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Guide to Battery Life on MacBooks with Apple M1

One of the most significant claims by Apple regarding Macs with Apple M1 is an increase in battery life – of up to double over the previous generation. If you’re shopping for MacBook with an Apple M1 Chip, this guide explores what battery life you should expect. And just how Apple has been able to increase the life of a MacBook on a single charge with its new M1 Chip.

If you’re not aware, Apple has released three new Macs (two of which are portable notebooks) with an ‘M1’ chip. The M1 is the first chip that has been designed and engineered by Apple specifically for Mac – ditching Intel processors. By putting its chip into a Mac, Apple has been able to bring tighter integration with the hardware and software of Mac – and we as consumers benefit most.

M1 Chip

M1 combines powerful technologies into a single chip, rather than being spread out across multiple. Some of which include:

  • first personal computer chip built using cutting-edge 5-nanometre-process technology
  • includes 16 billion transistors, the most Apple has ever put into a chip
  • world’s fastest CPU core in low-power silicon, including four high-efficiency cores that deliver outstanding performance at a tenth of the power
  • world’s best CPU performance per watt
  • breakthrough machine learning performance with the Apple Neural Engine

All of which results in 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning. And in terms of battery life? up to 2x longer than previous-generation Macs – a massive increase.

Battery Life

A battery life improvement of up to double in just one generation up is unheard of with notebook computers. Particularly with substantial advances in performance, graphics, and more.

Apple m1 chip cpu power chart

For the MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip, you can expect up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing. And up to 18 hours of video playback, an increase from around 8-10 hours that the previous-generation had. However, the longest battery life in a Mac goes to the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1. With it, you can expect to get up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing, and up to 20 hours of video playback. These figures are double over the previous-generation model.

A summary of battery life expectations of new Macs with M1 are as follows:

ModelBattery Life
MacBook Air with M1up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing
up to 18 hours of video playback
13-inch MacBook Pro with M1up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing
up to 18 hours of video playback

16-inch MacBook Pro is yet to be updated with an Apple silicone chip. Apple has said it will take up to two years to completely transition all Macs to Apple silicone.

Pricing

In Australia, the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1 starts at a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of A$1,599. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 is priced from A$1,999. The most affordable Mac with an M1 chip is the Mac Mini, starting at a Recommended Retail Price of just A$1,099 – A$150 cheaper than the previous-generation. However, Mac Mini is a desktop Mac, therefore remains plugged into power.

All models can be configured in a variety of ways, including more storage or memory, at Apple’s online store. And can be ordered starting today, with fast delivery or in-store pickup available.

Every new Mac purchase will also include three months of Apple Arcade and one year of Apple TV+ free. And if purchased from Apple directly, free delivery and 14-day return.

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