4g iPod battery

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
will the iPod ever have a respectable battery life? it seems unlikely, doesn't it?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    No, on the contrary, it seems that the 4G iPods will likely have large improvements in battery efficacy.
  • Reply 2 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    No, on the contrary, it seems that the 4G iPods will likely have large improvements in battery efficacy.



    How so, why?
  • Reply 3 of 33
    you hope that apple will
    Quote:

    ave large improvements in battery efficacy.



    but there is no reason to think so. The mini iPod has the same pitiful 8 hours of battery life.



    In fact, Apple actually managed to go BACKWARDS from 10 hours to 8 hours with the 2g iPod with insignificant feature additions...
  • Reply 4 of 33
    Why is 8 hours pitiful? Most reviewers claim a longer charge is possible out of the mini. 8 hours of portable music a day seems excessive.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    I have no proof but I just believe that there is no reason for the battery life not to improve. It's a sore spot for Apple and something they can address with the next generation.
  • Reply 6 of 33
    rolandgrolandg Posts: 632member
    Good news on the battery front:



    Ormecon introduced high-capacity capacitors that can hold a thrid more energy than Li-Ion batteries. Link
  • Reply 7 of 33
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melchior

    In fact, Apple actually managed to go BACKWARDS from 10 hours to 8 hours with the 2g iPod with insignificant feature additions...



    The size of the machine was shrunk significantly though.
  • Reply 8 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bunge

    The size of the machine was shrunk significantly though.



    And the interface changed. I still prefer the old wheel/buttons anyday.
  • Reply 9 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by NittanyLionTosh

    Why is 8 hours pitiful? Most reviewers claim a longer charge is possible out of the mini. 8 hours of portable music a day seems excessive.



    Apple may quote 8 hours but after a few weeks you get much less than that and you end up having to recharge it every night - this is pretty useless if you're on the road or away for more than a night.
  • Reply 10 of 33
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by retro-cat

    Apple may quote 8 hours but after a few weeks you get much less than that and you end up having to recharge it every night - this is pretty useless if you're on the road or away for more than a night.



    on the road? where do you sleep? most hotels have electricity and an outlet in the room where the thing could charge, and if you are going somewhere that has no power, why would you take the iPod anyway?



    and how do you travel, most cars have power via cigar/cigarette lighter, and planes have power for that sort of thing now so where cant you recharge?
  • Reply 11 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    on the road? where do you sleep? most hotels have electricity and an outlet in the room where the thing could charge, and if you are going somewhere that has no power, why would you take the iPod anyway?



    and how do you travel, most cars have power via cigar/cigarette lighter, and planes have power for that sort of thing now so where cant you recharge?




    It's not very portable if you have to bring your car adaptor + iPod charger with you everywhere you go. I don't expect it to last for days... I would be very happy with the 8 hours promised.. just seems like apple are skimping slightly
  • Reply 12 of 33
    mattbmattb Posts: 59member
    I get less than the 8 hours advertised too. I take mine to work for a 7.5 hour day and even without listening to it for 2-3 of those hours, it's usually flat before I'm off home. In my case I'm using the lossless format so that's more hard drive use and in turn, more battery drain but I don't think it's unreasonable to use an iPod this way. If it would actually last the 5 hours or so it would save me taking the charger. I also take the odd 12 hour bus trip with no power points in sight. I don't mind having to buy a third party battery pack (like Belken's) for unusual times like that but I think it should be fine for my everyday daily use...the Sony Discman my iPod replaced certainly had no trouble with this kind of usage, I used to get 2-3 days without a recharge.
  • Reply 13 of 33
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Yeah, it would be better for us and for Apple if they could sell a player with a longer battery life, but for most people I think, the current charge times are enough for daily use.
  • Reply 14 of 33
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    I still have a hard time believing these rampant reports of poor batteries. Maybe I got the one good one in the entire bunch, but I have an almost two-and-a-half year old *1st gen* iPod, and still get 6 hrs out of it. I'm not saying everyone reporting such things is a liar, but it just seems really bizarre to me.



    *shrug*



    For *practical* purposes, I don't see much difference between 8 hrs and 18 hrs, other than for ego building bragging rights. Kind of reminds me of the "Well *MY* P4 has 15% more clock rate than your G5!" silliness.
  • Reply 15 of 33
    mattbmattb Posts: 59member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    I still have a hard time believing these rampant reports of poor batteries. Maybe I got the one good one in the entire bunch, but I have an almost two-and-a-half year old *1st gen* iPod, and still get 6 hrs out of it. I'm not saying everyone reporting such things is a liar, but it just seems really bizarre to me.



    *shrug*




    Well I do think usage has a lot to do with it. Playing 128Kbps AACs will use less battery than 256-320Kbps files or lossless files and most reports I've heard as well as my own experience back this up. Also lithium ion betteries that don't get used and charged regularly will deteriorate faster. Someone who rarely uses their battery will find that soon it probably won't last very long at all.



    Quote:

    For *practical* purposes, I don't see much difference between 8 hrs and 18 hrs, other than for ego building bragging rights. Kind of reminds me of the "Well *MY* P4 has 15% more clock rate than your G5!" silliness.



    It's the difference between having enough battery life "for most people" and having enough battery life "for virtually everyone". If the latter is possible, I can't think of any reason not to. The clock speeds on CPUs comparison is a different thing too as clock speed between differing architectures and models is usually a meaningless statistic that tells you nothing about anything. Battery life on the other hand is something that can be seriously important depending on your usage.
  • Reply 16 of 33
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by retro-cat

    Apple may quote 8 hours but after a few weeks you get much less than that and you end up having to recharge it every night - this is pretty useless if you're on the road or away for more than a night.



    Mine has still been managing 8 hours for quite some time and I know people who have had their's for over a year and still get it. That's using an average 160 - 192 kbps encoding.
  • Reply 17 of 33
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    Yah if they can pull another 4 hours out of it... that'd be great. I know they can do this because battery replacements do this. So Its all about apple using a different battery system. I actually don't have an iPod because I'm waiting for 4g iPods... one of my hopes is longer battery life. I want that more than any other feature.
  • Reply 18 of 33
    macsrgood4umacsrgood4u Posts: 3,007member
    Remember the "crank handle" laptop Apple was supposedly working on? Perhaps the next gen iPod will incorporate one. Or maybe some solar cells? Actually, there are all kinds of emerging new battery technologies. But publishing press releases about them is not the same as putting them into production. Also any new tech costs more and Apple is looking to reduce the price not increase. Two years ago everyone was excited about new OLED displays and other technologies that would give us screens able to be rolled up or put in books, etc. Where are they? Answer: They are coming along, very slowly, and at costs the average consumer would not want to pay.
  • Reply 19 of 33
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    No need for new technologies....all Apple needs to do is to allow the user to easily open up the back of this 4th gen iPod and replace the battery.



    If you really need to listen to your iPod for more than 8 hours straight, surely carrying an extra battery would be a big deal.
  • Reply 20 of 33
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    Excellent idea... it's almost too simple to have been thought of!!
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