 

[MartiNZ]

I've been pretty impressed with the 13" 1.86GHz battery life. Oftentimes it will suggest it has 12 or more hours up its sleeve when unplugged, and it certainly does more than 7 with 'normal' usage on reduced brightness - the brightness is such a step up from my '08 pre-unibody MBP, which also struggles to get 3 hours on battery, and gets far hotter with just basic usage. The MBA really is the ultimate bedtop computer, I've decided .

 

[jmazzamj]

13" Air battery life is simply stunning, lasts sooo longer than my MBP 13"...that by the way I just sold for as much as I paid for it (I got 200 € off back in May).

Let's see what Apple gives us with the upcoming refresh, I'm negative about a redesign...

 

[yly3]

What people should really take into account is that these impressive "Results" are achieved only with the light type of usage the Air was designed for.
If I use iTunes + YouTube usage and some Messenger I'm getting a bit past 4 hours, which for me is more than enough.

I'm sure the pros would do the same if not better in the same light usage, but of course it's not an Air (ergonomical speaking).
Now I can't even think of buying an 13" Pro (unless my needs make me too, obviously) because to me it looks like an 80s Back To The Future machine (still beautifull though).