5 ms·

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

go_prodev 3y ago
Battery life gets mentioned quite often with laptops, but is it still really that important? I run my business from an X1 Carbon, but it's more about portability than battery life. Trains, planes, Starbucks all have power available so it's constantly plugged in and I can't remember the last time I used it on battery for more than an hour.
- hoot 3y ago
  I recently got my first macbook (coming from a thinkpad) and it’s honestly more about not having to give a shit about a charger. It charges incredibly fast when I plug it into its monitor, but otherwise I just throw it in a bag without even thinking about what my battery percentage is. I’ll leave the house with it and not even bring the charger.
  - gtirloni 3y ago
    I think this is the biggest selling point for me. Fewer cables around.
- flkiwi 3y ago
  I've been using my X1C on battery for the last 4 hours on a transpacific flight (hello from the middle of nowhere) and am looking forward to about 4 more hours. The seat has a convenient power plug, but it's awfully nice to leave the charger tucked away in my bag to be one less thing to trip over when I have to wriggle free from my cattle class seat to run to the restroom. So, to address your question (which I would normally also ask), it is that important though this is also a somewhat narrow use case.
- Casteil 3y ago
  It's just one of many great aspects for such a capable device. They also run very cool and are effectively silent even when the fan DOES eventually turn on for a sustained max load. By comparison, every Windows/Intel laptop I've had over the last decade exhibited obvious fan noise every time there was some short-lived load on the CPU - that includes several nicer business/pro grade laptops including Dell XPS, Latitudes, and a Thinkpad. ...and NONE of those other laptops came remotely close to reliably lasting 10+ hours on battery like the MBPs can/do.
- Sakos 3y ago
  It's pretty much impossible to find an outlet in Germany in public. Certain types of trains have them, but many don't. Like, the only guaranteed outlets I can rely on are at home or at work, and even at work, I'm constantly moving between meetings and simply don't want to futz around with cables all day. I never have to worry about charging my laptop between meetings. That kind of convenience is hard to beat. Battery life matters. Maybe not to you, but it matters.
- pjmlp 3y ago
  In Europe, nope, only some trains have power available. Never saw it on planes, and I fly regularly. Even on trains, one must be lucky and even if lucky, it is usually one socket per pair of seats.
tmtvl 3y ago
Mobility is such an antifeature. Taking your work home with you is something you really shouldn't have to do. Worse even, taking your computer which potentially holds sensitive data with you could result in it getting stolen, at which point you've got a big problem on your hands. Laptops for work make no sense unless you're a field researcher.
- paulryanrogers 3y ago
  Journalists and plenty of other fields benefit. Though I agree with the sentiment. A Mac mini is probably good enough for most folks who work in largely the same place.
- Casteil 3y ago
  You do know that a lot of people travel for work, right?
- themadturk 3y ago
  Disagree. Mobility is absolutely a feature. When the pandemic sent everyone at my employer (several thousand workers) home in 2020, we were at 90% productivity within a few days because virtually everyone had laptops. Getting everyone settled in with effective home office setups took a week or two, but we were connected and working the whole time. Then, when we went home a couple years later because of a cyberattack, essential workers were able to log in and work with the systems because we all had laptops. As time goes on and less and less of our data is actually sitting on laptops.
- viraptor 3y ago
  Mobility is not about taking work home. Disk encryption is almost standard these days. (Windows home edition is the last holdout) People travel for / with work, do on-calls, work at customer sites, work from home and don't want to be stuck in one room, etc. Laptop may not make sense for you, but it seems you're a bit out of your element here.
- nicbou 3y ago
  Mobility lets me work on the balcony and in parks

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

go_prodev 3y ago

Battery life gets mentioned quite often with laptops, but is it still really that important? I run my business from an X1 Carbon, but it's more about portability than battery life. Trains, planes, Starbucks all have power available so it's constantly plugged in and I can't remember the last time I used it on battery for more than an hour.

hoot 3y ago
I recently got my first macbook (coming from a thinkpad) and it’s honestly more about not having to give a shit about a charger. It charges incredibly fast when I plug it into its monitor, but otherwise I just throw it in a bag without even thinking about what my battery percentage is. I’ll leave the house with it and not even bring the charger.
- gtirloni 3y ago
  I think this is the biggest selling point for me. Fewer cables around.
flkiwi 3y ago
I've been using my X1C on battery for the last 4 hours on a transpacific flight (hello from the middle of nowhere) and am looking forward to about 4 more hours. The seat has a convenient power plug, but it's awfully nice to leave the charger tucked away in my bag to be one less thing to trip over when I have to wriggle free from my cattle class seat to run to the restroom. So, to address your question (which I would normally also ask), it is that important though this is also a somewhat narrow use case.
Casteil 3y ago
It's just one of many great aspects for such a capable device. They also run very cool and are effectively silent even when the fan DOES eventually turn on for a sustained max load. By comparison, every Windows/Intel laptop I've had over the last decade exhibited obvious fan noise every time there was some short-lived load on the CPU - that includes several nicer business/pro grade laptops including Dell XPS, Latitudes, and a Thinkpad. ...and NONE of those other laptops came remotely close to reliably lasting 10+ hours on battery like the MBPs can/do.
Sakos 3y ago
It's pretty much impossible to find an outlet in Germany in public. Certain types of trains have them, but many don't. Like, the only guaranteed outlets I can rely on are at home or at work, and even at work, I'm constantly moving between meetings and simply don't want to futz around with cables all day. I never have to worry about charging my laptop between meetings. That kind of convenience is hard to beat. Battery life matters. Maybe not to you, but it matters.
pjmlp 3y ago
In Europe, nope, only some trains have power available. Never saw it on planes, and I fly regularly. Even on trains, one must be lucky and even if lucky, it is usually one socket per pair of seats.

tmtvl 3y ago

Mobility is such an antifeature. Taking your work home with you is something you really shouldn't have to do. Worse even, taking your computer which potentially holds sensitive data with you could result in it getting stolen, at which point you've got a big problem on your hands. Laptops for work make no sense unless you're a field researcher.

paulryanrogers 3y ago
Journalists and plenty of other fields benefit. Though I agree with the sentiment. A Mac mini is probably good enough for most folks who work in largely the same place.
Casteil 3y ago
You do know that a lot of people travel for work, right?
themadturk 3y ago
Disagree. Mobility is absolutely a feature. When the pandemic sent everyone at my employer (several thousand workers) home in 2020, we were at 90% productivity within a few days because virtually everyone had laptops. Getting everyone settled in with effective home office setups took a week or two, but we were connected and working the whole time. Then, when we went home a couple years later because of a cyberattack, essential workers were able to log in and work with the systems because we all had laptops. As time goes on and less and less of our data is actually sitting on laptops.
viraptor 3y ago
Mobility is not about taking work home. Disk encryption is almost standard these days. (Windows home edition is the last holdout) People travel for / with work, do on-calls, work at customer sites, work from home and don't want to be stuck in one room, etc. Laptop may not make sense for you, but it seems you're a bit out of your element here.
nicbou 3y ago
Mobility lets me work on the balcony and in parks