The new battery in the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros is nonremovable, but Apple claims the system can last up to 7 hours while surfing the Web, and somewhat less for DVD playback. To assuage concerns about the sealed battery, the company says the new models are good for at least 1,000 full recharge cycles--which they estimate to be about five years of use. We were able to run the system for 5 hours and 5 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, with the GPU set for the better battery life option. That's about an hour longer than last year's 15-inch MacBook Pro, and an impressive result.
Apple has an above-average reputation for support, along with a series of accessible retail stores (as long as you live in a market served by one). But MacBooks continue to include a standard one-year parts and labor warranty, with only 90 days of toll-free telephone support. This, along with the proprietary nature of Apple's products, makes purchasing an extended Apple Care warranty almost a necessity, at $349 (or $249 for 13-inch laptops) for three total years of coverage.
 Juice box | |||
| Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch | |
| Off (watts) | 0.63 |
| Sleep (watts) | 0.8014 |
| Idle (watts) | 19.772 |
| Load (watts) | 65.4 |
| Raw (annual kWh) | 75.96 |
| EnergyStar compliant | Yes |
| Annual operating cost (@$0.1135/kWh) | $8.62 |
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Find out more about how we test laptops.
System configurations:
Apple MacBook Pro - Summer 2009 - Core 2 Duo 15.4 inch - 2.8GHz
OS X 10.5.7 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9400M / 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT; 500GB Hitachi 5,400rpm
Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo - 2.4GHz / 13.3-inch (2008 Edition)
OS X 10.5.5 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz; 2048MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9400M; 250GB Toshiba 5,400rpm
Dell Adamo
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9300; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 779MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 128GB Samsung SSD
Apple MacBook - Summer 2009 - Core 2 Duo 13.3 inch - 2.13GHz
OS X 10.5.7 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13GHz; 2048MB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9400M; 160GB Hitachi 5,400rpm
Apple MacBook Pro - Summer 2009 - Core 2 Duo 13.3 inch - 2.26GHz
OS X 10.5.7 Leopard; Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz; 2048MB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9400M; 160GB Hitachi 5,400rpm
What You'll Pay
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Quick Specifications
- Release date11/18/11
- Processor Intel 2800 MHz Core 2 Duo ( Dual-Core )
- Memory 4096 MB / 8 GB (max)
- Hard Drive 500 GB - 5400 rpm - Serial ATA-150
- Display Type 15.0 in TFT active matrix
- Operating System Apple MacOS X 10.6
- Optical Drive DVD±RW (±R DL) - Integrated
- Graphics Processor NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT / GeForce 9400M
- Video Memory 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of laptops and mobile computers, while also covering games, gadgets, and other topics. A semi-regular TV news talking head, he's written about music and technology for more than 15 years, appearing in publications including Spin, Blender, and Men's Journal. Full Bio
