The Mac Observer

Mac Laptop Battery Life Questionnaire

TMO Talk (3)

As listeners to recent episodes of our Mac Geek Gab podcast know, we've been finding some very interesting things about battery usage versus battery life. Based on what we're finding, it seems that two things are holding true:

  • Keeping your battery on charge most of the time seems to result in less than 50% of original capacity after about one year (even if you cycle it regularly)
  • Beating the heck out of your battery (i.e. half-charging, killing, half-draining, charging, and simply being erratic with it) seems to result in maintaining or even increasing battery capacity over many years.


Our current sample size is small and informal, however, and we'd like to increase that with your help. Please take a quick moment to submit your results to our questionnaire. Your answers will not be linked to you in any way, and we'll publish the results and our interpretation thereof soon.

Thanks very much for your help!

To participate in the questionnaire, please first open System Profiler by going to the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, then click on More Info. We've put some screenshots below to show you just how to get there and which data you want. 

Take Me To The Questionnaire! (note: it may take a few seconds to load from Google's servers)

Click on "More Info" to launch System Profiler

 

In the Hardware section you'll find your Model Identifier

 

In the Power section you'll see your cycle count and full charge capacity

 

Take Me To The Questionnaire! (note: it may take a few seconds to load from Google's servers)

Post A Comment or Log-in. Need an account? Register here.

1 Observer Comment

   Actions geoduck said on February 18th, 2010 at 5:57 PM (Edited: 01/26/2012 2:46 PM):
 

Recent Headlines - Updated February 12th

Sat, 4:11 PM
MacOS KenDensed - MacOS KenDensed: iPad 3 Frenzy, Big-time Apple & Steve Jobs, G-Man
Fri, 8:10 PM
News - Apple Sues Motorola Mobility in California Over German Case
7:54 PM
Free on iTunes - OnLive Desktop: Windows & Office on Your iPad
7:43 PM
Product News - Apple Rolls Out MacBook Air Configurations for Education
6:35 PM
Just a Peek - Battle Pocket Bulge With The Hint for iPhone
6:01 PM
Rumor - Apple Reportedly Bringing MacBook Air Styling to Pro Line
4:50 PM
Particle Debris - The Hidden Gotchas of Browser Security
3:56 PM
Apple Stock Watch - Analyst: Paying a Dividend Makes Sense for Apple
2:58 PM
Deal Brothers - iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Quad-Core i7 processor:  $1,999
2:45 PM
In-Depth Review - Theodolite App for iOS is Breathtaking
12:52 PM
Apple Stock Watch - Mizuho Securities Starts Apple Coverage with $635 Target
11:35 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Forum Poll: Are You Planning on Buying a New iPad?
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.
  • Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
  • Poker Mac If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Online Poker Mac. This mac poker and online casino mac site actually does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!

Apple Stock Quote (AAPL)

Loading...

Hot Topics

TMO Express

Join the TMO Express Daily Newsletter to get the latest Mac headlines in your e-mail every weekday. Find out more!

Top Deals From DealBrothers.com

Recent Features

Support The Mac Observer

We noticed you may be running AdBlock on your computer. It takes real money to run this site and to deliver the news, tips, and opinions you love to read.

If you wish to block the ads that pay for the creation of our content, we ask that you instead support TMO Directly, either with a $5 monthly recurring contribution, or a one-time donation of any amount of your choice. Thanks!

Subscribe with Paypal Donate with Paypal