Pensieri di un lunatico minore

MacBook Pro battery life

I mentioned earlier all the grumbling from annoying commentators about how Apple isn’t releasing much information about the new MacBook Pro when it comes to battery life. Today in The Apple Blog there is a nice article about real-world battery life that compares it to a Sony Z1:

To get 2-3 hours (and more) out of a Powerbook is quite an achievement when you think about the Z1, which is Centrino/Pentium-M based and has a heap of power saving technology. Both are using the battery that came with the machine.

Exactly. I have a Dell Latitude D410 at work, and it gets 3-4 hours max out of batteries unless I turn the screen down to an unreadable level, and run the processor at 4.77Mhz, and don’t even think about using anything wireless. Those are the number that Dell will quote, but they’re not real. They’re just lies. Lies constructed the same way everyone else constructs them. Hell, the D410 doesn’t even have a DVD built in. Add that to it and it sucks power like there’s no tomorrow.

Why would an Apple-built, Intel based laptop somehow defy the laws of physics, common sense and exceed the capabilities of PC laptops that have been made by manufacturers using the technology for years before Apple got to it, somehow exceed by a factor 75% or more the battery life of existing Intel based laptops?

The only number that matters is the one that comes from real-world tests and use, not the manufacturer. If you want to wait—and I recommend people do—for real numbers, then you should keep your credit card in your pocket.

My expectation is that the numbers from the MacBookPro, under real-world condititions will be as good, or maybe even slightly better, than comparable notebooks from others. Most of it will come down to what additional power-saving techniques Apple can squeeze into Mac OS X—and what 10.5 will bring will change the playing field even more.