13.3-inch MacBook Air Battery Question

Checking About this Mac ---> Power it says that the 13-inch MBA's battery has a rating of 6612 mAh. That seems like an awfully large battery for the size of the unit. Can anyone verify this?

 

50 watt-hour @ 7.3 volts = 6.849 amp-hours

or 6849 mAH theoretical rating on a new battery, provided that the new 13" Air has the same battery voltage as 11" Air.

So, your figure is within reason at 6612 mAH.

 

Yes, the MBA has a huge battery . Loving it thus far!

 

Coco says 6700

My battery is only down to 6400 after a month or so of untethered use.

Looks like it will be dead within a year, oh well.

 

Thanks.

Coco?

According to Apples wwebsite the battery on the MBA is good for up to 750 cycles while on the MBP it is supposed to be good for up to 1,000 cycles.

 

"Coco" = Coconut Battery

A great free utility program that indicates state of battery charge, and current capacity and cycle count of that battery.

coconutBattery 2.7 - by coconut-flavour.com

 

On my MBA 13" Current capacity 6647, design capacity 6700, Age 16 weeks, loadcycles 33

 

@SP

Thanks...

 

This is my first Apple. In fairness to Apple, when they say seven hours, it really means seven hours.

 

I am planning on getting a MBA.....is the battery cycle really that bad of an issue (in terms of it losing charge within a year or two)?

 

Apple's MB(A) batteries are all very good. I'm not promoting Apple propoganda, but they really have put in R&D to make the batteries better and last longer. I bought my MBP in August 2009, I'm at about 250+ cycles and my battery health still reports 94%. Not bad for almost 1.5 yrs old IMHO, so right now I'm not doubting the 1,000 cycle claim on the battery life. It should also be noted that Apple's cycle counts are until the battery will only hold an 80% charge, not until it is "useless". My old Dell and HP laptop batteries could barely hold 50% charge at similar age.

Also note, Apple's battery literature claims 7 yrs of regular usage (for MBP's at least). At my usage rate, I'll get 6 yrs...but hopefully I'll have something new before then

 

I am pretty sure I already know the answer to this question, but leaving the Macbook plugged in all the time will only harm the battery more, right?
(i.e. - instead running down the battery, then recharging, then running it down again....if I just left it plugged in whenever I was at home, that's worse for the battery, right?)

 

no...

continuously charging a battery will damage one yes, but your Macbook will not do that. If it gets full, it will stop charging it wether you are plugged in or not. When you are plugged into the wall, its getting power from the wall, not the battery... it will continue to do so, using excess power to charge the battery, and when your battery gets charged, it just stops charging it.

So overall, yes its perfectly safe to keep your Macbook plugged in all the time. For optimal battery health though, its best to go through at least 1 full discharge and recharge cycle per month.

 

Wow....thank you!
I knew it was best to do a full discharge/recharge at least once a month, but for some reason I was still under the impression that leaving it plugged in all the time was bad for the battery. Glad you cleared up this misconception! Thank you so much!

 

and also to add.. if your battery is 95%+ when you plug it in, it also will not attempt to charge it... it will charge to 100% before stopping if it was below 95 to start with. This is also to help the battery last longer.

 

I realize the MPA is quite a nice piece of hardware, but I don't like how apple made it so hard for the user to replace batteries. That has now become even harder with the newer pentalobe screws.. only used on the outside to keep the user out. These newer screws are used on the iphone 4 and MBA.

Anyway, anyone interested in getting a special driver to open the pentalobe screw can go here.. Note that its still not a perfect fit. But will get them off so you can use the supplied regular phillip screws. Apple’s Diabolical Plan to Screw Your iPhone iFixit Blog

I ended up going with the new fusion APU system (DM1) from HP since it basically has the same performance and battery life as the MBA for half the price and comes with a hdmi so no adaptors needed. It has easy user replaceable battery, HD, and memory. And yes, I realize the DM1 weighs more then a pound more and is bulkier. But the DM1 does have much nicer speakers which is very important to me. I'm not here to knock the MPA. It amazes me how popular they are. Many don't share my concerns with the closed application ecosystem and sealed access to battery etc..

It boils me when a company like apple, sits and designs a pentalobe screw to keep even the die hard DIY users out of their devices. I've seen you tube videos on how to open and replace the MBA battery and its not that big a deal. I'm sure there are lots of people like me who would rather just take 30 minutes at home to do this then to send it in. Its not that Apple charges a lot for this service, its just that they make it so difficult for the average user to perform these upgrades. People should not have to worry about batteries dying out. With other makes, you don't see users worried about what they are going to do when their battery comes to end of their life cycle. To the point that I read Apple users say, oh, well if it lasts five years I'll probably want a new laptop anyway.. Yeah, that fits perfect with Apple's business plan. And its wrong considering how much one pays for apple products to begin with.

One only has to go back about ten years when Apple did not even want to service batteries on Ipods. Back in those days they flat out told users.. to just buy a new player. They did not even try to hide their intentions to just sell more hardware. And that was when Ipod batteries were reaching their end of life in just a few years. It was only after a huge PR nightmare that Apple caved in and allowed people to send in their Ipods for battery replacements. I always felt that Apple really does not care about their customers because of that. They only do the right thing when they are forced.

 

and... whats your point?

 

My point was quite clear. IF Apple did not develop a screw that was completely proprietary and make it so difficult for the user to replace the battery then these threads about batteries would be a non issue. But I fully expect that kind of response from Apple followers. Its not like its a plus or a good thing that you have to send in your machine just to update the battery.. but bla bla is all you have for defense.. more like la la la with your hands over your ears.. you don't want to hear about the new pentalob screws to make sure the user can't do any DIY repairs. I thought I was helping this thread by offering info on where to get a pentalob driver.. But I should know better to offer help on a mac thread.. fans are way too defensive. I'll be smart and not drop in anymore.

 

you have a high quality battery, that under normal use will last for 5 years or more before needing to be replaced... meaning its just not that important.... plus if you really want to get the screws out, its not that hard. Its not a major deal if its a flat head or proprietary, people act like taking out a screw is hard... all the websites just like having something to complain about.

 

Ok, fair enough. However, if I paid a thousand dollars for an air, I'd want to make sure I did not strip the screws on something that looks like this.. and yeah, your not going to find that driver at any hardware, or electronic shop.
You have to remember, Apple only uses these pentalobe screws on the outside. They use regular phillips on the internals. Its obvious these screws were developed for one purpose... to keep the user out.

 

where exactly would you even get new batteries from? (this is a real question)

 

I did a quick search and found a source for the 13" air: A1245 - APPLE A1245 laptop battery pack(Li-ion,37Wh) online sales in USA

Not sure if there is a source for the 11" yet, other then apple of course. But its pretty early for these to be popping up yet being these are relatively new models. None of the ones that have been shipped should be near the end of their life cycles. But give it another year or two and you should see plenty of sources for these.

Also at Apple of course: Apple - Support - MacBook Air Out-of-warranty Battery Replacement Program

I notice that with an appointment, you can have a Apple retail store install it same day. This is good to see that apple is stepping it up. Because I know I would be really mad if I had to send in my machine and be without it for a week + for something as simple as a battery. Still, I would not want anyone taking apart my machine. I like to do my own upgrades/updates whenever possible.

One thing is for sure, Apple has set itself up pretty nicely in the business of battery replacement for most of its devices. Choices for that are definitely limited in comparison to their PC counterparts. But Apple is not stupid, they are keeping the prices competitive being they know if they set the prices too high, and make it impossible for most users to access the battery, that there would be another public relations nightmare down the road.

 

I believe that is for the previous edition MBA. Which is also why you didn't find one for the 11.6".

 

Well who knows, maybe they won't show up. I mean with the new Pentalobe screws, its harder to open them up. Apple is getting more aggressive against those that want to perform there own updates.

 

It is not a Mac, but same principal. I have one laptop that is plugged to the wall most of the time and I did not take the advice to remove the battery since I want it as a UPS.

Manufacture date is 7/8/2007. Had it since Oct. 2007. Maybe 150 cycles on the battery? Right now I still have 38.9Wh on the battery from 55Wh when it was new.

My carry around unit usually looses 20-30% in one year but I probably hit 200-300 cycles on those.

 

I just did my monthly full discharge to recalibrate and my MBA is now reporting just a tab higher than 6400...

 

Today it says 6602... I think I will stop looking at it and enjoy the long battery life