[PCWorld]

Post your comments for iPad family aces battery tests while Android tablets lag here

[thewazak]

So, if I don't play that moronic Angry Birds game (etc), or open a gazillion apps, battery life is pretty much the same!

Then pretty much a non-story - except iPCW feel the need to fly the flag for Apple.

[KevinHernandez2yhu]

If you don't open any apps you are good to go! I bet nobody uses apps anyway...

[joe3468]

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So, if I don't play that moronic Angry Birds game (etc), or open a gazillion apps, battery life is pretty much the same! Then pretty much a non-story - except iPCW feel the need to fly the flag for Apple.

Yeah right. Like Apple doesn't have a plethora of Ad networks (including its own) on a myriad of free and paid apps that are constantly runny in the background or a
Gazillon poorly written apps that don't utilize good energy practices to not run down the battery... face it, Apple's operating system and hardware has always been the cream-of-the-crop when it comes to battery life and battery management by the OS. This is even true on the PC side when running the same battery size capacity on laptops between Windows and OS X.

This article seems to just be just grasping for straws in order to explain why battery life is better on iOS then on other platforms, when the simple reason is Apple has always had more efficient operating systems.

- J

P.S. A more legitimate reason as to why Apple does better in battery management then poorly thought reasons such as ad-networks and processes that run in the background, of which both have, is they design their own chipsets (i.e A5, A6, A6X, etc.) which even though have been found to be the fastest mobile chipsets in the mobile market,(AnandTech is a great website for verification of that) allows them to utilize the great technology they have in their chip division to control the energy envelope and energy output of their devices. This is a classic example of why Apple has better product experiences due to them being able to control the whole widget.

[QMaverick]

Buy add-free games for Android and you get longer battery life when you play them.

Or, you can get the free versions of the games and deal with the adds and lower battery life.

These tests don't fully jive with others I've seen though. Most show the Nexus 10 and 7 on par with the iPad and iPad Mini.

Also, I'd rather pay more than $100 less for a tablet and charge it twice a week vs once. I've got an OG Transformer (TF101). Off the doc it does every bit as well as an iPad 2 (my brother has one), and blows it out of the water when connected to my keyboard. *shrug* Averaging out the other android tablets into a single reading is pretty cheap and useless. You've got outliers mucking up the numbers that way.

[Dman228]

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Buy add-free games for Android and you get longer battery life when you play them. Or, you can get the free versions of the games and deal with the adds and lower battery life. These tests don't fully jive with others I've seen though. Most show the Nexus 10 and 7 on par with the iPad and iPad Mini. Also, I'd rather pay more than $100 less for a tablet and charge it twice a week vs once. I've got an OG Transformer (TF101). Off the doc it does every bit as well as an iPad 2 (my brother has one), and blows it out of the water when connected to my keyboard. shrug Averaging out the other android tablets into a single reading is pretty cheap and useless. You've got outliers mucking up the numbers that way.

First of all, your argument that the test results are inaccurate is a classic example of someone dismissing the findings just because they don't agree with your sentiment. If you actually click on the link to the "Which?" article and read it and watch the video, you will realize that their testing was EXTREMELY comprehensive and accurate.

Secondly, just because you might be willing to sacrifice battery life in the name of buying a cheap tablet, doesn't mean that the vast majority of the people in the market to buy a tablet is willing to do so (especially for a mobile product, in which battery life is everything cause no battery juice = a brick). And in reality, people have already shown that they care about battery life, which is why the iPad lines are the best selling tablets in the market.

[QMaverick]

I said "based on other reviews" the test results seem not to match.

I do realize that my example of the TF101 was anecdotal, but I was referring to other reviews I've read.

That being said, I did just do a (quick) search on other sites and found that most tend to agree with PC World. I stand corrected. It seems that in most tests, iPads do fare significantly better in battery performance.

That being said, I *DO* care about battery life, and have been very happy with the performance of my tablet in that category. I also care an awful lot about things like customization, screen quality, and so on.

I don't make purchasing decisions based solely on one aspect or feature. And there's a reason Apple's tablet market share fell 29% in a single quarter. Battery life isn't everything. :-) Though, in that regard, Apple is winning.

[gw74]

Great. here's how much it costs to get the battery replaced after 1 year warranty expires (or 2 year warranty for extra £69):

iPad mini - £216.44
iPad 3rd, 4th generation - £256.44
iPad 2, iPad - £206.44

no sale

[DavidBeers]

i also love when a pc world article pops up in the technology section of google news, i know i always be in for a completely biased article that will always have apple coming out on top. It really is amazing that pc world has any credibility at all in anything to do with technology at this point. I wonder if Daniel Ionescu has ever even used an android tablet before. What i can guarentee is that apple has either persuaded him through monetary or retail products to get him to write an article like this. The ipad is completely overpriced and the only reason anyone continues to buy them is misrepresentation. articles like these. good job Daniel, enjoy the ipads that apple gave you for writing this article. i am sure they are sitting right next to your overpriced and underpowered mac computer or laptop, and then right next to that is your overpriced and underpowered iphone 5, that has been blown out of the water by the galaxy s3. so sad

[KLanD]

I'll take the slightly less battery life and more functionality please.

[Hologram]

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Great. here's how much it costs to get the battery replaced after 1 year warranty expires (or 2 year warranty for extra £69): iPad mini - £216.44 iPad 3rd, 4th generation - £256.44 iPad 2, iPad - £206.44 no sale

... exactly how may iPads have had their batteries replaced so far?

Unless you're living in a parallel universe, your price estimates are incorrect.

As stated on http://support.apple...om&product=ipad

"Service arranged through Apple costs £85. A £7.44 shipping and handling fee will be added if this service requires shipping. All fees are in British Pound Sterling and include VAT."

How much will it cost to replace the batteries in any of the mainstream Android or Microsoft tablets?

[Hologram]

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I'll take the slightly less battery life and more functionality please.

I'll take the better battery life and IMO a better user experience, thank you very much.

[Hologram]

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So, if I don't play that moronic Angry Birds game (etc), or open a gazillion apps, battery life is pretty much the same! Then pretty much a non-story - except iPCW feel the need to fly the flag for Apple.

Gee, thanks for wasting a few mAh of my iPad's battery life.

[DBlue28]

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I'll take the slightly less battery life and more functionality please.

I'll take better battery life and a robust thriving App eco-system please.

- Blue

P.S. What a red herring. What less functionality due you speak of because from where I'm standing, Apple has all the important functionality you'd want in a tablet and the best mobile ecosystem in the world.

[Vulpinemac]

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Great. here's how much it costs to get the battery replaced after 1 year warranty expires (or 2 year warranty for extra £69): iPad mini - £216.44 iPad 3rd, 4th generation - £256.44 iPad 2, iPad - £206.44 no sale

How many people replace their battery after 1 year, though? I've been using my first-gen iPad for over 2.5 years now and I'm still on the original battery. In essence, by the time my battery does die, it would be more economical to replace it with a 5th- or 6th-generation iPad and gain all the new functionality as well.

[Hologram]

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... And there's a reason Apple's tablet market share fell 29% in a single quarter.

The reason Apple's market share dropped is that rivals, after taking almost TWO YEARS to come up with devices after it became obvious that the tablet market was here to stay, were finally able to SHIP product in significant numbers. We don't know how many have been SOLD yet and of those which have been sold, a significant number were sold at or below cost.

All this means is that there is a healthy demand for inexpensive, limited purpose tablet devices, a market segment in which Apple is not competing. I doubt Apple has lost any appreciable share of the tablet class it has chosen to compete in.

This post has been edited by Hologram: 07 December 2012 - 12:37 PM

[J]

Let's sum up:

(2) Nexus 7 x $199 = 18 hrs of a quiet child, or 9 hrs of TWO quiet children @ $400

(1) Apple iPad Mini = 13 hrs of ONE quiet child @ $400 (after buying proprietary cables and cloud services that Google has for free)

[froten]

Completely misleading. Why compare the latest android tablets to an iPad and iPad2? And isn't the iPad Mini just a smaller iPad? How do the iPad3 or iPad4 compare? I'd expect greater battery life from older technology.

[TechConc]

gw74, on 07 December 2012 - 11:28 AM, said:

Great. here's how much it costs to get the battery replaced after 1 year warranty expires (or 2 year warranty for extra £69):

iPad mini - £216.44
iPad 3rd, 4th generation - £256.44
iPad 2, iPad - £206.44

no sale

LOL... is this what people have to resort to now? Imaginary issues? I'm not aware of any such need to replace iPad batteries. I've going on 2 years now and the battery life is as good as new (with heavy usage). What are you talking about?

KlanD wrote:

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"I'll take the slightly less battery life and more functionality please.

False dichotomy. You haven't made a case to demonstrate your additional functionality, especially in any meaningful way. If anything, you have a lesser battery life, lesser user experience but a greater risk of malware (assuming you're referring to an Android alternative).

J wrote:

Quote

Let's sum up:

(2) Nexus 7 x $199 = 18 hrs of a quiet child, or 9 hrs of TWO quiet children @ $400

(1) Apple iPad Mini = 13 hrs of ONE quiet child @ $400 (after buying proprietary cables and cloud services that Google has for free)

I see we have a candidate for parent of the year award. You might want to add in the additional cost of counseling that your child will need from neglect and lack of social interaction.

[QMaverick]

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... And there's a reason Apple's tablet market share fell 29% in a single quarter. The reason Apple's market share dropped is that rivals, after taking almost TWO YEARS to come up with devices after it became obvious that the tablet market was here to stay, were finally able to SHIP product in significant numbers. We don't know how many have been SOLD yet and of those which have been sold, a significant number were sold at or below cost. All this means is that there is a healthy demand for inexpensive, limited purpose tablet devices, a market segment in which Apple is not competing. I doubt Apple has lost any appreciable share of the tablet class it has chosen to compete in.

No offense, but that's crap. You really think they've just suddenly started making tons of tablets despite not having sales numbers? No.

Also, my Android tablet is not "limited purpose," and, in fact, does a lot of things the iPad can't. If you like iOS better, that's great--buy it, but don't downplay other OSes because you don't know much about them.

I prefer Android so I buy it. iPads are good devices too, but I just don't like them as much. Can't we all just be rational and say, "hey, I like this better, you like that better, and that's OK?"