“This month, chip giant Intel introduced a new generation of processors and chips that it claims can dramatically improve something important to almost all users of light laptops: battery life. In fact, it claims these chips, called the 4th Generation Core processors, can boost battery life by 50% while actually improving graphics performance. Intel says the new chips are the first it has designed specifically for the slim, light laptops Windows PC makers call Ultrabooks and Apple calls its MacBook Air line,” Walt Mossberg writes for The Wall Street Journal.
“In my tests, I was able to largely confirm Intel’s battery-life claims. This was especially true of the 13-inch MacBook Air I evaluated, whose battery life in my test jumped 65% from my last test of the machine, even though it hasn’t been significantly redesigned, except for the inclusion of the new Intel chips, faster Wi-Fi and solid-state storage and a slightly more potent battery,” Mossberg writes. “It has become a computer capable of all-day use when performing typical tasks, even though its dimensions and 3-pound weight are unchanged.”
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Mossberg writes, “Out of the box, the 2.34-pound Sony delivers significantly less battery life than the Air, but with an optional second battery that clips to the underside of the machine, its battery life roughly doubles, while its weight grows to be about the same as that of the Air… Apple, which unlike Sony controls its own operating system, said it also made many tiny software tweaks that reduced power usage without sacrificing performance… In my tests, the Air lasted an amazing 10 hours and 14 minutes, the longest any single-battery laptop I’ve reviewed has ever gone and about what an iPad gets. In more normal use, with power-saving turned on and the screen at 75% brightness, I estimate you could get well over 11 hours, nearing the company’s 12-hour boast.”
Read more in the full article here.
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ZDNet reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: The new standard for laptops, a stunning achievement – June 14, 2013
PC Magazine reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Astonishing, astounding; Editors’ Choice – June 14, 2013
Engadget reviews Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air: Stunning 12+ hour battery life – June 13, 2013
Hands-on with Apple’s new MacBook Air: True all-day battery life – June 13, 2013
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