Filed under: MacBook Air
New MacBook Air battery $129, installation free at Apple
As Dave noted earlier, one significant downside of the new MacBook Air is the non-replaceable battery. Well it turns out that's not exactly right. Our blog brothers at Engadget have learned from Apple that you can get the battery replaced by Apple for the same $129 that a MacBook (Pro) battery costs and Apple will install it for free. It's not nearly as good as a user-replaceable battery since this doesn't allow you to take a spare on the road, but at least it's nice to know that you can do something once the original battery stops holding a full charge.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ryan Valle said 1:43AM on 1-16-2008
I think TUAW needs a poll of who's going to actually get the MBA, consider getting the MBA, eventually get the MBA, or never get the MBA. I am hearing mixed reactions on this device. For me, I wouldnt even consider getting it until the price goes under $1500. Any more is a definite no. Get it under $1000 (at current basic specs, no SSD), and I'd probably be on it right away.
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TMM said 4:35AM on 1-16-2008
Sorry, but under a 1000$?
I think you don't understand WHY the price is JUSTIFIED.
And I already know a lot of people who are just in need of exactly this kind of Notebook.
Apple is, again, years ahead of the others ... and you don't get it.
John Russell said 1:44AM on 1-16-2008
At least you won't have to worry about leaving an extra battery in your checked luggage.
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Seth A said 2:15AM on 1-16-2008
You know... This could be the reasoning for Apple doing this. They figure, can't have an extra anyways, plus, most planes now offer a DC port. Either way, I would be interested to see what it would take for a consumer to replace the battery, aside from voiding your warranty, what is involved?
Carlos said 3:24AM on 1-16-2008
nah - did you see the clip on the internals of the Mac Book Air?
The battery looks like its spread thinly over 75% of the inside of the laptop - I think they fit battery cells in every nook and cranny of that thing in order to get it down to that size - making it removable would be impossible.
I am really surprised that Steve didnt make a point of this considering how people love to complain about how batteries are non-removable.
Seth A said 4:36AM on 1-16-2008
Well, I guess I should ask, is is soldered to the board, or does it just kinda plug in? I doubt they would make it incredibly difficult to replace, even for them. I guess we will just have to wait and see...
Dorkus Malorkus said 3:06AM on 1-16-2008
It takes a lot more product design and electrical engineering cost to incorporate a removable battery into a product, especially one as small as this. It's a great shortcut to have an ugly power cell with tape and wires, if the user never sees it. It's a real PITA for the repair centers and for the support folks though.
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BJ Nemeth said 4:25AM on 1-16-2008
I agree with John Gruber of Daring Fireball about the sealed battery: "I think this aspect is going to play out exactly as it has with the iPhone: (a) there's going to be a ton of criticism from the gadget and tech press decrying this as a terrible decision; and (b) the vast majority of users don't care and won't mind the sealed battery at all."
http://daringfireball.net/2008/01/macbook_air
I'm not in the market for a new computer at the moment (my MacBook still serves me well), but my next computer will almost certainly be the next version of the MacBook Air (in late 2008 or early 2009).
I could care less about the sealed battery. I've never needed a spare battery for any of my laptops, cellphones, iPods, or my iPhone. If the battery goes bad, I'll get it replaced. And thanks to TUAW (and by extension, Engadget), I know I'll be able to do that for $129. Sounds reasonable to me.
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Rob said 8:23AM on 1-16-2008
Apple keeps promoting how thin the MBA is. Who really cares? Come on. Is it really going to make much of a difference. The current MacBooks and Macbook Pros are already thin enough to fit into ANY carrying case etc.
In my view, people don't care anymore about thinness. They care about weight.
I can't see myself buying any MAC computer without a Firewire port. I use firewire all the time especially for backup onto an external firewire drive.
The MBA only has ONE USB port. I can see most people carrying around a portable USB hub to give them more USB ports. That sort of defeats the purpose of a small laptop when you have to start lugging around more peripherals.
And NO Gigabit Ethernet port. Come on. I know you can get a USB ethernet adaptor but it still will not be Gigabit Ethernet. Once you try Gigabit Ethernet, you will NEVER go back. Especially if your NAS is on the Gigabit Ethernet network.
The MBA and the Macbook both have 13.3 inch screens. If I wanted a notebook with a 13.3 inch screen, I would go for a Macbook. At least the Macbook has more USB ports, a Firewire port and a gigabit Ethernet Port. And it is cheaper even though it weighs a couple more pounds.
I wanted to see something smaller. I really wanted Apple to bring back a 12 inch notebook (or maybe even introduce a 10 inch notebook). I guess the old 12 inch Powerbooks will still be HOT items on ebay.
One of the hotest and fastest selling notebooks in the ASUS line is their new EEE laptop with a 7 inch screen, webcam etc that goes for $399. This low cost, ultra portable laptop market is really exploding. Too bad Apple is really missing the boat.
I will be interested to see how well the MBA does. It might be another "iFlop", the term used by Forbes to describe the AppleTV Take 1.
Rob
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krye said 8:48AM on 1-16-2008
I bet it's just like the Nano, a flat pack, soldered to the logicboard. Gimmie a break though, people bitch about batteries, but I bet you'll be selling it on eBay for the new model long before your battery goes.
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Eric Warnke said 9:17AM on 1-16-2008
I will point out that the 5 hour battery life claim is right next to a 6 hour MBP and a 6.5 MB battery life claim. The 5 hour claim probably REQUIRES the SSD drive since the 1.8 drive will be slower and draw much more power.
Based on my 3.5 hour battery life on a 6 hour claim, I'm going to bet that real life usage of the MBA will see between 2-2.5 hrs of battery life.
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jasonrm said 9:35AM on 1-16-2008
People who aren't in the market for the MacBook Air will be the ones who complain the most...
If the Air is for you, and I mean, really for you, then this isn't as big of deals as the complainers will make it sound. The whole point of this is so that you aren't carrying everything with you!
Why are you buying this if you want to lug around an entire case full of gear? Because you want to look cool?
I've had my 12" Powerbook for a few years now, single original battery and still going strong. Get over the "non-user-replaceable battery" complaint. The people spending the money don't care.
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Meredith Christine said 9:35AM on 1-16-2008
third party solution.... another external peripheral for MBA, better get a sturdy bag. I still want one though, my Powerbook G4 is showing her age.
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BJ Nemeth said 10:56AM on 1-16-2008
@ Erik Warnke --
You said, "I will point out that the 5 hour battery life claim is right next to a 6 hour MBP and a 6.5 MB battery life claim. The 5 hour claim probably REQUIRES the SSD drive since the 1.8 drive will be slower and draw much more power."
There is *no* way that Apple is claiming battery life based on a $1,000 option. The stated battery life is clearly for the standard iPod-style hard drive. There was no word whatsoever on the battery life with the flash drive option.
Why is an 11-inch or 12-inch screened laptop better than a 13-inch? As Steve Jobs pointed out, the MacBook Air fits in a standard yellow file envelope. So if your daily bag (briefcase, laptop bag, etc.) can hold one of those, it can hold a MacBook Air. If I'm carrying 3 pounds that will fit in my bag, I'd rather have a bigger screen and a full-size keyboard -- to me, that's actually more important than the processor speed.
I think an incredibly thin computer with a full-size keyboard and a 13.3-inch screen is a much better use of the same volume than a thicker computer with an 11- or 12-inch screen and a shrunken keyboard.
Again, the MacBook Air is not for everyone. If you need more power, go with the MacBook Pro. If you need something less expensive, go with the MacBook. Quit whining just because Apple's latest product isn't designed for you specifically.
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Eric Warnke said 12:59PM on 1-16-2008
It's hard to believe that they were able to get a 5 hour rating on anything but the SSD model. Lets look over the facts.
1) The MBA is most similar to the MB with it's guts stripped down.
2) The MB has a 55 Wh battery rated for 6 hours ( expect to get 4 ) and the MBA has a 37 Wh battery rated for 5 hours.
3) The largest consumption of batteries in these tests comes from the screen ( virtually identical specs ), and the drives. Most of the time the CPU is not taxed and networking/bluetooth is turned off.
If the 37 Wh battery was used in a MB it would be rated at 4 hours ( expect 2.5 ), not 6. Even if you give apple credit for reducing the load of the motherboard that's maybe .25 hour advantage. The huge increase in efficiency has to come from somewhere that is already a large draw and that is either the display or the drive.
I'm betting it's the drive. From apple's own spec sheet "Battery life depends on configuration and use". Time will tell, but I have a depressing feeling I'll be back saying "I told you so" in about three weeks.
Michael Grant said 5:43PM on 1-16-2008
Does the MacBook have an LED backlight for the screen? If not, that's a rather important difference between the two. Also, the processor is running at a slower speed.
David said 10:56AM on 1-16-2008
Here's an idea for an enterprising individual: make a little external battery for the MBA. Include magsafe plug. I know, it prett much defeats the purpose of the whole tiny form factor thing, but yeah, it might be your only option. You could hack the case (literally) to inlcude a little door. Or, always carry a Torx set with you and just field-strip your little laptop.
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mcg said 11:21AM on 1-16-2008
This was precisely my thought. Seems to me that a flat battery pack, with a retractable cable MagSafe cable, would be a nice accessory for the MBA. (Why retractable? So you can either sit the battery pack underneath the MBA, or leave it in your briefcase under your airplane seat.) If done right, the MBA + spare battery could come in below the total briefcase thickness + weight of a MBP---only with 2-3 times the usable battery life.
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