Question about MacBook Pro's battery

Last night I picked up a new MacBook Pro with Core i5 2.4 GHz (stock configuration).

I am not sure how long the battery stays as I've only used it for like an hour or so, but I am in university now and I can't help but see the battery's percentage dropping a little fast.

The remaining time says 5:14 which I guess means five hours and fourteen minutes? I'm not sure.

Can someone please tell me how long should a new MacBook Pro's battery last?

Also, should I calibrate the battery right away or wait for like a month or so and then do it?

Thank you very much.

It all depends on what you're doing, what applications you have open, your brightness etc.

The battery will last, according to Apple, 8-9 hours. This is probably with brightness halfway and web browsing.

And yes, 5:14 means around 5 hours and 14 minutes left if you continue doing the same thing.

Try turning off Bluetooth if you aren't using it, it may not be a significant battery saver but it helps.

You should really only calibrate your battery once a month at most.

I would suggest calibrating your battery once you get it, just to be sure.

Don't, however, be paranoid about your battery and just enjoy you new Mac!

Thank you for your quick and thorough reply, Mr. Alex.

I use a Magic Mouse at home and I forgot to turn Bluetooth off when I went to college. Thanks for the tip.

I guess I am going to calibrate the battery before I go to bed tonight.

I am supposed to charge it fully then work on battery power till it dies (or almost dies) then shut it down and leave it for five hours then fully charge it again. Right?

Tarek said:

I am supposed to charge it fully then work on battery power till it dies (or almost dies) then shut it down and leave it for five hours then fully charge it again. Right?

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Run it down until it goes to sleep, then leave it until the white sleep light stops flashing (this used to take about 5 hours, but on the new machine might take longer). Then charge until 100%.

I've got to say, I am not convinced this is good practice. I did this regularly with my MacBook (once every 5 - 6 weeks or so) and I have an 85% healthy battery after 304 charges, it lasts about 3 hours or so.

My wife NEVER does this and just uses are MacBook normally... she has 100% healthy battery after 469 charges and it lasts her 4:30mins (these are 2006 MacBooks). I think they're designed for minimal maintenance... sometimes fussing over these things does more harm than good.

I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro which has an almost dead battery that lasts for no longer than 25 minutes. I never calibrated or used it normally, I always had it on AC Power. Also was connected to a 25" monitor using DVI and several USB devices through a USB hub.

I am pretty sure that's what killed it.

Tarek said:

I have an early 2008 MacBook Pro which has an almost dead battery that lasts for no longer than 25 minutes. I never calibrated or used it normally, I always had it on AC Power. Also was connected to a 25" monitor using DVI and several USB devices through a USB hub.

I am pretty sure that's what killed it.

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I think you're right. These kind of batteries are designed to be run down regularly and perform best when stored at around 40% charge. Being kept at 100% charge, especially if subjected to heat, will definitely result in shorter life.

Yeah, I am never going to do that to my new MacBook Pro. Well, not until it gets really old, which isn't going to happen any time soon, hehe.

I have a desktop computer which is pretty good, except for the processor which needs to be upgraded, and it is what I will be using, or shall I say abusing, from now on. It'll do all the heavy duty while the Macbook will just be for university work and portability (which is what notebooks are designed for in the first place, but I just realized that recently).

I keep my 2009 MBP on AC power almost all the time and I haven't experienced any issues.

As I mentioned before, you shouldn't really worry about your battery. As long as you don't use AC power 100% of the time for months at a time you shouldn't experience any battery problems.

Only calibrate your battery if you experience a big dip in your capacity.