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New MacBook Pro: now with 20% less battery power

Saturday, October 18th, 2008 - 2:08PM

Apple touted some pretty decent battery life numbers at the new MacBook / MacBook Pro press event this week: up to five hours on the Pro with discrete graphics off, and four hours with it on (both surely assuming ideal low-power conditions). One of the things that didn’t come up at the presser, however, was that new MacBook Pro batteries actually have just under 20% less energy than their predecessors. While both kinds of MBP batteries are 10.8v, the old ones are rated at 5600mAh / 60Wh, while the new ones are rated at 4700mAh / 50Wh. (MacBook numbers updated below.)

I’d estimate that the integrated NVIDIA chipset and ever more behind-the-scenes power-saving techniques are why Apple is claiming such solid life despite killing a fifth of the machine’s energy supply — but a 20% reduction is still no small number. It also means that as your new MBP’s battery degrades, you’ll have a smaller pool of potential energy to rely on, meaning you could wind up having to replace your battery more often (although that’s a little conjectural, at this point).

But as some are now postulating, one technique Apple may now be employing to save power is making use of the machine’s GPU(s) to accelerate video playback. We already know that the new MacBooks have a different build of OS X than older gen machines (9F2114), but one thing I also noticed is that Quicktime, the engine behind Apple’s video encodes and decodes, was also revved in the new machines, now clocked in at 7.5.5 995.23.3 up from the last machines’ 990.7. With a little luck, perhaps video encodes will finally be hardware accelerated, too. (Will have to test that one later!)

Update: Matt at Gizmodo mentions that the numbers add up, when comparing the extra 20% battery life you get in new models using the integrated GPU vs. that same five hours claimed in old models using discrete graphics. Also, new MacBooks have also decreased battery capacity (as expected), from 55Wh in last-gen models to 45Wh.

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Comments

  1. I have a Early 2008 MacBook and the battery information in the System Profiler says full charge capacity (mAh) 5248.

    Comment by Ben Galaviz — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 2:40 pm

  2. Yep, that’s because charge capacity naturally goes down with time/use.

    Comment by Ryan Block — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 2:42 pm

  3. Think Snow Leopard will have optimizations that increase battery life? My 17″ sure hopes so.

    Comment by Brett Dunnam — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 3:33 pm

  4. There is only so much you can do in software and hardware to get a better battery life.

    No mat screen option. Less firewire options. A mouse I don’t think I could like. Batteries that are substantially smaller. These new MacBook Pros keep coming up with unwanted surprises.

    Comment by Tim — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 3:51 pm

  5. They probably did this to cut down on weight.

    Comment by JEF — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 4:35 pm

  6. This is assuming that early vs late 2008 MBP models use identical battery technology, which may not be the case. Batteries have been getting more efficient with increased lifespans and cycle counts since forever, so…

    Comment by Aibal — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 7:03 pm

  7. Aibal, yes and no. “Efficiency” as it relates to batteries is ultimately gauged by how much electricity a cell can produce before running out, and is measured in Watt-hours or milliamp-hours. In both measurements, the new MBP cells ultimately provide less electricity.

    So sustaining a lasting amount of computing time in spite of this now has more to do with how the computer itself has been made “efficient” in consuming its finite amount of battery power.

    Comment by Ryan Block — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 7:11 pm

  8. [...] New MacBook Pro: now with 20% less battery power [Ryan Block] [...]

    Pingback by New MacBooks have less battery power — but lower usage, too? | Sugar Mob — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 9:00 pm

  9. The Microsoft black propaganda machine grinds away.

    Comment by zato — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 9:41 pm

  10. @JEF, quite possibly considering that in final trim the new MBP weighs in at slightly more than the old MBP. I can imagine that weight was a serious concern for the designers.

    Comment by jeff nolan — Saturday, October 18, 2008 @ 10:11 pm

  11. We see this in the netbook and umpc area too. Battery capacities are going down. It’s not because of increasing efficiency, but because of cost reductions. The cheap chinese low-capp batteries allow OEMs to shave costs.
    Netbooks are to blame IMO.
    http://www.umpcportal.com/2008/10/netbooks-price-today-problems-tomorrow

    Steve

    Comment by Steve Paine — Sunday, October 19, 2008 @ 2:42 am

  12. Actually the new batteries have 16.67% less capacity. The old one has 20% more. Math is hard ;-)

    Comment by onicon — Sunday, October 19, 2008 @ 2:49 am

  13. [...] Apples nylanserte aluminiums-notebook’er MacBook og MacBook Pro har begge fått nye batterier, som skal yte rundt 5 timer pluss-minus. Apple, som andre PC-produsenter, har en uvane med å oppgi batteri-levetid under høyst mistenkelige optimale omstendigheter, med har likevel et godt rykte på seg når det kommer til strømmen. Nå viser det seg at de nye batteriene i disse maskinene faktisk har mindre Watt-timer og Ampere enn de gamle. For eksempel har den nye MacBook Pro-modellen 4700mAh / 50Wh mot tidligere 5600mAh / 60Wh. Det betyr at denne maskinen har omtrent 20% mindre strømtilførsel enn den gamle modellen, samtidig som den har samme batteri-levetid. Dette betyr sannsynligvis at de nye grafikk-brikkene tar over for en rekke operasjoner som avlaster prosessoren - det spekuleres blandt annet i hardware-dekoding av H.264 HD-video. De nye maskinene benytter forøvrig en mer energi-sparende DDR3-minnetype. Et reserve-batteri fra Apple til de nye maskinene koster 1090,- kroner. Mon tro hva ladetiden er? Via ryanblock [...]

    Pingback by Macworld | Aluminium-notebook-batterier — Sunday, October 19, 2008 @ 2:58 pm

  14. [...] indica Ryan Block, editor de Engadget, en su blog personal, los nuevos MacBook Pro montan una batería de menor capacidad que los anteriores modelos. En [...]

    Pingback by Los nuevos MacBook Pro llevan una batería de menor capacidad : Planeta Mac, noticias sobre Mac — Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 8:18 am

  15. [...] chip, that is)? Well, it looks like that number is even more impressive than it originally sounded. Ryan Block noticed that the new MacBook Pro’s battery actually has less juice to work with than [...]

    Pingback by Macenstein | MacBook Pro battery has 20% less juice than predecessor — Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 9:32 am

  16. I dunno.. If the process are optimized they’ll continue to be optimized even if your battery degrades. So why do you think you should replace batteries more often?

    You’ll rely on smaller pools of charge that’s right, but the process that before needed 100 now needs 80 so you’ll be able to notice a parallel rate of degradation: the old battery that charged for 1000 after a year will charge for 900, the battery that started by taking up to 800 after one year will keep 720 and so the proportions are respected.

    We’re talking ideal here, obviously, but’ there’s no way of talking practical when it comes to laptop batteries (apart from waiting) ;-)

    Comment by Marco — Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 2:48 pm

  17. [...] заметил редактор Engadget Райан Блок, емкость батареи в старых MacBook Pro составляла 5600 мА•ч / [...]

    Pingback by Haywired 3.0 - Емкость батареи в новых MacBook Pro меньше, чем в старых — Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 5:29 pm

  18. [...] seppur raggiungibili in condizioni di massima ottimizzazione energetica. Ryan Block di Engadget sul suo blog personale fa però notare un particolare che è inizialmente sfuggito ai più: la batteria del nuovo MacBook [...]

    Pingback by MacBook Pro: 20% di carica in meno - TheAppleLounge — Tuesday, October 21, 2008 @ 12:00 am

  19. [...] indica Ryan Block, editor de Engadget, en su blog personal, los nuevos MacBook Pro montan una batería de menor capacidad que los anteriores modelos. En [...]

    Pingback by Selección Digital» PlanetaMac.es » Los nuevos MacBook Pro llevan una batería de menor capacidad — Tuesday, October 21, 2008 @ 3:06 am

  20. [...] Vía | Ryan Block [...]

    Pingback by Los nuevos MacBooks Pro llevan baterías de menor capacidad | Appleismo — Tuesday, October 21, 2008 @ 4:04 am

  21. [...] are reports that Apple actually reduced battery capacity and battery life is suffering, according to Ars Technica’s review of the new Macbook Pro. [...]

    Pingback by Gravitational Pull - New Mac laptops: one step forward, two steps back — Tuesday, October 21, 2008 @ 11:51 am

  22. [...] Vía: New MacBook Pro: now with 20% less battery power [...]

    Pingback by Baterías de menor capacidad en los nuevos MacBook Pro — Tuesday, October 21, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

  23. Less battery capacity is a big minus but if you’re like me and I know that not everyone is, you plug it in most of the time and don’t rely on the battery that often. It’s all about weight and size. There is no other valid reason to reduce battery capacity. No choice on the glossy screen, lower battery capacity, no firewire on the Macbook and no firewire 400 on the Pro… all big minuses. But on the plus side is the unibody, glass for the screen and what looks to me like almost user serviceability throughout. You certainly can change the hard drive yourself. Apple always makes less than perfect designs but as far as I’m concerned overall it’s beautiful and I would definitely buy it. I probably will buy one after the turn of the year.

    Comment by Dale — Wednesday, October 22, 2008 @ 11:49 am

  24. [...] dudé. Y dudé porque leí algunos reviews que aclaraban que la nueva batería de la nueva Macbook de aluminio era más chica y…. Pero luego encontré que otros estaban muy [...]

    Pingback by Macbook con cuerpo de aluminio en camino | Fotogeek — Tuesday, October 28, 2008 @ 3:18 pm

  25. I’m not seeing 5 hours out of my new macbook pro. Its giving me 3 hours tops- but I think at times on a full charge I’ve gotten under 3.

    Some of this may have to do with it being the 2.8ghz model with the 7200 rpm 300 gig drive, but I’m not sure how that can account for 2 hours. I think the 5 hour estimate must be with wifi off, hard disk spun down, and backlight off. That is the only way I could imagine making it to 5 hours on this thing.

    Comment by Byron — Friday, October 31, 2008 @ 9:53 pm

  26. would it have killed apple to leave the better battery in there and be able to boast even better battery life? I was hoping for a Blu-Ray DVD option too to justify the glossy-only display decision they made. I’m going to go play with one this weekend at a store - not convinced at this point.

    Comment by Ari Newman — Saturday, November 1, 2008 @ 5:40 am

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