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The 1.3Ghz 13" crushes other portables in 3rd party battery tests, getting 12:51 on engadgets movie test (http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/13/macbook-air-review/

The 1.3Ghz 13" crushes other portables in 3rd party battery tests, getting 12:51 on engadgets movie test (http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/13/macbook-air-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/13/macbook-air-review/). While being light and easy to tote. It is more than just the processor, this is one place where Apple's sourcing and close hardware/software bonding really shows value. For me, it was a bit of a game changer, because I can charge it at home like a cell phone rather than dragging around the power supply and cables in my bag like I used to. Excluding special "sheet batteries" and other basically external batteries, there are only a handful of laptops that are in the ballpark, and they are all significantly more bulky. Lenovo 9-Cell T430 and X230 beat it out battery wise (slightly), and the Dell E6430 and HP 2570p come close. Out of those, the only one near it weight wise and size is the X230 -- and with the 9 cell battery it is still over half a pound heavier (3.5 versus 2.9). Also, the X230 as configured to beat Apple is slower and $650 more.

ankushnarula 13y ago
And of course with the impending release of OS X Mavericks - which is highly focused on optimizing power consumption - we will get even more battery life out of our MacBooks. Based on preliminary beta reports the 2013 13" MBA will get closer to 14 hours in real world usage.
- selectodude 13y ago
  My retina MacBook gets 2 additional hours of real world usage on Mavericks. Amazing update.
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  Funny, a search of "macbook air mavericks battery life" shows a best result of "approaching 12 hours of real world usage". And I say that as someone who is entirely happy with Mavericks on my 2013 15" rMBP, lest there be thoughts of Apple bias.
- timrichard 13y ago
  I've found that the upper limit of MBA battery life depends a lot on how heavily you're using it. I stopped worrying about my devices running out of juice on the move by packing one of these in the backpack : http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice/External-Battery-for-MacBook-iPad-iPhone-USB-100Wh/MBP1-5-100-BOX.html http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice/External-Battery-for-Mac... At first, it seems like a little bit of extra weight to carry around, but you stop noticing after a short time.
easong 13y ago
I frequently get well over 13 hours on a single charge with my year-old x230, and it's significantly faster than the average MBA (full voltage processor). I also have multiple batteries, so I can easily get a full 24-30 hours without needing a cord. Not sure what configuration you're looking at, but at the time it was significantly cheaper for comparable specs, as well. The X230 is heavier/bulkier, but it has the MBA pretty beat in terms of surviving motorcycle accidents and general durability. The MBA is great for going to the coffeeshop and not needing to find a table with an outlet, but I wouldn't take it anywhere you need to go long periods of time without power. Edit: Also, I'm running Linux. I'm sure I would probably get better battery life running under windows, but c'est la vie.
- MetaCosm 13y ago
  Which configuration are you running? I tried the i5 and i7 with 9 cell and generally ended up in the 7-10 range, not the 13+ range, and that was on a brand spanking new battery not one year old one.
  - easong 13y ago
    i5(Ivy bridge), 9cell internal, slice battery, ssd, 16gb ram. The internal is one year old, the slice is two or three months. I have it set to always drain the slice first, which maintains the internal battery well, but shortens the long-term life of the slices. I can get 4ish(?) hours on the slice alone. 13ish hours is my number from a few weeks ago on top of Mt. Diablo. I was running a VM, making decent use of my 4g connection, and doing otherwise reasonably intensive tasks with the screen brightness all the way up. I've never done a video-loop at 75% brightness type test, so I can't give you an apples to apples comparison.
FireBeyond 13y ago
"Lenovo 9-Cell T430 and X230 beat it out battery wise (slightly), and the Dell E6430 and HP 2570p come close. Out of those, the only one near it weight wise and size is the X230 -- and with the 9 cell battery it is still over half a pound heavier (3.5 versus 2.9). Also, the X230 as configured to beat Apple is slower and $650 more." What? MBA, with 1.3GHz i5 processor, 4GB, 128GB flash, $1099. X230 with 3.2GHz i5 processor (3.2, not 1.3), same, 9 cell battery? $949 Not sure how you go from $150 less to $650 more.
- MetaCosm 13y ago
  Try building it out feature for feature. The way you build the X230 (at least on their site) is nickle-and-dime central. Default configuration lacks bluetooth, camera, and SSD just to name a few.
  - FireBeyond 13y ago
    Actually, I built it with a 128GB SSD. Adding the Camera and Bluetooth makes it $1,002. $100 less. I have no idea how you come up with $650 MORE...

ankushnarula 13y ago

And of course with the impending release of OS X Mavericks - which is highly focused on optimizing power consumption - we will get even more battery life out of our MacBooks. Based on preliminary beta reports the 2013 13" MBA will get closer to 14 hours in real world usage.

selectodude 13y ago
My retina MacBook gets 2 additional hours of real world usage on Mavericks. Amazing update.
FireBeyond 13y ago
Funny, a search of "macbook air mavericks battery life" shows a best result of "approaching 12 hours of real world usage". And I say that as someone who is entirely happy with Mavericks on my 2013 15" rMBP, lest there be thoughts of Apple bias.
timrichard 13y ago
I've found that the upper limit of MBA battery life depends a lot on how heavily you're using it. I stopped worrying about my devices running out of juice on the move by packing one of these in the backpack : http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice/External-Battery-for-MacBook-iPad-iPhone-USB-100Wh/MBP1-5-100-BOX.html http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice/External-Battery-for-Mac... At first, it seems like a little bit of extra weight to carry around, but you stop noticing after a short time.

easong 13y ago

I frequently get well over 13 hours on a single charge with my year-old x230, and it's significantly faster than the average MBA (full voltage processor). I also have multiple batteries, so I can easily get a full 24-30 hours without needing a cord. Not sure what configuration you're looking at, but at the time it was significantly cheaper for comparable specs, as well. The X230 is heavier/bulkier, but it has the MBA pretty beat in terms of surviving motorcycle accidents and general durability. The MBA is great for going to the coffeeshop and not needing to find a table with an outlet, but I wouldn't take it anywhere you need to go long periods of time without power. Edit: Also, I'm running Linux. I'm sure I would probably get better battery life running under windows, but c'est la vie.

MetaCosm 13y ago
Which configuration are you running? I tried the i5 and i7 with 9 cell and generally ended up in the 7-10 range, not the 13+ range, and that was on a brand spanking new battery not one year old one.
- easong 13y ago
  i5(Ivy bridge), 9cell internal, slice battery, ssd, 16gb ram. The internal is one year old, the slice is two or three months. I have it set to always drain the slice first, which maintains the internal battery well, but shortens the long-term life of the slices. I can get 4ish(?) hours on the slice alone. 13ish hours is my number from a few weeks ago on top of Mt. Diablo. I was running a VM, making decent use of my 4g connection, and doing otherwise reasonably intensive tasks with the screen brightness all the way up. I've never done a video-loop at 75% brightness type test, so I can't give you an apples to apples comparison.

FireBeyond 13y ago

"Lenovo 9-Cell T430 and X230 beat it out battery wise (slightly), and the Dell E6430 and HP 2570p come close. Out of those, the only one near it weight wise and size is the X230 -- and with the 9 cell battery it is still over half a pound heavier (3.5 versus 2.9). Also, the X230 as configured to beat Apple is slower and $650 more." What? MBA, with 1.3GHz i5 processor, 4GB, 128GB flash, $1099. X230 with 3.2GHz i5 processor (3.2, not 1.3), same, 9 cell battery? $949 Not sure how you go from $150 less to $650 more.

MetaCosm 13y ago
Try building it out feature for feature. The way you build the X230 (at least on their site) is nickle-and-dime central. Default configuration lacks bluetooth, camera, and SSD just to name a few.
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  Actually, I built it with a 128GB SSD. Adding the Camera and Bluetooth makes it $1,002. $100 less. I have no idea how you come up with $650 MORE...