iPad Pro Terrible battery life on a brand new 11 inch M1 iPad Pro

[costica1234]

I've been using iPads for a long time, starting with an old iPad 2, then iPad 3, and eventually an iPad Air 2 that I bought in like 2016. So when I purchased a brand new iPad Pro (11 inch, 3rd gen) last week, I was quite surprised to see that the battery drains so much quicker compared to my old iPads. I went through the list of all possible things that might cause this, including turning off Bluetooth and keeping the Apple Pencil 2 away from the tablet, disabling location services, tap to wake, handoff and even Face ID is turned off. Background app refresh is also off for pretty much all the applications I have installed.

However, even with super light tasks, such as checking email, browsing Safari using only 2-3 tabs, and watching the occasional YouTube video, the battery drains incredibly quickly. It's unbelievable that the battery is at 35% after using the iPad for only 4 hours over the course of 2 days...

Note that I'm running the latest iOS 15.5, which I upgraded from 15.4 that the tablet came with (or maybe it was 15.4.1 if I remember correctly). Besides, the iPad was set up as new, without importing photos or settings from another device. I'm only logged in with iCloud so I can have quick access to my contacts and cloud files.

Otherwise the tablet performs very well and there is no lag regardless of what I do (granted, I don't even put it under stress). But it's quite shocking to see that an otherwise praised M1 chip is not so efficient after all... Or maybe iOS is to blame here?

I would very much appreciate any input that you guys may have, especially from those that use the latest iOS 15.5 on this particular iPad.

 

[BigBlur]

I've noticed this too when I got my 11" M1 last year, but maybe not as extreme as you though. It seems like my Air 2 used to last me for days on a single charge, while my M1 didn't.

Try installing a content blocker if you haven't already. That has helped for me. Ads on some sites can suck up a lot of battery power. I use Norton Ad Blocker, and sometimes Firefox Focus (which works with Safari). There are plenty of other ones out there too. I just wanted something simple without a bunch of controls.

It also helps to keep the brightness as low as you can.

Those are the only two changes I've made. I've left everything else on since I personally don't think it really makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. It's still not quite like the Air 2 that I remember, but I've seen a lot of improvement. I've also recently starting using it for Sidecar and Universal Control while plugged into my Mac...so it charges during while I'm using it for work, and has a full charge for when I want to use it at night.

 

[AManInACan]

I'd be suspicious of two things: What's in those open browser tabs and what apps run stuff in the background?

I've seen some web pages that can consume a ton of CPU and battery. It's shameful, but they are out there.

I've seen some apps that can drain batteries. Those you should be able to find by looking at Settings - Battery.

 

[costica1234]

I've noticed this too when I got my 11" M1 last year, but maybe not as extreme as you though. It seems like my Air 2 used to last me for days on a single charge, while my M1 didn't.

Try installing a content blocker if you haven't already. That has helped for me. Ads on some sites can suck up a lot of battery power. I use Norton Ad Blocker, and sometimes Firefox Focus (which works with Safari). There are plenty of other ones out there too. I just wanted something simple without a bunch of controls.

It also helps to keep the brightness as low as you can.

Thanks for the tips. I have never considered using an Ad Blocker, so I will give it a try.

As for screen brightness, I never go beyond 25-30%. Auto-brightness is off, but I have True Tone enabled as I like the yellow hue at night. I can try disabling that as well to see if it makes any difference (although I doubt).

I'd be suspicious of two things: What's in those open browser tabs and what apps run stuff in the background?

I've included a screenshot in my OP and other than YouTube (which I use to play music in the background every now and then), no other apps are running in the background. I suspect that something else might be running but it's not showing up in the Battery section. I am thinking about DropBox right now as I know it's one of the few apps for which I enabled the background refresh option.

I will keep an eye on the open browser tabs, but other than news websites I don't keep anything open there (and it's only 2-3 tabs at most). I definitely close MacRumors because I've read somewhere that the ads here impact the battery life -- so the Ad Blocker might come in handy for this one.

It's a shame that this is happening, but I will keep monitoring to see what's going on. At this point I feel like I want to reset the iPad to factory settings and use it for a few days only with the stock apps installed.

 

[AlumaMac]

I have a 12" IPP and have similar poor battery performance. I just do basic web browsing and some emailing. I am running an ad-blocker.

 

[Isamilis]

Have you disabled background app refresh? I disabled most of them. Also, how is the battery when iPad is sleep / idle. It should be flat. My 11” M1 battery life is around 11-12 hours (light usage). I also use content blocker (previously wipr, now using AdGuard).

 

[Wizec]

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I also disable background app refresh. My battery life is pretty good, even with the Magic Keyboard. I would estimate about 10% drop per hour when browsing.

 

[ndouglas]

Looking at the image you shared, I’d say maybe the Youtube in background is part of it. What kind of Screen On Time and otherwise battery life were you expected based on what you got with your previous ipads? I am pretty inexperienced with ipads having used only two of them for about 2 years. In that limited time though what you seem to feel is “unbelievable” in your OP seems pretty good to me. Again in my very limited experience, but when I compare charging my ipad only every 2 days or so, to having to charge my phone and watch daily or more, it seems fine for me. I guess it’s all relative. But anyway yeah I’d be genuinely interested in what is the normal screen on time for your experience with the other tablets you’ve used?

I think your suggestion to reset it isn’t a bad idea. If that’s a hassle (it is for me) then I’d first try avoiding the Youtube for music and see if that makes any noticeable changes. Good luck!

Added screenshot of my battery usage in case it‘s useful.

 

[darngooddesign]

I've noticed this too when I got my 11" M1 last year, but maybe not as extreme as you though. It seems like my Air 2 used to last me for days on a single charge, while my M1 didn't.

Try installing a content blocker if you haven't already. That has helped for me. Ads on some sites can suck up a lot of battery power. I use Norton Ad Blocker, and sometimes Firefox Focus (which works with Safari). There are plenty of other ones out there too. I just wanted something simple without a bunch of controls.

It also helps to keep the brightness as low as you can.

Those are the only two changes I've made. I've left everything else on since I personally don't think it really makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. It's still not quite like the Air 2 that I remember, but I've seen a lot of improvement. I've also recently starting using it for Sidecar and Universal Control while plugged into my Mac...so it charges during while I'm using it for work, and has a full charge for when I want to use it at night.

Ive been using Wipr for iOS. Doesn't do apps, but its great for Safari.

 

[Coolpher]

I would say that it’s going to take about seven days for the battery to conform to your usage. I wouldn’t give up so quickly. You have a 14 day return policy, especially if you bought it from Apple that may differ depending on where you bought it from I know the M1 processor uses more battery, then passed IPP u can alway return it and go for a 2020 11 IPP from apple refurbished site this is just a example

If you decide to go this route, you will lose out on the center stage front facing camera, the more ram, no 5G, if you decide to go to cellular

Refurbished 11-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi 256GB - Space Gray (2nd Generation)

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[costica1234]

Have you disabled background app refresh? I disabled most of them. Also, how is the battery when iPad is sleep / idle. It should be flat. My 11” M1 battery life is around 11-12 hours (light usage). I also use content blocker (previously wipr, now using AdGuard).

I have disabled background app refresh completely and the battery life is still not that great given my light usage. As for idle / sleep, the iPad loses 5% in like 12 hours with only Wifi and Bluetooth turned on. If I keep the tablet in Airplane Mode then the percentage doesn't drop (at least this shows that the battery isn't the culprit).

Looking at the image you shared, I’d say maybe the Youtube in background is part of it. What kind of Screen On Time and otherwise battery life were you expected based on what you got with your previous ipads?

Just as Wizec said, the rule of thumb is that iPad batteries should drop 10% per hour when doing light stuff:

I also disable background app refresh. My battery life is pretty good, even with the Magic Keyboard. I would estimate about 10% drop per hour when browsing.

In my case it seems that this rule only applies when the battery is between 80-100%, but after that it just depletes a lot faster. I don't know, maybe the battery has an issue? But as I said, it stays flat only when I have Airplane mode enabled. I will upgrade to the latest iPadOS (I still call it iOS for some reason) and I will do a fresh install if the battery behaves the same.

I would say that it’s going to take about seven days for the battery to conform to your usage. I wouldn’t give up so quickly. You have a 14 day return policy, especially if you bought it from Apple that may differ depending on where you bought it from I know the M1 processor uses more battery, then passed IPP u can alway return it and go for a 2020 11 IPP from apple refurbished site this is just a example

If you decide to go this route, you will lose out on the center stage front facing camera, the more ram, no 5G, if you decide to go to cellular

Actually today is the last day in which I can return the iPad. But I won't because everything about it is just awesome. The screen is perfect, apps load incredibly fast and overall it's a great tablet experience. I wished that during idle the tablet wouldn't lose that much charge (given that everything is disabled), but my feeling is that this is due to iPadOS and nothing else.

 

[Isamilis]

It seems you got the bad one. Battery sometimes similar with a lottery game. I would return while I can because if returning the later, Apple will only provide refurbished version which is not as pristine as the new one. You can buy the new one maybe in separate store to get different manufacturing batch. What you see as awesome will also seen in the new one obviously.

 

[ndouglas]

Yeah, definitely second Isamilis' ---^ suggestion. That is of course if you have an apple store near you, and even then, it's often multiple hours of time and not fun. And also, that is if you are really sure that your battery is "bad" or draining more quickly than your other ipads. Mine for example is the opposite, but that is just my own personal perception of it, compared to my other i-devices, which drain way more than the ipad. Anyway, I'm glad you like the device in most ways, I enjoy mine as well.


Also, it's not always accurate perhaps and sadly the Apple store folks don't seem to care about it, but I suggest using Coconut Battery app if you have a Mac computer, for a "second opinion" to verify what your battery health is for the iPad. Just an idea. Rereading your original post, 35% after just a few hours does seem a lot, but not that*** extreme. (just based on my limited experience.)

 

[Ponylover52]

I’d be curious to see the following 1. Use auto brightness exclusively, give it a few hours your eyes adjust if you think it’s “too dim” and for YouTube stick to the website in safari (you can play 4K video still. The YouTube app has for years been a known inefficient app. You shouldn’t need to change any other settings for background app refresh or other stuff. My iPad Air consistently got 10 hours of life with safari web browsing and YouTube with office apps, and music playback. Again auto brightness used and default app location settings and anything else. I also never clear my apps as ios manages all that. Unless an app actually becomes unresponsive.

 

[TightLines]

I am experiencing the same… but be careful, there are people out there that will take the Apple propaganda hook, line, and sinker and defend it like there is no other experience out there…

Post in thread 'iPads have the worst battery performance'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ipads-have-the-worst-battery-performance.2348288/post-31189866

Apple's battery estimates are actually conservative normally. I have and know several others that have the 11" M1 and can tell you that you are very much in the minority with 4 hrs or less unless you have 100% brightness on and are on some magical futuristic website that is running 20 4k videos. Either you're way misrepresenting the data or you have a faulty device - there is no in between here as this isn't a matter of opinion but actual data.

Example - my M1 gets about 10.5 hours of Safari browsing with the brightness at 50%, wifi and bluetooth on, and occasional multi-tasking. That is pretty average for my friends as well.

 

[costica1234]

Guys, I am happy to report that the battery life after updating to 15.6 is a lot better than it was on either 15.4.1 or 15.5. I've been playing a lot with the iPad today and was about to send it to the retail store if things didn't improve, but to my surprise the battery went from 50% to 15% over the course of 4.5 hours doing light stuff without interruption (web browsing, YouTube and sketching some diagrams using the Apple Pencil that I kept connected all the time via Bluetooth).

This is very reassuring and I was surprised to see that the battery actually drained less than 10% per hour. I will keep monitoring the situation (especially the idle battery drain), but so far I am pleased with the results. I've literally been taking timestamps each time the battery was losing 1% to make sure I have accurate data (I'm a bit crazy sometimes, I know).

I’d be curious to see the following 1. Use auto brightness exclusively, give it a few hours your eyes adjust if you think it’s “too dim” and for YouTube stick to the website in safari (you can play 4K video still. The YouTube app has for years been a known inefficient app. You shouldn’t need to change any other settings for background app refresh or other stuff. My iPad Air consistently got 10 hours of life with safari web browsing and YouTube with office apps, and music playback. Again auto brightness used and default app location settings and anything else. I also never clear my apps as ios manages all that. Unless an app actually becomes unresponsive.

Actually, I found auto-brightness to be too bright for my eyes, so that was one of the first few things that I disabled. I probably keep the brightness of my devices lower than other people, never exceeding 25% while using my iPad indoors. During evenings I might have the brightness set at 10-15%.

The YouTube app seemed to play nice with the battery (with background refresh off that is), but your suggestion should definitely make things even better. I will have to check how usable YouTube is in the browser and I might ditch the app if I don't miss out on any important features.

--
In conclusion, I'm really glad that I didn't have to return this tablet. Hoping that the battery will hold up down the road, as it was the case with my previous iPads. I also want to thank all of you for the valuable comments and suggestions!

 

[cygy2k]

I am experiencing the same… but be careful, there are people out there that will take the Apple propaganda hook, line, and sinker and defend it like there is no other experience out there…

Post in thread 'iPads have the worst battery performance'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ipads-have-the-worst-battery-performance.2348288/post-31189866

I gave you experience from several users if you took the time to read. And my comment about their estimates being conservative comes from reading seemingly hundreds of reviews and posts over the years that show people often get an average above the spec sheet. But each battery is different, as is each users habits, perceived or not.

But you do you.

 

[TightLines]

I gave you experience from several users if you took the time to read. And my comment about their estimates being conservative comes from reading seemingly hundreds of reviews and posts over the years that show people often get an average above the spec sheet. But each battery is different, as is each users habits, perceived or not.

But you do you.

The only reason I even brought my experience with this topic up was, if my memory serves me right, I was being accused of “misrepresenting“ something… Of course we all know that individual experiences may vary based on a wide variety of circumstances… but that isn’t the same as what I was accused of. And now its suggested I don’t take the time read.

I just wanted to make sure those who followed or contributed to this thread, that they understood they aren’t alone despite what they might read in other places disputing their or my experience with the battery life. Could the batteries in question in these threads be defective? Anything is possible.

 

[cygy2k]

The only reason I even brought my experience with this topic up was, if my memory serves me right, I was being accused of “misrepresenting“ something… Of course we all know that individual experiences may vary based on a wide variety of circumstances… but that isn’t the same as what I was accused of. And now its suggested I don’t take the time read.

I just wanted to make sure those who followed or contributed to this thread, that they understood they aren’t alone despite what they might read in other places disputing their or my experience with the battery life. Could the batteries in question in these threads be defective? Anything is possible.

I think user behavior and habits vary far more than people want to believe. Example - we can both browse the web for exactly 10 minutes, but you might be doing more intensive site navigation or rendering more pages while I may be reading or scrolling the same content more. That adds up to huge differences in CPU and GPU cycles over time, which all impacts battery life.

Another factor is that you might you a brightness 1-3 notches above or below me and that impacts battery a whole lot. Then there are the differences in actual capacity of each individual battery cell off the same product and manufacturer line.

Too many variables for even decent sized differences in how long a charge lasts.

 

[Macyourdayy]

I'd be suspicious of two things: What's in those open browser tabs and what apps run stuff in the background?

I've seen some web pages that can consume a ton of CPU and battery. It's shameful, but they are out there.

I've seen some apps that can drain batteries. Those you should be able to find by looking at Settings - Battery.

Web pages are so often major power sucks on the Mac, but it’s disappointing that even with the hyper aggressive power management on iOS that forgets everything as soon as you change apps, especially from Podcasts, that Mail and Safari seem to drain the battery within a few hours even though the iPad doesn’t seem to get hot. My M1 12.9 drops to 80% with less than an hour’s browsing. I’ve never found the battery use statistics to be particularly helpful as it doesn’t seem to count screen on/off usage accurately. We desperately need a proper activity monitor app to see where power is actually being used.

 

[costica1234]

We desperately need a proper activity monitor app to see where power is actually being used.

Definitely! And in the statistics I would like to see what iOS / iPadOS is using energy for, like the resources used by the operating system when the device is idle. A breakdown by core libraries would be really helpful, but I guess it would be too low level for the average user.

 

[Macyourdayy]

Definitely! And in the statistics I would like to see what iOS / iPadOS is using energy for, like the resources used by the operating system when the device is idle. A breakdown by core libraries would be really helpful, but I guess it would be too low level for the average user.

Actually, I just want to be able to boot into mac OS. I find iOS barely tolerable, and it would seem to be a major resource suck. You have so much more capability on an M1 Mac than an iPad. iPadOS is passable for travel or Pencil stuff, or if you're just browsing/consuming.

 

[RajBan]

Guys - I am planning to buy a new iPad and getting a good deal on iPad Pro 11in (M1) here in India. Ideally my usage is more suited to iPad Air(I will not do some high end stuff on this device - I have a Mac mini for computing purposes) but 64Gb Air is no go for me, hence I am inclined to iPad Pro(128 GB) as opposed to 256 GB iPad Air (both are more or less at same price).

However when I read this Battery drainage experiences, it is something that making me think. Is this more of a usage issue or generic with all iPad Pro 11in M1 owners?

I am not new to iPad or apple products. I am pretty comfortable with their products specially the performance and longevity as experienced first hand with my 10 yr old iPad 4 and multiple iPhones. My question is more in terms of specific issues that are related to iPad Pro M1 edition that I should be aware of before taking the plunge.

 

[Dealmans]

Guys - I am planning to buy a new iPad and getting a good deal on iPad Pro 11in (M1) here in India. Ideally my usage is more suited to iPad Air(I will not do some high end stuff on this device - I have a Mac mini for computing purposes) but 64Gb Air is no go for me, hence I am inclined to iPad Pro(128 GB) as opposed to 256 GB iPad Air (both are more or less at same price).

However when I read this Battery drainage experiences, it is something that making me think. Is this more of a usage issue or generic with all iPad Pro 11in M1 owners?

I am not new to iPad or apple products. I am pretty comfortable with their products specially the performance and longevity as experienced first hand with my 10 yr old iPad 4 and multiple iPhones. My question is more in terms of specific issues that are related to iPad Pro M1 edition that I should be aware of before taking the plunge.

No issues, got one today myself, 128gb wifi. Go for it, way better than the air 5.

 

[blkjedi954]

I've been using iPads for a long time, starting with an old iPad 2, then iPad 3, and eventually an iPad Air 2 that I bought in like 2016. So when I purchased a brand new iPad Pro (11 inch, 3rd gen) last week, I was quite surprised to see that the battery drains so much quicker compared to my old iPads. I went through the list of all possible things that might cause this, including turning off Bluetooth and keeping the Apple Pencil 2 away from the tablet, disabling location services, tap to wake, handoff and even Face ID is turned off. Background app refresh is also off for pretty much all the applications I have installed.

However, even with super light tasks, such as checking email, browsing Safari using only 2-3 tabs, and watching the occasional YouTube video, the battery drains incredibly quickly. It's unbelievable that the battery is at 35% after using the iPad for only 4 hours over the course of 2 days...

Note that I'm running the latest iOS 15.5, which I upgraded from 15.4 that the tablet came with (or maybe it was 15.4.1 if I remember correctly). Besides, the iPad was set up as new, without importing photos or settings from another device. I'm only logged in with iCloud so I can have quick access to my contacts and cloud files.

Otherwise the tablet performs very well and there is no lag regardless of what I do (granted, I don't even put it under stress). But it's quite shocking to see that an otherwise praised M1 chip is not so efficient after all... Or maybe iOS is to blame here?

I would very much appreciate any input that you guys may have, especially from those that use the latest iOS 15.5 on this particular iPad.

Wi-Fi or cellular for surfing?