All iPads iPads have the worst battery performance

[TightLines]

Battery life stated by Apple on their website is from laboratory settings that is not generally representative of consumer use. As such, it is not guaranteed that any person will get X amount of hours every time. This same kind of information has been posted for a decade. It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Be an informed buyer and chances are you will have a lot less to complain about after the fact.

I agree - and i try to be an informed buyer, and frankly don’t and aren‘t complaining about the performance i am getting… i view it as a “it is what it is” type of situation that certainly fluctuates based on what i am doing and I accept that. I was just sharing what my experiences have been, and i have always viewed the touting of battery life on these devices as a selling point, kind of like the automotive industry and how they tout the MPG of their engines and vehicles…

 

[Soccerrick10]

iPhones have been getting thicker and heavier too. Maybe it’s time for iPad to do the same. I would have traded the extra thickness of the 2021 iPadPro for more battery instead of mini LED myself

NO WAY would I make that trade off. The mini-LED display is the very best available balancing color accuracy, refresh rates, overall brightness, etc. I use mine all day long and it has traveled through Europe and the US in the past year. I run my part time business and my full time photo hobby with this thing.

Given all the different scenarios, locations and functions for my use, I couldn’t think of a better balance of weight, and performance vs. my needs.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I agree - and i try to be an informed buyer, and frankly don’t and aren‘t complaining about the performance i am getting… i view it as a “it is what it is” type of situation that certainly fluctuates based on what i am doing and I accept that. I was just sharing what my experiences have been, and i have always viewed the touting of battery life on these devices as a selling point, kind of like the automotive industry and how they tout the MPG of their engines and vehicles…

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[cygy2k]

I do have my brightness setup at 100%, as i did with my previous iPad too… I find it makes my viewing experience better. Also, multi-tasking is virtually 100% of the time too; I don’t just sit and watch a movie… or rarely do. I am in and out of several apps all the time, chatting, doing e-mails, browsing web and reading, along with watching youtube videos… this is what i call normal… So, are you suggesting that alone would attribute to the rapid depletion. Further, I have no reason whatsoever to misrepresent anything about what I say my experience is or has been… doing so would not benefit me in any way that I know of, so it puzzles me that you would even suggest that I could be doing that without knowing more about me or my situation.

Thanks for your opinion though... I respect it even if i don’t subscribe to the same.

Great context, thanks. Yeah, brightness is one of the leading battery hogs. Estimates are also usually for casual single app process flows so that may also be a big factor.

 

[Mark Stone]

Apples website tech specs

Thanks. I guess some of us will get different results because of different workloads on the devices.

 

[Isengardtom]

I also feel it could be better, but it’s especially in bright light conditions when the screen brightness is way up that you see the battery drain fast. Otherwise it’s ok

 

[Alex Cai]

I hear you but go to the Apple website and compare tablets. The oldest tablet they have to compare is the iPad Mini 2 (2013) and it has the same battery life as the iPad Pro 12.9” (2021). Additionally, if you cycle through all the models they all have the EXACT same battery life…since 2013 which is almost 10yrs ago.

The original iPad in the Jeve stobs era have 10hrs of battery life

 

[Alex Cai]

But iPads are lighter and thinner than all devices

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

At least give us one iPad that has the display tech of the iPhone 13 Pro/Max. An OLED that reaches insane brightness levels with better adaptable refresh rates than their lcd counterparts and that’s where you get your insane battery life.
Leave the miniLED display for folks who are scared of burn in and leave their screens on all day.

 

[Alex Cai]

iPad is really in need of some battery improvements. As a product, the iPad has been eclipsed by all other Apple products with a screen and I am now more likely to need a charge before end of day for iPad over all other products.

iPad/Mini/Air/Pro - 9-10 hours

Macbook Air - 15-18 hours

Macbook Pro 13 - 17-20 hours

Macbook Pro 14 - 11-17 hours

Macbook Pro 16 - 14-21 hours

iPhone 13 Mini- 13-17 hours

IPhone 13 - 15-19 hours

iPhone 13 Pro - 20-22 hours

iphone 13 pro Max - 25-28 hours

iPhone SE. - 10-15 hours

Apple Watch - 18 hours

These data are all from the Apple websites, not always correct
My pro get 7hrs gaming and 11hrs of reading stuff

 

[Mr.Blacky]

On paper, iPad may have the worst battery life, but in reality all my iPads have lasted far longer on a single charge than my iPhones (can't compare to MacBooks, since my last one was a black Intel MacBook).

 

[ndouglas]

On paper, iPad may have the worst battery life, but in reality all my iPads have lasted far longer on a single charge than my iPhones (can't compare to MacBooks, since my last one was a black Intel MacBook).

My experience has been more in line with this comment, than the OP. I mostly came to read this thread since my experience is so opposite of the thread title. (No criticism intented, just interesting to find OP’s different view.)

Maybe it’s related to OP’s use of iPad compared to my own, but my ipad lasts a LONG time when I use it for web browsing, reading, writing, school, work. I even noticed how, when I watch a 30-minute TV show on it, the battery is lower than usual, but even then, it’s really amazing how regularly I have to charge my laptop, phone, watch, usually daily — compared to my ipad (every few days or so). For me it’s refreshing to notice how long it lasts. (2021 ipad pro, 11”).

I also suspect leaving / keeping my brightness at 30-50% when possible, is a big factor in my experience.

 

[Apple$]

I love my Air 3 but I've noticed the battery life is about 5-7 hours max.

 

[ArchebaldDiv.]

It’s incredibile that so many people are complaining about iPad now when there’s a huge change it will crush the whole PC industry 😄 Are you afraid?

 

[spiderman0616]

It’s incredibile that so many people are complaining about iPad now when there’s a huge change it will crush the whole PC industry 😄 Are you afraid?

I used to think there was some truth to this, but there just isn't. Tablet computing is completely different than PC/Mac computing and doesn't need to "crush" anything other than other tablet rivals in the market.

As far as the topic at hand, I've had such a roller coaster ride with iPad battery life. Some versions of iOS/iPadOS have just not been battery efficient for me, and it doesn't seem to discriminate between models or how new the iPad is. The only thing I was ever able to do when my iPads drained heavily in standby was turn wifi off in Settings when not in use, which tells me that iCloud sync or something similar has probably been the culprit in the past. Then a dot release or two later, it would stop and I could stop worrying about it until it broke again.

My current iPad is the mini 6 w cellular on the latest iPadOS release. Battery life in real world use is pretty normal compared to other iPads I've owned, but so far, it does NOT drain excessively over night. Meaning I can actually leave it on my desk for days at a time in standby and still know it will have juice when I pick it up to do something. Even with the Pencil attached and the 5G radio always on.

Yesterday was actually about the hardest I've hit it--I used it to host a 45 minute Webex meeting over 5G while also taking notes in OneNote. It went from 90%-60% for that task. But Webex and OneNote are both battery hogs on most systems, and I'm assuming that's the case on my iPad as well.

 

[Mlrollin91]

I certainty notice a difference in battery life between my iPhone 13 Pro and 11" M1 Pro. I do not think I have managed to get 10 hours of screen on time on my iPad, but easily get 8-10 hours of screen on time on my iPhone. I have noticed that keeping the Apple Pencil always connected to my iPad has a noticeable decrease in battery life, especially on standby drain.

My 14" MBP is on a league of its own. I can easily get 20 hours of screen on time on that device.

 

[sparksd]

It’s incredibile that so many people are complaining about iPad now when there’s a huge change it will crush the whole PC industry 😄 Are you afraid?

"crush the whole PC industry"? What are you talking about?

 

[GhostOS]

iPhones have been getting thicker and heavier too. Maybe it’s time for iPad to do the same. I would have traded the extra thickness of the 2021 iPadPro for more battery instead of mini LED myself

Lol, awful take. Good thing Apple won’t think like that and is overly obsessed with making beautiful thin products. My 11” 2021 Pro works great and I’m grateful for its beautiful thin form factor.

if you don’t mind the thickness yourself maybe you can buy 3 or 4 external batteries and duct tape it to your iPad.

 

[UBS28]

If iPads had the same battery life as MacBooks, people would be complaining that the iPad Pro is too thick and heavy.

 

[MajorFubar]

lol if you think iPads have crap batteries you should try living with my iPhone SE2 for just one day.

 

[MajorFubar]

Good thing Apple....is overly obsessed with making beautiful thin products.

Thank god that's no longer true.

 

[snipr125]

I love my Air 3 but I've noticed the battery life is about 5-7 hours max.

My Air 3 (iOS 13.3) actually has better battery life than my newer Air 4 (iOS 14.8)!!!

 

[spiderman0616]

lol if you think iPads have crap batteries you should try living with my iPhone SE2 for just one day.

We got my son the SE2 for his bday when it came out--he was 13 at the time and we promised him he could get a phone when he was in 8th grade. SE2 was at a good price and feature set for a starter phone, so that's what we went with. What I guess I didn't realize until I lived with a teenager is that they hammer those phone batteries ALL. DAY. LONG. For everything. Constant barrage of FaceTime calls, texts, Snapchat, gaming, web surfing, homework, etc. He has a pretty powerful gaming PC in his room, his Chromebook from school, and an iPad and none of them have seen much usage since he got the iPhone.

Long story short--by this year the battery was at 79% health and he was carrying it around with an Anker battery pack attached just as a matter of course every day. For this year's birthday we upgraded him to an iPhone 13. He still can't believe it when he checks the percentage at the end of the day and it's only half dead.

 

[MajorFubar]

We got my son the SE2 for his bday when it came out--he was 13 at the time and we promised him he could get a phone when he was in 8th grade. SE2 was at a good price and feature set for a starter phone, so that's what we went with. What I guess I didn't realize until I lived with a teenager is that they hammer those phone batteries ALL. DAY. LONG. For everything. Constant barrage of FaceTime calls, texts, Snapchat, gaming, web surfing, homework, etc. He has a pretty powerful gaming PC in his room, his Chromebook from school, and an iPad and none of them have seen much usage since he got the iPhone.

Long story short--by this year the battery was at 79% health and he was carrying it around with an Anker battery pack attached just as a matter of course every day. For this year's birthday we upgraded him to an iPhone 13. He still can't believe it when he checks the percentage at the end of the day and it's only half dead.

Yeah mine's 84% after 15 months of 'adult level' use. I can see why a teen would kill it.

 

[jdb8167]

I do have my brightness setup at 100%, as i did with my previous iPad too… I find it makes my viewing experience better. Also, multi-tasking is virtually 100% of the time too; I don’t just sit and watch a movie… or rarely do. I am in and out of several apps all the time, chatting, doing e-mails, browsing web and reading, along with watching youtube videos… this is what i call normal… So, are you suggesting that alone would attribute to the rapid depletion. Further, I have no reason whatsoever to misrepresent anything about what I say my experience is or has been… doing so would not benefit me in any way that I know of, so it puzzles me that you would even suggest that I could be doing that without knowing more about me or my situation.

Thanks for your opinion though... I respect it even if i don’t subscribe to the same.

I can easily measure battery drain on my M1 MacBook Air. It is not directly comparable to an iPad but it does give a hint on battery life. I usually run on battery 2 ticks below medium (7 ticks from the bottom). This uses about 2.7 W for the whole laptop while not pushing the CPUs or GPUs. When I increase the brightness to 100%, I use almost 7.5 W. Screen brightness has a huge impact on battery life.

Edit: Stepping down even one tick reduces my normal battery usage to 2.2 W.