Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.1 Improves Battery Life Somewhat
Earlier this month, Arstechnica had reported that many users had found a significant decrease in battery life after upgrading to OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).
Ars writer Chris Foresman, after extended testing, discovered that the battery life of his Retina MacBook Pro review unit dropped 38% from its previous 8-hours.
The same findings were reported by many others in Apple's own support forums, and there were some reports that the development versions of OS X 10.8.1 may have addressed this issue.
MacObserver has conducted battery life tests on the final release build of OS X 10.8.1 to see if there had indeed been any improvement. Their testing process included using an Automator script that launched several apps and navigated to websites. The script would cycle this process continuously. The tests were run on a 2011 Macbook Pro. Here are their findings:
First, they were able to confirm the drop in battery life when going from OS X 10.7.4 to OS X 10.8. The drop they measured was 33% (2 hours and 10 minutes) just from upgrading OS X to 10.8. The "No WiFi Icon" was a "fix" of suggested by one of their readers, but showed no appreciable effect. They did find that OS X 10.8.1 (beta and release) builds did improve the battery life stats, adding as much as 52 minutes in their testing. The overall numbers, however, are still well under their battery life measurements in OS X 10.7.4 (Lion).
Apple is currently testing OS X 10.8.2, but there's been no word if that build helps further improve battery times back towards OS X Lion levels.
Popular Stories
Apple is "shaking up its color palette" for its iPhone 16 lineup this year, according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Early iPhone 16 Pro dummy models via Sonny Dickson According to Gurman, the iPhone 16 Pro models will come in a Gold Titanium to replace Blue Titanium, while the Black, White, and Natural Titanium options that debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro will remain...
iOS 18 has been in beta testing for nearly three months, and the software update will finally be released for all compatible iPhones soon. Apple should reveal iOS 18's exact release date during its September 9 event, with the most likely possibility being Monday, September 16. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18. Note that Apple Intelligence is not coming...
Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 series is expected to launch on September 20 and will compete in a quickly evolving smartphone market, and with some notable upgrades rumored, the new models could see price changes compared to previous years. Successive iPhone models always come with new features and hardware upgrades, but Apple typically does not increase the retail prices as a result....
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared his final expectations for Apple's "It's Glowtime" event, providing some new tidbits and clarifications about the new devices set to be announced on Monday. iPhone 16 Pro Along with larger 6.3- and 6.9-inch display sizes, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have bezels that are "now about a third slimmer" for a "sleeker overall look." The...
Apple did not mention CarPlay when it unveiled iOS 18 in June, but the update includes a handful of new features for the in-car iPhone system. iOS 18 includes some changes to the Messages app, Settings app, and Siri on CarPlay. The update should be widely released later in September. Below, we recap CarPlay's key new features on iOS 18. 1. Contact Photos in Messages App iOS 18 adds...
The Apple Watch Series 10 will include a new sleep apnea detection feature, but it may not be available as soon as the new model launches, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Sleep apnea detection, which builds on the watch's existing sleep tracking, will attempt to determine if a wearer has sleep apnea and then suggest further testing with a medical professional. Gurman had expressed...
