How many years do batteries typically last?

I have a Samsung R580 right now and the battery died within 2 years. I'm thinking this may be typical of PC laptops these days.

How long do the batteries last usually on apple computers and tablets (I'm most interested in the macbook air and ipads)?

I assume the battery is most likely to fail first on a mac/apple. If not what is and how soon does that usually happen?

Thanks.

 

The batteries on the unibody non-removable batteries are supposed to last five years.

Apple - MacBook Pro - A notebook full of innovations.

 

depends on many factors such as charge cycles and heat. i find 2 years about average due to heavy use.

 

So the batteries aren't replaceable on the macs or ipads so I would have to get a whole new computer/tablet in 5 years? Thanks.

 

Only if you came to that conclusion. But hey, you buy and the manufacturer is happy, right?

 

The iPad is a sealed device. You're not intended to replace the battery yourself. I assume if you own the device long enough to warrant a battery replacement, Apple can do it for you.

On MacBooks, the battery can be replaced, but it's not something intended for the end user to do.

 

Laptops have an expected lifespan of circa 3 years. They can last longer obviously, but that is how long the company you buy it from expects you to keep it.

However you can still use the laptop fine, just no battery life, it doesn't mean you need a new one.

However within 5 years something else might fail. It would most likely by the HDD. With an SSD battery probably comes up as something that fails quite often. The logic board also fails.

 

Today's batteries can survive 500-1000 charges and discharges. MacBook Pro's are rated for 1000 charge cycles. If you have a laptop rate for 500 charge cycles, than 2 years might be all it can give depending on your use.

The battery on my HP 6510b is 4+ years old, and still has 50% or so of its original battery life, but it spends most of its time plugged to a wall. My MacBook Air is only plugged to the wall for charging.

 

For some perspective, I have a 2009 MBP (battery rated 1000 cycles). Bought it August 2009, I consider myself a moderate/heavy user (used at least 2-3 hrs a day). My battery currently has 311 cycles and shows 93% health. My MBP was originally rated for 5hrs runtime and I still pretty much get there.

Also remember Apple calls a charging "cycle" a full discharge/recharge. So if you run it down 50% and recharge, it will take 2x for it to count as 1 cycle.

 

I have a first generation intel Mac that I got in 2006 and the battery just failed- its user replaceable- that battery was useable for almost 4 years but the last 18 months the machine would only last for a few minutes.

My first gen ipad is starting to show a difference in battery life- it works about 70% of what it was new so it still very good for me as I don't use it a ton.

 

I've never had a battery fail, but with my MBP and my Powerbook G4, battery life tends to seriously degrade by two years. I think I'm on my third Powerbook battery and second MBP battery.

Note: my MBP does not have one of those non-user-replaceable batteries like the new ones. I hear those are supposed to last longer.

 

Its difficult to provide an estimate without assuming some usage scenario. The MBP battery is designed to last for 1000 cycles, and a cycle is a return to 100% charge (ie, 100% to 0%, then 0% to 100%). So, 1000 cycles * 1 cycle per day * 365 days per year = ~2.7 years

 

you did the math wrong

1000 cycles * (1 day / cycle) * (1 year / 365 days) = 2.7 years.

Your figure as written should have been 365,000 cycles^2 / year.

 

My Daughter's MBP is almost 4.5 years old now - battery is fine. My son's is almost 4.0 years old as is mine and their batteries are fine too. I have heard that some people have much shorter battery life too. Our are plugged in most of the time and used on battery about 15%.

 

Whoops, thanks for the correction.

 

In the past, batteries would last me about 1-2 years.
But that was when I had to travel a ton and the battery was being used all the time.
Now, well... we will see how being plugged in most the time affects the battery

D.

 

I don't really think it is that big of a deal having a non-user replaceable battery especially in devices like tablets, smartphones, and DAPs. You will wind up replacing one of those by the time the battery gives out. Even other tablets from Motorola and Samsung (the Xoom and Tab 10.1) don't have user replaceable batteries.

As for notebooks, that is the way the market is heading. Apple may have started it a little earlier than everyone else but the new ultra books I have come across don't have user replaceable batteries. It is a curse and a blessing but, in the end, I think he pros outweigh the cons especially since I can easily get about 6.5 hours out of my MBP. That gets cut down to about 5.5 hours with solid usage (internet surfing through wi-fi, watching YouTube HD videos, running Windows 7 in parallels, etc.). By the time my battery goes out, I will be looking to buy a new notebook especially since most models are made to be replaced after 2.5-3 years anyway.