Poor battery life and potential lawsuit

[ubercool]

I think that the MBA's battery life is terrible. PC World puts it between 2.31-2.53 hours:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142314-page,1-c,macnotebooks/article.html

Please post your estimated average battery times here. Since most will report times in the 3-4-hour range, that's where the poll adds more options.

Since PC World's times fall so far short of five hours, I'm wondering aloud if this will become a potential lawsuit.

 

[MayaTlab]

If I use mine lightly (web surfing on wikipedia, only one single page), bluetooth off, backlight at 50 % and set to "maximum battery life" I can reach 5:00 hours.

If I type with page, wifi turned off I can obtain 6:00 hours with the backlight at 30 %.

BUT as soon as I use it more intensly (multiple sessions, mail, iCal and Calendar opened, music playback) my battery life fall to 4:15.

It seems the air is heavily provessor dependant concerning its battery life. Moreover, since Apple continues to fail with its Flash drivers, websites loaded with tons of ads shorten dramatically the battery life.

I have to say however that I always care about what I'm asking to my computer and always try in every way to reduce the load. For instance if I know I won't use Wifi the next 30 minutes I turn it off.

 

[admanimal]

My battery life is exactly what I expected (around 4 hours) given what Apple advertised it to be.

 

[diabolic]

I have managed over 4 hours on every charge so far. It's all been pretty light use, web browsing, email, just a little music and video.

 

[kuwisdelu]

I think that the MBA's battery life is terrible. PC World puts it between 2.31-2.53 hours:

Since PC World's times fall so far short of five hours, I'm wondering aloud if this will become a potential lawsuit.

If this were grounds for a potential lawsuit, computer companies would be sued left and right. If anything, from the testimonials of Mac Rumors users so far, it seems that MacBook Air gets an awful lot closer to Apple's estimates than any other Apple laptop.

 

[richard371]

The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ510N/B, the slimline PC notebook Steve Jobs compared MacBook Air to in his keynote, scored just 38 on our WorldBench 6 tests (the model we tested was running a 1.06-GHz Core 3 Duo U7500 CPU).

Core 3 duo lol at only 1.06 haha

 

[ubercool]

If this were grounds for a potential lawsuit, computer companies would be sued left and right. If anything, from the testimonials of Mac Rumors users so far, it seems that MacBook Air gets an awful lot closer to Apple's estimates than any other Apple laptop.

Mine is getting closer to three hours, on maximum brightness. About 3.5 on minimum, so I was trying to figure out how everyone else was doing. I won't be the one suing, but we know from the past that people have filed suits for less.

 

[dsnort]

The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ510N/B, the slimline PC notebook Steve Jobs compared MacBook Air to in his keynote, scored just 38 on our WorldBench 6 tests (the model we tested was running a 1.06-GHz Core 3 Duo U7500 CPU).

Core 3 duo lol at only 1.06 haha

Just out of curiosity, WTF is a "WorldBench 6" test, what does it measure, and what is the range of score? (What does a "38" mean and how does it compare)?

Just for those of us not fluent in "Geek Speak".

 

[chrono1081]

hm....

Never heard of Worldbench 6 and theres no such thing as a core 3 duo....

 

[dsnort]

Never heard of Worldbench 6 and theres no such thing as a core 3 duo....

I feared to even mention that.

 

[BWhaler]

I'm not sure. I've seen about 3.5 and about 1.5. Charging took 9 hours.

I reset the SMU (PMU?) and I'm not sure that did anything.

So, I have put the MBA back in the box. It's my travel computer, so I don't need it day to day.

I'm waiting for 10.5.2 to really put my MBA to work.

I just hope I don't have a bad build. Apple's terrible quality is getting depressing.

Clearly something is off out there. I just hope it's a software related thing. That, and Apple has an external batter pack coming.

Finally, I really wish Apple would stop lying about battery life.

 

[uber gorilla]

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the MBA

Hello to all the litigation-crazy Americans out there!

As a law student, I can give you the hard and fast about any prospects of a lawsuit, let alone a successful one, against Apple Corp.

First, the website gives a clear disclaimer that the battery life for the MBA, as well as its other notebook computers, is an estimate, and will vary depending on use. Apple Corp is very careful not to say "With average use by the everyday Schmoe, the MBA will have a battery life of 5 hours". No, instead Apple says that it will depend on use. So no matter what you claim, if you're even using the MBA for the most scant and simple of tasks and this fails to deliver the 5 hours battery-life, then technically Apple has not been misleading/deceptive in its advertisement.

Secondly, and as is overwhelmingly the case, small fries hardly ever succeed in litigation against large corporations. So even if you fancied yourself a contender, you'd be wasting your money on legal fees.

Finally, why sue the company which provides so richly for you with wonderous creations of eye and arm candy, such as the MBA?

So, in short, there aint no hope, partner. And, in all common sense, if your battery runs low, use the handy means of obtaining power which is so thoughtfully included with your MBA purchase: a power adapter! Well I never!

Thanks for reading.

 

[Sweetbike40]

Those battery times are terrible. This was my only issue with the MBA from the start. Maybe it's something Apple could fix???

 

[raremage]

I will say this, I originally voted 2-3 hours (i was seeing just under 3) I'd revisit that vote after going through a conditioning cycle. I'm running closer to 4 hours now, maybe a little over (have not timed it formally).

 

[ProFX]

I get just on 4 hours of what I would call "wireless productivity".
Moderate browsing, a few short downloads, writing a paper and building a presentation.

Not sure I'm interested in a lawsuit though. That seems somewhat extreme.

 

[Unconsoled]

reset?

I'm not sure. I've seen about 3.5 and about 1.5. Charging took 9 hours.

I reset the SMU (PMU?) and I'm not sure that did anything.

So, I have put the MBA back in the box. It's my travel computer, so I don't need it day to day.

I'm waiting for 10.5.2 to really put my MBA to work.

I just hope I don't have a bad build. Apple's terrible quality is getting depressing.

Clearly something is off out there. I just hope it's a software related thing. That, and Apple has an external batter pack coming.

Finally, I really wish Apple would stop lying about battery life.

I have heard people talking about resetting and getting better battery life. Could someone explain how to do this?

 

[Cybergypsy]

3.5-4.5 for me very happy!

 

[teerexx52]

3.5-4.5 for me very happy!

Me too

 

[OllyW]

I have heard people talking about resetting and getting better battery life. Could someone explain how to do this?

This is how you do it for MacBook and MacBook Pro. I would imagine it would be a similar process for the MacBook Air.

 

[Cybergypsy]

Its posted on Apples page.....

 

[saltyzoo]

You've got to be kidding. File suit for this right after you file against Ford / GMC / Toyota / Honda / etc because you don't get the mileage they claim on their stickers. Let me know how it works out for you.

Just a tip. A 500 Gig hard drive doesn't show up as 500 gig when formatted either. Call your lawyer!!!! You've been robbed blind!

My 300 gallon aquarium only holds 296 gallons of water! Criminal!

My Kawasaki ZX-6R only has 599 cc!!!! Those lying thieves!!!!

My wife and I have the same kind of cell phone (she talks on it a lot, I rarely do), but her battery doesn't last half as long as mine. Sue, sue!!!!

We don't need a lawyer, we need an ARMY of lawyers!!!!!

Battery life depends on usage. If you think Apple should put the metric of the worst case on their specifications you're an idiot.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Hello to all the litigation-crazy Americans out there!

As a law student, I can give you the hard and fast about any prospects of a lawsuit, let alone a successful one, against Apple Corp.

First, the website gives a clear disclaimer that the battery life for the MBA, as well as its other notebook computers, is an estimate, and will vary depending on use. Apple Corp is very careful not to say "With average use by the everyday Schmoe, the MBA will have a battery life of 5 hours". No, instead Apple says that it will depend on use. So no matter what you claim, if you're even using the MBA for the most scant and simple of tasks and this fails to deliver the 5 hours battery-life, then technically Apple has not been misleading/deceptive in its advertisement.

Secondly, and as is overwhelmingly the case, small fries hardly ever succeed in litigation against large corporations. So even if you fancied yourself a contender, you'd be wasting your money on legal fees.

Finally, why sue the company which provides so richly for you with wonderous creations of eye and arm candy, such as the MBA?

So, in short, there aint no hope, partner. And, in all common sense, if your battery runs low, use the handy means of obtaining power which is so thoughtfully included with your MBA purchase: a power adapter! Well I never!

Thanks for reading.

Thank you!
For those who are upset about something like this and considering a lawsuit I have but a few words for you all. First, go out and work for your money instead of insisting on suing every corporation out there. And second, if you do believe you have been wronged take your stupid notebook back to the store and shut it.

To the OP. If PC mag is going to dictate how whether or not your product is performing to its expectations then you certainly need to get out more and perhaps start using your product. Whenever a company boasts about their battery life you can almost expect it to only reach 75% of it's spoken potential. Sorry, but it is true.

 

[barefeats]

I've been keeping track. I'm getting 4 - 5 hours consistently on my 1.8 with SSD. My frequently used apps are include Safari, Mail, Calendar, TextEdit.

I'd be curious what those of you with short battery life are running.

 

[mashoutposse]

According to that article, PC World ran their tests in Vista. They also noted that Vista's laptop power management did not kick in.

I can definitely get 4+ hours with WiFi on and 50% screen brightness. Mine is within spec. Battery life goes way down at high brightness and high CPU utilization -- nobody quotes battery life times under those conditions.

 

[Alfadoc]

I have managed over 4 hours on every charge so far. It's all been pretty light use, web browsing, email, just a little music and video.

Same here. Have seen 5:00+ with screen dimmed.Wifi and BT off. Even get 4:15+ with XP on Boot Camp.