Instant on NOT instant

[TPadden]

So deception is okay on a small scale?...

Sure; every time my wife asks if she's getting fat I INSTANTLY reply no!

 

[fuzzielitlpanda]

instant on is a gimmick to begin with. any computer that has a ssd will be able to do this "instant on."

 

[KnightWRX]

Who said I click on every post? Clearly your ingenuous advice to gloss over what you don't want to read makes all the sense in the world given the fact that subject lines tell everything about what the post entails.

Try again. Thanks!

What about "Instant on NOT instant" made you believe this thread was about anything other than marketing semantics ?

instant on is a gimmick to begin with. any computer that has a ssd will be able to do this "instant on."

My old Macbook with a standard HDD had Instant On.

 

[Stetrain]

Anyone else experiencing the following problem? After the computer goes into "deep" sleep (~1+ hour of sleep), it takes around 5 seconds for the computer to return to its usable state. No trackpad or keyboard response for about 5 seconds.

Yes, the 1 hour (or whatever it is) period gives you high speed resume from sleep. After that period it goes into a deeper sleep that uses almost no power.

The "Instant-On" is about the first scenario, where if you close it, walk to class, and open it again it pops right on.

 

[KnightWRX]

The "Instant-On" is about the first scenario, where if you close it, walk to class, and open it again it pops right on.

No, the instant on is about coming back from deep sleep in that 5 seconds. Something that wasn't possible on older HDD equipped MacBooks. Otherwise, why suddenly market Instant-On ? It's been on all Macbooks for quite a while.

From http://www.apple.com/ca/macbookair/features.html :

Long-Lasting Battery.
Instant on. Even after a month off.
...
Put MacBook Air to sleep, and it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days.1 When you come back to your MacBook Air and open it up, it’s on in an instant.

They are specifically advertising the long stand-by time coupled with the "Instant On" which is not as instant as other MacBooks, but considering the sleep state it has to be in to achieve that stand-by time, is quite remarkable.

 

[mrdobo]

Who said I click on every post? Clearly your ingenuous advice to gloss over what you don't want to read makes all the sense in the world given the fact that subject lines tell everything about what the post entails.

Try again. Thanks!

So once you open a thread, are you not able to click the back button?

 

[mrdobo]

That's *exactly* what they do, and that's exactly what 100s of reviews have said the new MBA does. Did you read reviews before purchasing? Or just go on blind faith at Apple's (notoriously hyperbolic) advertising claims?

(Also, no-one has a Sandforce equipped MBP that hasn't done a DIY after-market upgrade, so for an Apple-shipping Product, the MBA is unique.)

Of course it's not "instant". Just like the iPad isn't exactly "Magical" - it doesn't do any wizarding... it can't transform your cat into a dog, etc...

Apple uses Hyperbole in their marketing/advertising *all the time*. You can take qualms with it, I totally understand. But to be part of the Apple Eco-system is to be subject to Steve's Reality Distortion Field from time to time.

... please don't compare him calling something magical with the claims of something turning on instantly - it's ridiculous, and you know it (or at least you should).

 

[stillone]

Agreed. Good Lord! Five seconds...all your important time lost.

Get over yourself. If five seconds is too long for you - return it. Please. I'd love to see it, even though you won't. So, how about you simply grow up and stop complaining for the sake of complaining and drawing attention to yourself.

I have to agree. Until I saw this thread I thought my new Air was instant on.

I usually open it as I am picking it up. By the time I sit down and set it on my lap it is ready to go. That is instant on as far as I am concerned.

 

[bcaslis]

Wow, is this thread still going?

People, if you don't like Apple products or marketing then don't buy it.

I'm just going to enjoy my instant-on MBA that is claimed to be not instant-on.

 

[miata]

All I remember is being completely perplexed when Steve talked about instant on with at the announcement. I thought I already had instant on with my 3 year old MBP.

I am very happy that so many people are excited about the new feature though.

 

[happyslayer]

Weird... I just opened my 11.6 Air after not using it for almost 5 days. (On vacation at a TaeKwonDo tournament with no time for computers.) The Air came right up - instantly - and I was surfing the web in less than two seconds. Also, it shows that my battery is at 88%. So it didn't really lose much power. I hadn't charged it completely before I left, so I think 88 is about right.

Honestly, since I got the laptop, I have NEVER seen a longer than one or two second start up unless I actually shut it down or reboot it after an update and then it is nine seconds. (I have tested that a few times and it is always nine seconds - which is totally cool!)

Anyway, just my observations.

Later

 

[KPOM]

All I remember is being completely perplexed when Steve talked about instant on with at the announcement. I thought I already had instant one with my 3 year old MBP.

I am very happy that so many people are excited about the new feature though.

It's the combination of instant on and deep sleep. Macs have long had an "instant on" feature, but that's because, unlike Windows notebooks, they didn't go into hibernation. Now they have something similar to it, but the flash memory allows Apple to make it quicker.

 

[miata]

It's the combination of instant on and deep sleep. Macs have long had an "instant on" feature, but that's because, unlike Windows notebooks, they didn't go into hibernation. Now they have something similar to it, but the flash memory allows Apple to make it quicker.

Yeah I get that. But I never have my system off for more than a day or so. The rare occasions where I would have my laptop asleep longer I have little concern over how long it takes to wake. I mean come on. Do people really put their laptops asleep for 30 days than open then to get instant-on to put them back asleep for another 30 days. Sorry, don't get it.

So, again I am perplexed.

 

[KPOM]

Yeah I get that. But I never have my system off for more than a day or so. The rare occasions where I would have my laptop asleep longer I have little concern over how long it takes to wake. I mean come on. Do people really put their laptops asleep for 30 days than open then to get instant-on to put them back asleep for another 30 days. Sorry, don't get it.

So, again I am perplexed.

That isn't the point, though. It is capable of being off for a month. That means if you are away for the weekend, you'll lose less than 10% of the battery. Contrast that with the "regular" sleep mode, in which the same period of time would cause about half the battery to drain.

 

[And1ss]

Once again, someone trying to be all smart with Apple's wording. Even my iPhone 4 isn't instant; there is a 1.5sec delay.

 

[miata]

That isn't the point, though. It is capable of being off for a month. That means if you are away for the weekend, you'll lose less than 10% of the battery. Contrast that with the "regular" sleep mode, in which the same period of time would cause about half the battery to drain.

And if the MBP runs out of juice while being asleep over a week it will write the RAM to disk and wake pretty quickly was well. Again, if you are accessing your laptop so infrequently then plug it into a outlet so that you always get instant on.

Again, perplexed. I must be missing something.

 

[johnnymg]

I couldn't care less about 30 days of standby battery life. I bought my computer to use it, not to let it sit around.

In other words, anyone know of a a series of terminal commands to keep the MBA from going into mode 1 sleep? The benefits outweigh the costs for me.

Here ya go: http://www.geeked.info/make-my-macbook-pro-hibernate/

 

[BENJMNS]

Once again, someone trying to be all smart with Apple's wording. Even my iPhone 4 isn't instant; there is a 1.5sec delay.

u know cuz of this thread the next time i opened it from a deep sleep i was thinking about the 5 sec.. and realized. *****... by the time i think about what im actually going to do with the laptop the moment it opened, i'm pretty much past the ~5seconds, but then to my surprise, my mouse was working well within 2.

so you guys are some crazy ocd fools to be nitpicking about this stuff. wow.

 

[johnnymg]

u know cuz of this thread the next time i opened it from a deep sleep i was thinking about the 5 sec.. and realized. *****... by the time i think about what im actually going to do with the laptop the moment it opened, i'm pretty much past the ~5seconds, but then to my surprise, my mouse was working well within 2.

so you guys are some crazy ocd fools to be nitpicking about this stuff. wow.

...................... forums are by definition biased toward the OCD.

 

[miata]

I think I finally get it. If the most important thing in life for you is wake-up time..

1) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in two hours the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

2) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in a day or two the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

3) If you put your laptop asleep for a year connected to the AC adapter the MPB will give you instant on -- but the MBA will not

4) If you put your laptop asleep for more than a few days without the AC adapter the MPA will give you "almost instant-on -- but the MBA will take 20 seconds or more

If instant-on is the most important thing in your life which would you buy?

 

[EEXOOO]

5 sec is pretty instant to me

 

[OSMac]

Can you clear this up?

Reading the pmset manual and looking at its default settings...

The Air is set to hibernatemode = 3 by default.
After 4200 seconds (70 mins) it will write the contents of RAM to the SSD,
but will then STILL keep the RAM powered.
The written SSD image is only used to resume should the battery fully deplete before next use.

There is another hibernatemode=25 where a true hibernation would occur,
that is write memory to SSD and remove power to memory, but that is not set by default.

Some have suggested that the Air has been modified to fully hibernate after 70 minutes,
but looking at pmset that does not appear to be the case, what am I missing?

As far as the 30 day standby is concerned ,
looking at pmset it would appear the RAM is powered during that 30 days?

 

[KPOM]

And if the MBP runs out of juice while being asleep over a week it will write the RAM to disk and wake pretty quickly was well. Again, if you are accessing your laptop so infrequently then plug it into a outlet so that you always get instant on.

Again, perplexed. I must be missing something.

But it only activates on the MBP once the battery is running low. In the case of the Air, it activates after an hour so the battery doesn't run low. It wouldn't be feasible to do this without flash storage since it takes much longer (about 20 seconds or so) to recover the data from a hard drive.

 

[KPOM]

I think I finally get it. If the most important thing in life for you is wake-up time..

1) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in two hours the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

2) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in a day or two the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

3) If you put your laptop asleep for a year connected to the AC adapter the MPB will give you instant on -- but the MBA will not

4) If you put your laptop asleep for more than a few days without the AC adapter the MPA will give you "almost instant-on -- but the MBA will take 20 seconds or more

If instant-on is the most important thing in your life which would you buy?

Actually, you aren't getting it. If you leave both plugged in, neither will go into hibernate or deep sleep. They will both be "instant on."

The Pro will turn on slightly faster if it has battery power and has been on standby for more than an hour. However, it will drain the battery faster in that circumstance. In all other circumstances, the MacBook Air will turn on as fast or faster than the Pro.

 

[miata]

I think I finally get it. If the most important thing in life for you is wake-up time..

1) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in two hours the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

2) If you put your laptop asleep and wake it in a day or two the MPB will give you instant-on -- but the MBA will not

3) If you put your laptop asleep for a year connected to the AC adapter the MPB will give you instant on -- but the MBA will not

4) If you put your laptop asleep for more than a few days without the AC adapter the MPA will give you "almost instant-on -- but the MBA will take 20 seconds or more

If instant-on is the most important thing in your life which would you buy?

Actually, you aren't getting it. If you leave both plugged in, neither will go into hibernate or deep sleep. They will both be "instant on."

The Pro will turn on slightly faster if it has battery power and has been on standby for more than an hour. However, it will drain the battery faster in that circumstance. In all other circumstances, the MacBook Air will turn on as fast or faster than the Pro.

Sorry, I may have misunderstood how the MBA defaults work. I thought they dumped their RAM sooner than the MBPs to same battery power at the cost of slower wake-up. So, you are saying that 1-3 are the same and that the Air is only faster with 4?