I just got my Macbook Pro from the Apple online store this past Friday. It's my first Mac so I've been excitedly waiting to get it and for everything to be perfect. 
(Specs: 15'' Hi-Res Glossy | Core i7 | 500GB HDD @7200 rpm| 8GB RAM)
One of the things I was looking forward to was the battery life I was promised - up to 8-9 hours on one charge. I knew that it wouldn't exactly be 8-9 all the time, especially if I'd be doing a lot of things all at once. I wasn't expecting perfection, but I wasn't expecting what I got either.
At first, the time remaining seemed like it would randomly change for no reason. I would be at 85% charged and it would say ~"5:30 Remaining" one minute and then change to like 2:00 the next, and then 4:something, etc. I was told I needed to calibrate the battery, so I did. When I didn't see a change, I called Apple Care and they made me reset the circuit or something (?) by pressing these four keys as the MBP was just turning on. They said I wouldn't see an immediate change but that I should watch it for a day or so. I calibrated it again that night since I wasn't sure if I had done it right the first time at that point.
When nothing changed by today, I went to my local apple store and met with someone at the Genius bar. He explained to me that the erratic time changes for how much battery power was left was completely normal. He opened a whole bunch of programs and increased the brightness and showed me how the battery reacts and changes about every 30 seconds to reflect how much time is left based on the current tasks at hand.
I didn't really accept it though - So having 10 programs open, with the brightness in the middle, justifies having only 2:30 battery left even at 80% (that's what it was when he was doing this for me)?
Right now, for example, I have 50% left, my brightness is on the last one before the lowest, an the only thing open is Safari. My battery says "2:18 Remaining".
I guess my question is: Is this NORMAL? Is the 8-9 hours promise really only when you have no programs open and the brightness is on the lowest?
The guy at the Genius bar offered to replace my battery to make me feel better. But if there was really nothing wrong, why would he even offer this?
I could just be paranoid, and this is my first ever mac, so I don't know... I just know that before I bought it I kept reading comments on Mac Buyer's Guide and other places, with people saying things like, "Just got my new MBP, getting about 8 hours per charge."
Am I crazy?
(Specs: 15'' Hi-Res Glossy | Core i7 | 500GB HDD @7200 rpm| 8GB RAM)
One of the things I was looking forward to was the battery life I was promised - up to 8-9 hours on one charge. I knew that it wouldn't exactly be 8-9 all the time, especially if I'd be doing a lot of things all at once. I wasn't expecting perfection, but I wasn't expecting what I got either.
At first, the time remaining seemed like it would randomly change for no reason. I would be at 85% charged and it would say ~"5:30 Remaining" one minute and then change to like 2:00 the next, and then 4:something, etc. I was told I needed to calibrate the battery, so I did. When I didn't see a change, I called Apple Care and they made me reset the circuit or something (?) by pressing these four keys as the MBP was just turning on. They said I wouldn't see an immediate change but that I should watch it for a day or so. I calibrated it again that night since I wasn't sure if I had done it right the first time at that point.
When nothing changed by today, I went to my local apple store and met with someone at the Genius bar. He explained to me that the erratic time changes for how much battery power was left was completely normal. He opened a whole bunch of programs and increased the brightness and showed me how the battery reacts and changes about every 30 seconds to reflect how much time is left based on the current tasks at hand.
I didn't really accept it though - So having 10 programs open, with the brightness in the middle, justifies having only 2:30 battery left even at 80% (that's what it was when he was doing this for me)?
Right now, for example, I have 50% left, my brightness is on the last one before the lowest, an the only thing open is Safari. My battery says "2:18 Remaining".
I guess my question is: Is this NORMAL? Is the 8-9 hours promise really only when you have no programs open and the brightness is on the lowest?
The guy at the Genius bar offered to replace my battery to make me feel better. But if there was really nothing wrong, why would he even offer this?
I could just be paranoid, and this is my first ever mac, so I don't know... I just know that before I bought it I kept reading comments on Mac Buyer's Guide and other places, with people saying things like, "Just got my new MBP, getting about 8 hours per charge.
"Am I crazy?
