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White Unibody MacBook Q&A - Published November 9, 2009
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What is the White "Unibody/Late 2009" MacBook battery life in "real-world" tests?
Please note that the "Late 2009" MacBook has been discontinued. It was replaced quietly by the "Mid-2010" MacBook on May 18, 2010. Also see "What is the battery life of the White 'Mid-2010' MacBook? Is it possible to swap the higher-capacity battery out of this model and into an older MacBook?"
Apple estimates that the White "Unibody" MacBook -- the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (White Polycarbonate Unibody/Late 2009) -- provides "up to 7 hours of wireless productivity" which the company further defines as "wirelessly browsing various websites and editing text in a word processing document with display brightness set to 50%".
By comparison, for the last "White & Black" MacBook models -- the "Mid-2009" line -- Apple estimated "5 hours of wireless productivity" performing the same test. For the 13-Inch "Mid-2009" MacBook Pro models -- the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (SD/FW) and "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 13" (SD/FW) -- Apple estimates "7 hours of wireless productivity".
It is also worth noting that the White "Unibody" MacBook has a 60 W/Hr battery, the previous "White & Black" MacBook models have a 55 W/Hr battery, and the 13-Inch "Mid-2009" MacBook Pro models originally were reported to have a 58 W/Hr battery (and Apple quietly changed this subsequently to 60 W/Hr). Consequently, one would expect the real world battery life results to be around the numbers reported for the 13-Inch MacBook Pro models.
However, as companies often are "optimistic" about battery life, impartial "real-world" tests are necessary to demonstrate the actual battery life.
In day-to-day use, Engadget said:
Apple rates it at the same seven hours as the one in the 13-inch Pro, and we accordingly got about the same real-world four-to-five hour lifespan out of it during our general-usage sessions -- browsing, image and document editing, media playback.
Using a simple movie playback test, MacWorld found:
The charge lasted for an impressive four hours and nine minutes while playing a looped video clip in QuickTime X at full screen and full brightness, but with AirPort turned off. That was exactly the same duration as the 13-inch 2.26 GHz MacBook Pro, and 40 minutes longer than the previous MacBook.
Running Windows benchmarking tools as well as playing videos in MacOS X, Register Hardware reported:
The battery performance was quite impressive. To really push the battery, we ran PCMark 05 non-stop under Windows, and it lasted for just five minutes short of a very-respectable three hours (175 minutes). You can easily double that figure for regular usage and even further if you're willing to sacrifice screen brightness and wireless connectivity.
When we switched back to Mac OS X in order to run some H.264 films, we got an impressive two-minutes-short-of-five-hours' worth of Hollywood blockbuster out of the MacBook.
Finally, in "aggressive" testing -- making no effort to use battery conservation features -- Walt Mossberg from the WSJ noted:
On my tough battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features and play music constantly, the MacBook lasted just over five hours. In normal use, I estimate it could easily top six hours.
Ultimately, it appears that Apple's battery life numbers for the White "Unibody" MacBook are realistic for day-to-day use making a significant effort to conserve the battery. However, as Apple notes as well, battery life may vary depending on "configuration and use" and this is demonstrated clearly in the variety of real-world tests performed.
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