MacBook Air :: New Airs Use Same Battery Technology?
Oct 31, 2010
I had been wondering if the new Airs use the same battery technology as the newer MBPs, namely the 1000 charge cycle rating. I assumed not since apple didn't explicitly talk about how amazing the new Air's battery was. Anyway, I finally found this buried in Apple's battery page [URL:...] Quote: The built-in battery of the MacBook Air is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 750 full charge and discharge cycles. The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles. So I guess it's a mixed bag...not quite up to the level of the MBPs, but certainly better than the old batteries.
i saw in the tech specs that macbook air has "bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology" while macbook pro has "bluetooth 2.1 + edr wireless technology". what's the difference ? and which one is better ?
Apple at its developers conference Monday unveiled plans to transition its 13-inch unibody MacBooks into a more premium offering by announcing plans to rebrand them as 13-inch MacBook Pros alongside more affordable pricing. MacBook Airs were also updated with cheaper pricing.
Apple said it will retain the "MacBook" moniker for its white $999 MacBook which ships in a polycarbonate enclosure. The new unibody models include a 2.26GHz model for $1199 and a 2.53GHz model for $1499, down from $1299 and $1599.
13-inch MacBook Pros
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is a significant upgrade at a lower price than the original aluminum MacBook it replaces. With the same unibody design popular with consumers, students and professionals, all 13-inch MacBook Pro models now include a seven hour built-in battery, an SD card slot, a FireWire 800 port, an illuminated keyboard and an improved LED-backlit display with 60 percent greater color gamut.
Also featuring NVIDIA's GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive priced at $1,199, and another with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive priced at $1,499.
"Across the line, all of our new MacBook Pro models now include Apple's innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life, while staying just as thin and light as before," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Starting at just $1,199, the aluminum unibody MacBook Pro is more affordable than ever and sets a new standard for environmentally friendly notebook design."
The 2.26 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:
*-- *13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display; *-- *2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache; *-- *1066 MHz front-side bus; *-- *2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB; *-- *NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics; *-- *160GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor; *-- *a slot-load 8X SuperDrive(R) with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive; *-- *Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately); *-- *built-in AirPort Extreme(R) 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; *-- *Gigabit Ethernet port; *-- *built-in iSight(R) video camera; *-- *two USB 2.0 ports; *-- *one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible); *-- *SD card slot; *-- *one audio line in/out port, supporting both optical digital and analog; *-- *glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; *-- *built-in, 58WHr lithium polymer battery; and *-- *60 Watt MagSafe(R) Power Adapter.
The 2.53 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:
*-- *13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display; *-- *2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache; *-- *1066 MHz front-side bus; *-- *4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB; *-- *NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics; *-- *250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor; *-- *a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive; *-- *Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately); *-- *built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; *-- *Gigabit Ethernet port; *-- *built-in iSight video camera; *-- *two USB 2.0 ports; *-- *one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible); *-- *SD card slot; *-- *one audio line in/out port, supporting both optical digital and analog; *-- *glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; *-- *built-in, 58WHr lithium polymer battery; and *-- *60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the 13-inch MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 250GB 5400 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm or 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, a 128GB or 256GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
MacBook Air
Apple today also updated its thin and light MacBook Air, making it more powerful and more affordable. Measuring just 0.16 to 0.76-inches thin and weighing just three pounds, the MacBook Air is available in two models starting with the new entry price of $1,499 for a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 120GB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, and a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 128GB solid state drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics for $1,799.
Every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting a new standard for environmentally friendly notebook design. Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. All MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models contain no brominated flame retardants and use internal cables and components that are PVC-free. The built-in battery design results in less waste and depleted batteries can be replaced for $129 or $179, which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.
Availability and upgrading to Snow Leopard
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are available immediately through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard will be shipping in September 2009, and any new Mac system purchased without Snow Leopard from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009 and the end of the program on December 26, 2009, is eligible for the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-To-Date upgrade package available for a product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, or whichever comes first.[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
For the MBA, the Dell Adamo is now a direct competitor. Do you think Apple is possibly keeping the same technology, and just working to make it thinner? or do you think they will keep the same height/weight, and upgrade the parts?
I'm thinking about buying the new MacBook pro, the 15 inch i7 to be specific, and this thought just came to my head. USB 3.0. Will Apple likely adapt to this technology soon? I know it's dumb to always wait for the next computer just because the specs are not caught up. If everyone did this, no one would ever buy a computer, but I'm going to own this laptop for a long time, and am I really going to want to own something that will be missing USB 3.0 when that becomes the standard in a year?
By far the most interesting benchmark trend coming out of the latest Macbook Air tests is that of the 320M GPU - is this thing somehow clocked differently than in the Macbook/Macbook Pro?
From:
[URL]
The latest Macbook Pro 13" 2.4 Ghz gets 33 FPS in Call of Duty 4, whereas the Macbook Air 13" (using the same 320M GPU) gets 40 FPS. Even the 1.4Ghz 11" gets 37! So obviously we're not talking about a CPU limited game - the only explanation then is that the GPU in the Macbook Air is clocked differently than in the 13" Macbook Pro, no?
From:
[URL]
Again the Macbook Air clocked at 2.13 ghz is beating the 2.4 Ghz Macbook Pro in World of Warcraft and Portal! And in WOW the 11" 1.4ghz still manages to beat the 2.4 Ghz 13" Macbook Pro.
Anyone have any additional insight into this? Anand did a terrible job of testing these for gaming performance, unfortunately, so he may not have even noticed this trend.
I'm usually just a reader and not a contributer here at macrumours, but a few days ago i watched Machete, Robert Rodriguez's new movie. Amongst all the exaggerated violence, I couldn't help but notice that Jessica Alba's Macbook Pro in the movie has many of the new design traits as the Macbook Air. The most noticeable of these is the white surrounding around the screen. This discovery alone prompted me to register here and post this.Here are three snapshots from the movie to prove my point.So could this possibly be the design for a 2011 Macbook Pro release? And will this mean the new MBP will sport MBA features such as instant on technology?
I searched and didnt find any feedback in regards to G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE High-Performance Hard Drive that I found on Apple.com Anyone currently using this external drive or recommend others?
I've been thinking lately, the pentium 3 architecture was pretty solid. I mean look what its brought us now, the core duo and core 2 duo architecture are both heavily based off of this design and obviously leave powerpc in the dust. I think the problem is that the SIMD instructions on the pentium 3 weren't heavily pushed in benchmarks, whereas everything done with the G4 was almost always altivec enhanced. Lets look at some articles as well [URL:...] Seems to come to the same conclusion i'm thinking , Also this article goes a bit more in depth so you can see the architectures of the day [URL:....] So I'm not sure, was it all just the buzz of the day? I mean sure, apple may have had the better operating systems, but was it just steve jobs candy coating things to make us think we had the better hardware as well?
I want to find something cheap b/c I'm going to buy the new ACD in about a year. This is only to help me with some simple web development. (15" isn't to enough.) I have some questions. Is the TFT active matrix and TN the same technology or not? Does it go like TFT < TN < IPS? What is in the early '08 MBP? I don't want the laptop display putting the monitor to shame. (At least not too badly.)I'm hoping to get out of it ~ $100-$130. If it has speakers, that would be a plus. Also, it needs to be 19"+.
I was watching Apple's event on quicktime , and the whole 1:30 hour show streamed with no pre-downloading on my slow internet connection(512kbs at best) while youtube videos of 5 and 10 min will take very long time to load, actually they won't stream ever, all the time they will need to be downloaded at first, this goes for html5 AND flash. what is this technology apple is using to stream video? Why can't other websites utilize it as it is much more convenient? can you benefit using it on your own personal website?
I have just completed rescuing a water damaged MB C2D which was originally a 2.16 and is now a 1.83. Fun project for a cold Sunday afternoon. 5 hrs I have one issue with the MB and that is the charging of the battery. The battery icon sometimes shows 'no battery' or if it shows a battery is recognized, it isn't charging. The LED on the mag-safe charger is always green. The battery is from the water damaged 2.16 and my thinking is that it may have suffered damage from being exposed to water. Original owner left the MB in the backyard and it started to rain!
My battery needed replacing for a couple of months before i dropped it from about knee level onto a sidewalk. After the drop I got the not charging icon. I thought maybe the battery had just finally died. so I did not panic about the no charge. The laptop works fine when plugged in to power with the old battery on or no battery at all. Not at all when unplugged.
When I put the brand new battery on the lap top, the computer shuts down halfway through boot up. I tried holding the power button down through boot up reset, as well as removing all power (plug and battery) and holding down the power button for 10 seconds reset.
I calibrated my battery for the first time since Dec. When I plugged it in this morning, it took 3 hours to charge all the way, and now it's stuck on 99% full, 0:00 till completely charged, and I'm getting an error when I click on the battery in the menu bar that says "Service Battery". When I click on the error, it tells me that it may not be functioning properly and to take it to an authorized apple service retailer. Before I waste 2 hours by going to the Apple store and back, has anyone else had this problem, and is there a way to fix it without having it looked at?
I get the whole part about that I set my laptop to go to sleep in 5 minutes, and if I close the lid it'll go to sleep, and the little light at the bottom starts to pulse, etc. But in sleep mode, my battery seems to drain extremely fast!
For my old Gateway M275 laptop while in sleep mode, it would probably lose about 5-7% of it's battery in a day's duration. With my MacBook Air, I just came back to it tonight after a day's worth of sleeping, and my battery was down to 16% from 29%. And to check, it was indeed sleeping!
If you look at apple's battery life page it states the MBA battery is removable, I thought it wasn't supposed to be?Battery Lifespan For Apple notebooks with removable batteries ? such as the MacBook, MacBook Air, and 15-inch MacBook Pro ? a properly maintained battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.
I have an early 2008 non-unibody MacBook Pro. For about a year now, the status of the battery has been "replace soon." I was still getting a pretty good amount of time off of one charge so I wasn't too worried. This past Saturday morning, I woke up, checked the battery indicator lights on my computer (it had been sleeping since the day before) and it said it had about 60% percent so I opened it. I was on the Internet for about 10 minutes before it shut off without warning.
It wouldn't turn back on when I pressed the power button, so I plugged it in and it turned back on. When I checked, the battery status was "replace now." After using it, I turned it back off and left for NYC for the weekend and didn't bring it with me. When I got home last night, I plugged it in and tried turning it on with no luck. The battery indicator light was flashing one light, so I just assumed it would need to charge for a bit before it would turn back on. After about two hours, when I went to bed, it still was flashing just one light. I kept it plugged in over night, and this morning when I checked it, the battery indicator lights showed that it was fully charged, but it still wouldn't turn on. I still kept it plugged in throughout the day just in case, but it still won't turn on even though all the lights are lit. Is the battery just showing me false information, or should I be worried about more than just the battery?
purchased a macbook Unibody back in October 2008 when they were released and use it heavily. The battery no longer holds a nice long charge - I get about 2 to 2.5 hours out of a full charge.
The battery has 149 cycles on it, which is obviously high (and correct, I use the hell out of it). With it still being in warranty, is it worth pursuing a replacement battery? Will Apple tell me to go take a hike with the high cycle counts?
i just ordered a late 2008 macbook pro 15 with the dual GPUs (9400m and 9600m GT) and I'm a little worried about the battery life.
-What can I expect if just doing normal every day stuff (web surfing mostly?)
-does watching a movie off of the hard disk use less battery than watching it off a DVD? Is there a big difference?
I'm not a big gamer but would like to have the horsepower to play a game should one come out that I want. I'm also not a big traveler so battery times are only of average importance.
Basically, I'm asking if I made a good purchase considering I have only average concerns for both battery and game performance. They had the new 7 hour battery 15" macbook pro for the same price but it doesn't have the dual GPUs.
been using my older MBP with windows 7 for a while and have never notice oddies with the battery until now. Then recently after replacing the failed HD and re-installing Snow Leopard on my 2007 MBP, the battery panel is telling me "Service Battery"; it's battery health according to coconutBattery is fair for it's age (50%).
the unit (battery) has been replaced previously due to being considered 'under performing'. Is Snow Leopard trying to encurate it's users to replace the battery more frequently? If not, does anyone know why this appears? I'm at lost, since it appears to work fine, if not charging completely.
I'm not sure if this is SL related, but I get the service battery warning when I click on the battery status. iStat reports it at 62% health. Rev B 1.6 just 6months old. Should I bring it to apple or is it just a bug of SL?
I have a MacbookPro mid 2009 and have some problems with my battery. This morning I noticed that the battery was empty through it was supposed to be in sleep mode during the night. My battery has 97 cycles and has 99% of its original capacity. What could be the cause of this problem ?
I just want to make sure nothing else is wrong with my Macbook..have never replaced the battery in 3+ years...Always says not charging and once the magsafe is removed Pro shuts off...is completely dead battery the only problem..?
Battery Information:
Model Information: Serial Number:Sony-ASMB012-3856-4ebc Manufacturer:Sony Device name:ASMB012 Pack Lot Code:0000 PCB Lot Code:0000 Firmware Version:0110 Hardware Revision:0500 Cell Revision:0303 Charge Information: Charge remaining (mAh):0 Fully charged:Yes Charging:No Full charge capacity (mAh):0 Health Information: Cycle count:218 Condition:Check Battery Battery Installed:Yes Amperage (mA):0 Voltage (mV):10209
So, I randomly clicked on my battery and noticed this "Service Battery" message. I had never seen it before. Obviously, this isn't a good thing. My Mac is 3 and a half years old so I'm not surprised this message poped up. So, I opened Coconut Battery and noticed my current battery capacity is at 65%. Even though charger says it's green, my battery isn't even charging. Should I make an appointment with Apple? My AppleCare expired so i'll have to buy a new battery when the time comes. I'm sure they're not cheap, either.
Apple Macbook Air late 2010, has been giving me poor battery performance even after replacing the battery under warranty. I am unable to find a solution, even the local apple service provider seems confused. Should I go for a replacement?My Macbook Air runs on the OSX 10.7.3 with all updates as on date. I use only softwares such as Microsoft Office for mac, Safari, Mail, iChat, iTunes regularly.
I calibrated my MacBook Pro battery and then noticed that the battery life seemed slightly shorter after that. I calibrated it according to this: [URL]
Just wondering if I have done anything wrong...
One more question... What do they mean by "At this point, save your work. Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep." Does it mean that I have to use the computer until it just shuts down or should I shut it down once the "Low Battery" warning pops up?
