Category: Laptop battery

Despite the fact that Apple seem to be on a mission to make each new MacBook lighter and thinner than the previous version, today your typical MacBook boasts an impressive battery life, to the point where you can expect to get a full day’s work from a single charge. But it’s human nature to always want that little bit extra! 
That’s why in this post I’m going to be sharing 9 tips for getting the most out of your MacBook’s battery.
These tips are ideal
if you have an older MacBook; have recently noticed a decline in the running time you get from a single charge – or you’re just not in the mood to go hunting for your charger!Check how long your battery should lastBefore we start looking at tricks for getting the most out of your battery, it’s worth taking a moment to check how long the battery should last for your particular model.
If your MacBook is dramatically underperforming in the battery department, then this could indicate an underlying technical problem. If there’s a fault with your battery, then no matter how clever you are about how you use your Mac’s battery, you’re not getting to get the best results. If there’s a technical issue, then you’re better off taking your MacBook into your local Apple Store – especially if your laptop is still under warranty!

You can also check whether your battery needs to be replaced or serviced, by holding down the ‘option’ key on your keyboard and clicking the battery icon in your Mac’s menu bar. At the very top of the dropdown menu, you’ll see a summary of the current state of your battery.Ideally, this should read ‘Condition: Normal,’ but if there’s a problem you may see one of the following:
Replace Soon. The battery is holding less charge than when it was new, but is otherwise functioning normally. It may continue to lose charge.Replace Now. The battery is holding significantly less charge than when it was new, but is otherwise functioning normally. You should replace the battery as soon as possible.Service Battery. The battery isn’t functioning normally – it needs to be looked at by a professional.2. Keep up to date

Every new version of OS X introduces fixes and improvements, so it’s possible that upgrading to the latest version may fix any issues you’re experiencing, and could even extend your Mac’s battery life, depending on what’s included in the update.
Even if a new version of OS X doesn’t include any battery-related enhancements, it’ll include other improvements, so it’s always a good idea to make sure you’re running the latest version.

To check whether you’re fully up to date, click the Apple logo in the menu bar and select ‘App Store,’ followed by ‘Updates.’ If there’s an update available, it’ll appear under ‘Software Update.’
Similarly, make sure all your apps are up to date, as new versions may introduce improvements that’ll have a positive impact on how that app uses battery. Also, if you’re running the latest version of OS X, then the latest version of an app should be optimized to work with this version of the operating system – again, this may have a noticeable impact on that app’s battery usage.

3.Turn off Wi-Fi and BluetoothIt’s easy to get into the bad habit of leaving your MacBook’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth permanently switched on, even when you’re not actively using these connections. Leaving your Mac’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth running in the background is a surefire way to burn through your battery, so make sure you disable these connections when you’re not using them.
To turn off Wi-Fi, select the Wi-Fi icon from your Mac’s menu bar, and click ‘Turn Wi-Fi off.’
To prevent your MacBook from permanently scanning for other devices over Bluetooth, click the Apple icon in the menu bar and select ‘System Preferences…’ followed by ‘Bluetooth’ and ‘Turn Bluetooth Off.’

system preferences menu4. Unplug unnecessary accessoriesAs a general rule, anything that’s attached to your MacBook is going to drain your battery, whether it’s a USB stick, SD card, 4G modem or external drive. Make sure you disconnect any peripherals that you aren’t currently using. If you have a SuperDrive then it’s also a good idea to eject any CDs or DVDs that aren’t currently in use.  

And even though we’ve all done it at some point, avoid the temptation to charge other devices by attaching them to your MacBook, such as your phone, tablet, e-reader or iPod, as this will have a massive, negative impact on your Mac’s battery life.
5. Try the Battery Health AppBattery Health is a free app that displays a wealth of technical information about the state of your battery, including the original battery capacity vs. its current capacity, when the battery was manufactured, its temperature, and the number of charge cycles completed. This information can be invaluable for diagnosing problems with your battery.
Install and launch Battery Health, and you’ll notice a new icon in your MacBook’s menu bar. Click this icon to open a dialogue containing lots of useful information about the overall health of your battery.

battery health6. Close Unused Apps – particularly battery-hogging ones!It’s a simple fact of life that the more apps you have running, the quicker your battery is going to drain, so it’s crucial that you close any apps that you aren’t actually using – particularly apps that are sucking up more than their fair share of juice.
The quickest way to identify the biggest battery hogs, is to click the ‘Battery’ icon in your MacBook’s menu bar and check whether any apps appear under ‘Apps Using Significant Energy.’

For a more in-depth look at all the apps currently running on your Mac, and the impact they’re having on your battery, launch the Activity Monitor:
Open your ‘Finder’ window and select ‘Applications’ from the left-hand menu.Open the ‘Utilities’ folder, followed by ‘Activity Monitor.’Select the ‘Energy’ tab.activity monitorActivity Monitor lists all the apps that are running on your Mac, plus the amount of power they’re using. Again, you should close any apps that you aren’t currently using,particularlyif those apps are consuming a large amount of power.
7. Check for runaway processesWhile you have Activity Monitor open, this is the perfect time to look for any parts of the Mac operating system that are misbehaving and consuming unusual amounts of battery.

In ‘Activity Monitor,’ select the ‘CPU’ tab. In the ‘CPU’ column, look for any processes that are taking up more than 70% of your CPU.
activity monitor cpuTo close an item, select it and then click the ‘Quit’ icon towards the upper-left of the Activity Monitor window. However, be cautious about terminating processes at random, as some may be performing important work behind the scenes. If you’ re unsure about a particular process, it’s always a good idea to research it on Google, before terminating it.

8. Adjust Energy Saver on MacBookAnother method of conserving battery, is to limit the amount of time your laptop is stood idle, before the screen turns off:  
Click the Apple icon in your Mac’s menu bar.Select ‘System Preferences…’Select ‘Energy Saver’ from the menu that appears.Select the ‘Battery’ tab.energy saverThen, adjust the amount of time before your screen powers down, using the ‘Turn display off after…’ slider.

9. Dim Screen Brightness onMacBookIf you can cope with staring at a slightly darker screenwithoutgetting eye strain, then you may want to try reducing the screen brightness as this will make your battery last just that little bit longer.

Do you find your MacBook battery randomly dying while sitting on its side or in its laptop bag doing nothing?

Have you ever come back to your MacBook to find the battery dead or dying, but the lid’s been shut and the computer doesn’t seem like it’s doing anything? Or maybe you’re coming back to find your sleeping MacBook is warm, even hot Chances are that something is bringing the system out of sleep and running the battery down.
Something is up.
Well, that’s the question. And believe me, trying to track down the cause can lead you deep into the bowels of macOS.

Sleep Aid is a utility by Ohanaware that delves deep into the Power Management messages and settings, looking for reasons why your MacBook could be being pulled out from a slumber, and into a state of insomnia.

And when I say this utility takes a deep dive, believe me, that it takes a very deep dive. Sleep Aid spots each and every time your MacBook is woken from slumber, whether that’s because a charger’s been plugged in, because of a Bluetooth or network wake-up request, a notification, or a normal background task, as well as a suspicious wake-up that may indicate a problem.

Here’s what you can expect to see: it’s very detailed.
But there’s more — Sleep Aid can also help solve sleep issues. Using the Sleep Settings window, you can enable and disable sleep-related options and configure various settings to help solve sleep issues, or simply reduce the number of times the Mac experiences a wake-up when it’s not in use.

I’ve been using Sleep Aid on a few different MacBooks, and I have to admit that it’s a really powerful, handy tool. If you’re the curious type, you’ll love the insight that it gives you into what’s going on when the lid is shut on your MacBook. If you’re tearing your hair out because your Macbook won’t sleep properly and you’re coming back to find the battery depleted, this tool will be invaluable in helping you troubleshoot and fix the issue.

Sleep Aid comes with a 14-day no-obligation (you don’t have to enter payment details or even an email address), fully featured free trial; after that, you can buy a license, with prices starting at $25. 

When you’re shopping for a Dell XPS laptop, you know exactly what you’re getting. The bezels are wicked thin, the display shines bright and colorful, and the performance is as good as the design. and feel of what is arguably Dell’s most competitive laptop model has remained mostly the same; that’s how timeless the original was.

Also: I tested Dell’s latest XPS laptops and can’t recommend them enough
In fact, this year’s Dell XPS 15 looks and feels the same as last year’s model, and I’m not complaining. Only now, the performance of the laptop is more capable, thanks to a shift to Ada Lovelace GPUs, though Dell still tells me the XPS line is more tailored for prosumers, content creators, and just about anyone but gamers.
I’ve been testing the Dell XPS 15 over the past month, relegating my trusted MacBook Pro and MacBook Air to the sidelines, and am concluding my review period with the belief that this remains one the best options for Windows users.

Coming from the MacBook’s industrial design, my first impression of the Dell XPS 15 was how much more rugged it looked and felt. The exterior is chiseled with sharp lines and rounded corners, and the brushed aluminum lets you know that this laptop means business.
Also: This 16-in-1 Thunderbolt dock is the PC accessory of my dreams
The XPS 15 weighs a healthy 4.21 lbs, and its presence was most definitely felt as I backpacked throughout New York City for work and briefings. Fortunately, on top of the three USB-C ports — two of which are Thunderbolt 4 — Dell includes an SD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack. For those aforementioned briefings, I often need to transfer photos and videos — captured with my mirrorless camera — to my laptop for editing, and the built-in SD card slot is much Appreciated.

As for the bottom half of the laptop, I found the XPS 15 keyboard a little too low-profile for my tastes. The soft-touch keycaps can feel mushy and not as tactile as I’d like for my type-heavy workflow, though the backlighting gets plenty bright for those late-night writing sessions.

Also: I found the best keyboard for students, and its ChatGPT shortcut proves it
The carbon fiber weave surrounding what is one of the larger trackpads I’ve used on a 15-inch laptop is a nice, edgy touch, serving as a rather comforting wrist rest when gliding and clicking around. at times, with the XPS 15 processing my inputs as a “pinch out” or “pinch in” when my left wrist was simply laying a little too close to the middle surface.

There was more to say about the XPS 15’s design last year when the changes were actually new, so I’ll plug our review for those who want a more in-depth analysis of what’s been pictured in this article. My takeaway is that while I prefer the all-aluminum build — both on the inside and out — of the MacBook or Microsoft Surface Laptop, it’s great to see Dell stick with a distinguishable design language — one that I’m sure has many other fans.

Also: This Acer laptop may be the most affordable way to have an Nvidia 40 Series GPU
The review unit that Dell provided me features a 13th-gen Core i7-13700H, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, an RTX 4070 (40W), and a 3.5K resolution OLED display, which was the most noticeable upgrade of all.

this is one of the most — if not the most — sharp-looking, color-accurate displays I’ve seen on a laptop, and it’s a feature that I’d recommend potential buyers opt for if photo and video work is central to you. 
When paired with the top-firing speakers flanking the sides of the keyboard, the multimedia experience on the XPS 15 can be mesmerizing. It’s one of the few display-speaker pairings that I’d rank alongside Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The ability to configure the XPS 15, from the processor to the Windows operating system to the graphics card to the display, is great to see, especially if you fancy the design and form factor of the laptop but don’t want to overspend on excess In fact, the review unit I tested was more than enough for my week’s work, with the XPS 15 breathing through multi-window applications, 4K video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro, and some touch-ups on Adobe Photoshop.

Also: Best laptops for graphic designers, according to experts who use them
What’s more impressive to me is how long the XPS 15 held up in between charges. Even when using it to power an external monitor, I averaged about six to seven hours of usage before the 10% lower battery warning appeared. Keep in mind that I ‘m tasking the machine with video exports, frequent conference calls (with a suboptimal 720p webcam), and miscellaneous things that pop up throughout a journalist’s work week.

ZDNET’s buying adviceIf I were to buy the Dell XPS 15, I’d be comfortable with a less-powerful RTX 4050 and a smaller storage size of 512GB, since Most of my work is saved on the cloud. With the 3.5K resolution display add-on, that rings me up at around $2,049, a relatively fair price for one of the more premium Windows laptops out there. 
You’ll save an additional $300 if you can live with the FHD+ (1920 x 1200) non-touch display.

And if looks are all you really care about, the Dell XPS 15 can be had for as little as $1,299. No matter the price, you can expect reliable performance and battery life, and a design that’s as timeless as they come.

Whether you need to turn in a quick assignment or hop on a last-minute video call, a slow laptop can be frustrating. But don’t worry. There are several ways to speed up your device, and they don’t involve running to the store and buying a new one. At Asurion, our experts help 300 million customers (and counting) diagnose and resolve their device problems and get the most out of their favorite tech. Wondering how to make your laptop faster? Check out their tips below to get your device back up to speed .

Why is my laptop so slow?

As you accumulate more files, apps, and programs on your hard drive, your laptop can start to lag or stop responding altogether. These issues don’t pop up immediately; however, regular use, demanding software updates, and aging computer parts can stall your laptop over time and hurt its performance, making it harder to complete daily tasks.
Watch this short video where an Asurion Expert shows how to fix your slow laptop:

How to speed up your laptop

A few simple steps to tune-up your laptop can help it run faster.
RESTART YOUR LAPTOPIf you haven’t rebooted your system in a while, it may just need a quick reset. Restarting your laptop not only clears temporary files and shuts down programs, it can solve more problems than you may think. Try to restart your laptop at least once a week to keep it working at its best.

CHECK THE MEMORYYour laptop uses hardware called random-access memory, or RAM, to load programs and open files quickly. It’s essentially your laptop’s short-term memory, and when it’s running low, your system will take longer to open and run multiple apps at the same time.You can find out how much memory you’re using in your laptop settings.

How to check your computer memory (Windows 10):

On your keyboard, press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time, then select Task Manager.Select Performance > Memory to see how much your laptop can support.If you’ve had your high quality laptop  for longer than two years, it may be time to increase the RAM so it can run several applications and programs without slowing down. to a tech expert for help with computer memory upgrades.

MAKE SPACE ON YOUR HARD DRIVEYour laptop’s hard drive holds a lot of data—from photos and videos to music and other large files—and if it’s nearly full, it can degrade your computer’s performance. Find out how much storage you have left on your device, then see where you can cut things down.

How to check hard drive storage on your PC (Windows 10):

Select the Start button, then select Settings.Select System > Storage, and you’ll see what space is available under Local storage.Once you find out what apps and programs are taking the most space, consider deleting the ones you no longer need. If you have a lot of photos and videos, back up your files to the cloud or move them to an external hard drive. still need more space, you may want to consider a hard drive upgrade.CLOSE UNNECESSARY BROWSER WINDOWSDo you tend to keep multiple browser windows and apps running at the same time? Doing so can slow down your laptop. If you’ve noticed your device becoming sluggish—or can’t stop asking yourself, Why is my HP laptop so slow ? —take stock of the programs you have open and close the ones you can do without.

How to see what programs are running on a PC (Windows 10):

On the keyboard, press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time, then select Task Manager.Select CPU to sort the list based on processor usage or select Memory to sort by memory usage. Look for the app that’s using the most processing power or memory.Close the apps you don’t need, but don’t close system processes, as this can make the computer unstable or shut down.LIMIT BACKGROUND PROGRAMSThere are sometimes hidden programs that load in the background or automatically start when you log on to your laptop, and they can also slow down your machine. Fortunately, turning off those apps is easy:
How to remove apps from startup on a PC (Windows 10):

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Apps.Select Startup, then turn off the apps you don’t want to open when you sign in.SCAN FOR MALWARE AND VIRUSESA  laptop that’s been infected by a virus will experience serious issues with its speed and performance.
How to check for a virus on a PC (Windows 10):Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security.Click on Virus & threat protection.Click on Quick scan.