Replacing an integral part of an expensive computer was expensive?
I would hate to be this guy's mechanic
The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
131–140 of 246 posts
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you tried another browser? Chrome has notoriously TERRIBLE effects on battery life on Macs. I'm not kidding. Try Safari for two days and be amazed. There are probably things you can do to make it better, but for whatever reason Google doesn't seem to care and ships (what I would say is effectively) broken software.
Exactly this. Open up your battery menu, it will say Chrome is using significant energy. I've never not seen it there
Gee, maybe it's because you have a million tabs open, and all of them are websites with shitty, wasteful javascript begging the CPU for useless operations to update every single tracking pixel and cookie, with up-to-the-minute anaylitics, attached to sessions that are years old, on how your eyes move over their ad banners, so that a genetic machine learning algorithm can determine which ads are most likely to convert to clicks and then sales.
Hint: It's the ad for the top 7 ways you didn't know you could get bunions, and there's a 50% chance it will convince you to buy new shoes.
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#133Isn't this sort of a cake-and-eat-it-too situation? If you want a slim, lightweight laptop that still performs at a high level, you can't expect the old pop out batteries with the little switch we grew up with on laptops. While $400 is expensive to replace a battery, it's obviously not as simple as just popping a new one in, which is the compromise one has to make if they want a Macbook Pro. If you want easily swappa…
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Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this a trade-off that most buyers are aware of? I'm not sure it's as simple as "shaving off a couple of millimeters", but if that's the case I know I would personally trade those millimeters for better serviceability, especially the day I realize I need a new battery. I was thinking about switching to a Macbook Pro, but for me this is just another argument to go with something else. Can't deny that the hardware is…
More and more PC laptops are moving to the same model. There are a lot of benefits for the manufacturer. Fewer parts (less $ to make), less to break (less support $), can make the laptop thinner and lighter (so you can charge more $), the battery no longer has to be a easy to use shape (have you seen Apple's tapered layers of thin batteries?), extra engineering costs, etc. There are people who really like/want remova…
> More and more PC laptops are moving to the same model. There are a lot of benefits for the manufacturer. Fewer parts (less $ to make), less to break (less support $), can make the laptop thinner and lighter (so you can charge more $), the battery no longer has to be a easy to use shape (have you seen Apple's tapered layers of thin batteries?), extra engineering costs, etc.
Conveniently, built-in batteries also harm the resale value of a used device.
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#135Over the course of my professional life with laptops, I've used Apple, Alienware, Dell and Lenovo machines. I can safely say that the three-day turnaround in an actual bricks & mortar store offered by Apple is far and away the best service I've ever received (the worst being a two-week wait that didn't resolve the issue!). Regarding the business-level support, I think it's fair enough for the store to deliver a basel…
Exactly! Try Lenovo EU service, its Medion and they routinely F with you for _couple of months_.
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly this. Open up your battery menu, it will say Chrome is using significant energy. I've never not seen it there
89% charged, 4h calculated time http://replycam.com/i/batterylifetime_1BE12F3F.png (but in reality, it will be shorter) yeah, chrome is in there. but switch to safari? my thoughts a) i'm a developer, i rather like new APIs, latest HTML 5 features b) my whole company infrastructure relies on google services (and they work best in chrome, no surprise there) c) my old macbook air (2013, maverick, killed one month ago by…
I'm not arguing you should switch to Safari (which I like) or arguing feature merits (I don't care much myself). But if you have a Mac you have Safari, so it's an easy test to run. And you will be AMAZED at the difference in battery life. It's pathetic.
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#137Out of warranty battery service on a Mac ranges from $130-200: https://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=Unite... . I think that's a reasonable price considering Lenovo charges $140 for a 75-watt hour 68+ battery for the T450s: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/itemdetails/0C52862/460/D91DC49... . And for $130-200, they will replace your top-case (including keyboard and touchpad). I have had it done more than…
That battery is $75 on Newegg and Amazon.
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Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#138It's pretty clear when you buy this laptop that the battery isn't user serviceable. You might be happier buying a Dell or Lenovo.
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#139Isn't this sort of a cake-and-eat-it-too situation? If you want a slim, lightweight laptop that still performs at a high level, you can't expect the old pop out batteries with the little switch we grew up with on laptops. While $400 is expensive to replace a battery, it's obviously not as simple as just popping a new one in, which is the compromise one has to make if they want a Macbook Pro. If you want easily swappa…
> If you want easily swappable batteries, get a different machine. Apple doesn't make a different machine. Obviously what you mean is to buy from a different vendor, which is what I expect to do when the time comes for a new laptop. But how is it good for Apple that they got my money last time and won't get it next time?
Judging by the increase in sales year over year for the Macbooks, it doesn't seem like it's bad for Apple. How many sales has Apple gained by making the laptop thinner and lighter and giving it a longer battery life compared to sales lost from not making a few parts user-replaceable?
Re: The Nightmare of Replacing a Battery on a Mac Laptop
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
The difference is that the T450s takes literally 5 seconds todo a battery swap and you can keep using the machine during the time. No downtime, no bureaucracy, just go to Amazon and wait 2 days for your battery arrive.
Yes, and because of that, the entire design of the case is compromised, it feels like it's flexing all the time in use, it's far less durable, it contains additional cheap plastic mechanical failure points and extra connectors for said easily-replaceable battery, and all this for a part which, in the normal lifetime of most well-built laptops (aka Macs), will never ever need to be replaced.
I have never experienced that with a T450s. Granted, I use a different Thinkpad day-to-day, but I get my hands on T450s as they're the standard issue where I work.