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Battery Life - MacBook, MacBook Pro?

S

Sounds Good

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 8, 2007
1,692
57
I know what Apple reports, but I'm wondering what the actual Battery Life is on the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

What kind of battery life should we expect with "average" usage like surfing the net (not playing games or burning DVDs) with WiFi on, fairly bright screen, maybe Bluetooth on too.

Anyone know?
 
I have a MacBook and probably get around 4-5 hours depending on the circumstances you've mentioned. Obviously, it just depending on what you're doing with your computer when running off the battery.

Overall, I've found the battery as good or better than my prior 12-in iBook.
 
my battery was charging overnight. I'm surfing the internet, talking on AIM, and downloading a file..

Right now it says 4:27 with the screen on the dimmest setting. I would say at least 3 hours though, unless you're playing games... I've never gotten my battery below 50% unless I tried though, even on hour long train rides. My battery is 6 months old, with 67 charge cycles.

2.16ghz MBP
 
Sounds Good said:
Can you really use it on the dimmest setting?
Click to expand...
There have been times at night were I wished I could turn the brightness down even lower. This screen is freakin' BRIGHT! When I commuted, I would either keep it on the lowest setting or 2/3 notches above lowest setting.

I almost never keep it on the brightest setting unless I'm in a funky situation where 1/2 the screen is in the dark and the other 1/2 is in sunlight
 
You can easily use it on the dimmest settings - thats what I have it on during lectures.

And as for battery life, with what you've described you're looking at roughly 3 to 3:30 hours. That's what I'm getting with a brand new battery in my macbook.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
There have been times at night were I wished I could turn the brightness down even lower. This screen is freakin' BRIGHT! When I commuted, I would either keep it on the lowest setting or 2/3 notches above lowest setting.

I almost never keep it on the brightest setting unless I'm in a funky situation where 1/2 the screen is in the dark and the other 1/2 is in sunlight
Click to expand...

Odd I turn mine one down and it goes from quite bright to fairly dim. Half way mark makes the whole thing seem grey. Last tab is like basically nothing. I think my backlight is a bit weak cause I'm definetly noitcing a swift decrease in backlight luminosity once I go down one bar!
 
Im getting about 3.5 hours and my laptop is barely a week old, im using wireless internet and listening to music on itunes, so its good so far
 
Mine goes at least three, three and a half hours, but I've seen it suggest even longer with the brightness turned way down. However, I agree, it gets too dark when it's that far down. I don't think it's unusual, however in some settings I've thought the brightest setting was too bright and in other settings that brightness is fine. It all depends on where you are. In a dark room, the lowest setting is just fine... anything brighter than just under halfway would be too bright.
 
How many cycles can you expect to be able to charge a MBP battery? I received my MBP at the end of June, and iStat Pro says Ive had 32 cycles and 95% health.

How does this compare to others?
 
techmonkey said:
How many cycles can you expect to be able to charge a MBP battery? I received my MBP at the end of June, and iStat Pro says Ive had 32 cycles and 95% health.

How does this compare to others?
Click to expand...
I have 94% health with 70 load-cycles, so I guess yours is on the low end of acceptable while mine's on the high end of acceptable? It sounds fine to me, but then again what do I know?
 
Some clever fellow posted the suggestion of 'command',alt,ctrl, 8 - while on battery, definitely shot up my battery life and pretty easy on the eyes for me.:cool:
 
techmonkey said:
How many cycles can you expect to be able to charge a MBP battery? I received my MBP at the end of June, and iStat Pro says Ive had 32 cycles and 95% health.

How does this compare to others?
Click to expand...

Li-ion batteries have a cycle life of about 1000. However i would think about replacing it every 1.5-2 years regardless of how many cycles.
 
4-5 hrs with the best battery use preferences on my SR MBP 2.2.

Also, i noticed that if i use the battery right after it's been fully charged it seems to last longer than if i let it sit plugged in at full charge say overnight or something.
 
I get about 4 hours, browsing, emailing, listening to music, IMing, and working on code in an IDE at the same time. My screen brightness is usually maxxed.
 
For those who have gotten up to 5 hours, are you using WiFi? Ive never gotten more than 3.5 hours, but I always use WiFi.

Any suggestions getting 5 hours, please post.
 
I'm not sure about numbers, but my MacBook beats my MBPs battery life by a long shot. An example would be: when my MacBook is fully charged, screen on dim, and not in use, my battery said I am getting nearly seven hours of life. My MBP under the same conditions says I only get four hours and 45 minutes.
 
For my 2.2 GHz SR MBP i get a lil over 3:30 browsing the web with the screen dimmed somewhat (but not typically all the way) and playing some music and bluetooth off. havent tested it out with no wifi so i have no idea how long it will last with that off (im on my computer to go on the internet most of the time). I would say it'd be around 4:15 to 4:30 ?? and no musi im guessin around 5? but like i said... not sure

and yes the screen is still very usable when dimmed down to one notch.:)
 
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