Haswell chips could bring 50% more battery life to Apple's next-gen MacBooks

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  • Reply 21 of 106
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cash907 View Post





    lol. Manufacturers LOVE mind sets like yours, Sol. You're just the blank check that keeps cashing out. Meanwhile, ifixit and I continue plucking away and solving our own problems without ridiculously overpriced extended warranties and repair fees.



    Speaking of battery replacement, this is funny: I can get an OEM replacement for my 2009 MBP 13" for 49 dollars online, and swap it out in about ten minutes. Apple, on the other hand, wants 130 bucks and a day to do the same thing. What? If I'm paying 50, they are probably paying 35 or less, which means they expect almost 100 dollars for ten minutes of labor. I don't care if you're Daddy Warbucks himself, that's ridiculous.


     


    You really have access to OEM (ie Apple battery) for $50? Or is it a chinese knock-off passed off as a OEM battery that could have consequences later on (like expanding from heat, and blowing up like other aftermarket batteries have in the past)?


     


    I doubt most have been as have been as hard on a MBP as I have. Running dual drives (SSD 256 & 7200 500gb in optical bay) and iOS and Mac programming an average of 10 hours a day 5-6 days a week for the last 2 years. My battery is still doing great. Doesn't mean all batteries will last like that, but no one at work or in my programming ring has had issues with batteries. 


     


    BTW, isn't the retina 15" glued in? Is it still easy to replace?

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  • Reply 22 of 106
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,398member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TzTerri View Post



    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.


     


    Thanks for the completely irrelevant post. 95% of users will never need or want to replace their batteries. Also, you CAN do it yourself if you want. Apple decided that simplifying the design, removing internal complexity, and making the device thinner and more reliable for the vast majority was more important than catering to the tiny niche that might need or want to replace their battery. Apple has proven that people don't care. They were bashed for making the same decision for their iPhones and iPads. One of the biggest selling points for early Android tablets were removable batteries. Yeah, that sure helped them. I don't know a single person with an Android phone who has ever changed their battery. If you DO need to change your macbook battery, the slightly higher inconvenience/price of doing so once every several years (if you even keep your machine that long) does not outweigh everything else. 

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  • Reply 23 of 106
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    tzterri wrote: »
    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.

    If this were an actual problem, Macs wouldn't have such through-the-roof customer satisfaction numbers. I've had Macs for the past ten years and never had a battery problem.

    Why do you bother with this kind of post in such a Mac-friendly forum? Do you really think you're going to convince anyone to dislike their Macs here because they don't have removable batteries? And when much of the industry is copying this? Please find something else to hate on.
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  • Reply 24 of 106
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

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  • Reply 25 of 106
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TzTerri View Post



    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.


    Not sure if it is overpriced. I don't have any qualms complaining about Apple, but my MacBook Pro of 2 years is still running like a champ. Cant' say the same for my work Dell with a battery that barely lasts 1/3 as long.


     


    I think their prices are fair. I would expect at least half of laptop owners to upgrade to a new machine before the battery goes bad.

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  • Reply 26 of 106
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

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  • Reply 27 of 106
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TzTerri View Post



    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.




    Actually, another fairly recent story - rumor or released by Apple (I forget) - said Apple's planning to start doing some lower-level services that used to have to sent to the mothership in Apple Stores on a same day basis where possible, and a battery swapout would certainly seem to be one that fits the bill if such a program's on the way.


     


    I also agree that unless Apple also adopts more new power-saving parts, e.g., somehow reduces screen battery drain, that overall life - with the same battery capacity and tech - won't be bumped by more than 15-20% max.  That, though, and improved graphics in the air line (little pun there), are likely my tipping point. 



    And the current Air IS light enough, so I also hope we don't get the same battery life in a trade-off with the "you can't be too thin" aesthetic.

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  • Reply 28 of 106
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member


    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    ... Intel chief Rani Borkar said that the chipmaker had designed the line with notebooks and tablets in mind ...


     


    Oh now Intel gets it.  Laptop computers have been around since the GRiD Compass 1100 in 1982.


    And 31 years later, in 2013, Intel decides that it's finally time to design CPUs with laptops "in mind."


    And that suddenly, out of thin air, we will get "50 percent longer operation in normal use."


    That reeks of decades of complacency as they milked the market for power-hog Wintel desktops.


    Because they had no serious competition, with all due respect to AMD.


    And now they're waking up to the shock of post-PC disruption of their hegemony.


    And just like that, they're finally getting serious about power efficiency.  And maybe too late.


     





    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    The rise of smartphones and tablets has hobbled the PC industry, the main source of Intel's sales. Increasingly, consumers are opting for mobile devices rather than traditional computing form factors, and Intel has struggled to gain a foothold in the mobile device segment.



     


    This is what I mean by "maybe too late."

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  • Reply 29 of 106
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    A 50% improvement would be very nice, but can a CPU by itself account for all that? I thought its the display that's the main power hog here. Unless they go IGZO I don't see such a major improvement in battery life occurring.
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  • Reply 30 of 106
    applezillaapplezilla Posts: 941member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TzTerri View Post



    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.


    My nearly four year old MBP has a battery health of 87%. I'll have a Retina MBP long before my battery fails.


     


     


    Anyway, I am hoping for Haswell Retina MBPs to be ready to ship in July. Am I just dreaming?

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  • Reply 31 of 106
    lemon bon bon.lemon bon bon. Posts: 2,173member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by youngexec View Post


    I want an AIR 11 inch with the ipad 2048-by-1536 retina touch display. Then I'm in.



    Why can't they leverage the 'volume' pricing on iPads to put that display in the Air?


     


    Lemon Bon Bon.

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  • Reply 32 of 106
    lemon bon bon.lemon bon bon. Posts: 2,173member

    Quote:


    Oh now Intel gets it.  Laptop computers have been around since the GRiD Compass 1100 in 1982.


    And 31 years later, in 2013, Intel decides that it's finally time to design CPUs with laptops "in mind."


    And that suddenly, out of thin air, we will get "50 percent longer operation in normal use."


    That reeks of decades of complacency as they milked the market for power-hog Wintel desktops.


    Because they had no serious competition, with all due respect to AMD.


    And now they're waking up to the shock of post-PC disruption of their hegemony.


    And just like that, they're finally getting serious about power efficiency.  And maybe too late.


     




     


    Yep.


     


    Lemon Bon Bon.

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  • Reply 33 of 106
    lemon bon bon.lemon bon bon. Posts: 2,173member

    Quote:





    The rise of smartphones and tablets has hobbled the PC industry, the main source of Intel's sales. Increasingly, consumers are opting for mobile devices rather than traditional computing form factors, and Intel has struggled to gain a foothold in the mobile device segment.


     






     


    *tiny violin for intel.


     


    Lemon Bon Bon.

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  • Reply 34 of 106
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    negafox wrote: »
    There will not be a 50% improvement in battery life. Haswell processors consume about 41% less power in general computer use. However, I believe the display is the primary consumer of battery life, not CPU. Also, the wireless card and SSD drain about 2% of the battery life each. So in real world tests, laptop battery life will likely be slightly improved (maybe around 15% or so).

    Exactly. Even if the CPU used NO power, it's unlikely that the laptop would have 50% longer battery life.
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  • Reply 35 of 106
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Increasingly, consumers are opting for mobile devices rather than traditional computing form factors, and Intel has struggled to gain a foothold in the mobile device segment.


    Is it just me or do people need so little computing capability these days that they can get by with just a mobile device? Hell, I can't even get by with just a rMBP 15, I am just such a long time user of large screen monitors and multi-cpu machines that I would feel crippled without my familiar desktops. To me it would be like after owning a luxury automobile to have get by with only a bicycle. Sure I have a couple mobile devices, and I also own a bicycle but it is not my only mode of transportation.

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  • Reply 36 of 106
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    tzterri wrote: »
    Still doesn't solve the problem of being without your laptop for a few days while its battery gets changed when it goes bad. Not to mention Apple's overpriced battery replacement fee.

    The Apple Store in Tampa replaced mine while I waited and did it under Apple Care on my two and a half year old MBP.
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  • Reply 37 of 106
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

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  • Reply 38 of 106
    tzterritzterri Posts: 116member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    They are good for 1000 full cycles before they at 80% original capacity. If you're talking about a bad battery treat it like a bad component that needs to be replaced. This whole notion that everything should be user-replaceable is an archaic and outmoded concept in 2013 for a consumer device.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    Obviously you are one of the few that have had a bad experience, but if it bothers you that much … do it your f*cking self.  


     


    It is possible to buy the part and change the battery yourself.  It will save you the "overpriced" fee, but it will be slower and I bet you screw it up. 



    Actually I've done a few for friends. It's not that hard to do but now Apple has started gluing them in and according to iFixIt pretty much impossible to do without damaging the ribbon that goes to the trackpad. 


     


    I'm still running a 17" 2006 Macbook that does have a removable battery. I'm on my forth battery. 

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  • Reply 39 of 106
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    Exactly. Even if the CPU used NO power, it's unlikely that the laptop would have 50% longer battery life.


    They never made the claim specific to the cpu, which only accounts for a fraction of power consumption. Their prior claims suggested that this would require much more aggressive power management of logic board components as well. I can't find the articles at the moment, which were pretty far back. My guess is that they projected these numbers using specific reference configurations that are unlikely to be followed. Intel's numbers are always pretty far out there, which is why I ignore them until they're tested.


     


    Aside from that, is the forum software clipping anyone else's posts? I wrote more initially but I don't feel like retyping all of it on an edit.

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  • Reply 40 of 106
    ifij775ifij775 Posts: 470member


    I'm hoping this chip will offer a quantum leap in weight reduction and longer battery life. My old MBP could use an upgrade.

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