More iPad Battery Notes: 25-Hour Hotspot Life, 2-Amp Current Draw from Discharged State
Much has been made of the increase in battery capacity in the new iPad over the past week and a half, including its impact on charging and heat issues experienced by consumers. More recent discussions have focused on the device charging beyond the 100% indicator.
A few other tidbits related to the device's battery are gaining some exposure, information which may help users plan how they use their iPads. First, a report from AnandTech addressing battery life has been gaining renewed interest for its revelation that users running a Verizon iPad in personal hotspot mode can see as much as 25 hours of battery life to provide connectivity for their other devices. That number has also been confirmed by The Verge.
While Verizon is including personal hotspot functionality in its iPad data plans at no extra charge, AT&T has yet to announced whether it will even support the feature at all, noting only that it is "working with Apple" on the issue.
Meanwhile, VR-Zone notes that the new iPad can draw as much as 2 amps of current when charging the battery from a nearly-depleted state, pushing the capacity of charging connections such as computer USB ports. Apple's supplied iPad power adapter provides for up to 2.1 amps of current from a wall outlet, and the company has long noted that this method offers the fastest charging on any iPad. Users can, however, still charge the device using the smaller 1-amp adapter included with an iPhone or by connecting the dock connector cable directly to a computer's USB port. VR-Zone notes:
As you can see in the video below, the iPad in question only had seven percent battery life remaining and at this point it's sucking 1.98A. That's a lot of power and we were told by Gigabyte that they've seen it hitting just over 2A. That said, as you might've noticed from the picture above, this quickly drops once the iPad begins to charge, but considering a standard USB 2.0 port only delivers 500mA and even a USB 3.0 port will only deliver 900mA, you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners.
The new iPad carries a 42.5 watt-hour battery, roughly 70% larger in capacity and size than the 25 watt-hour battery found in the iPad 2.
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