MacBook Battery Life Comparison

ORIGINAL POST

I've been researching different laptops, and I heard that Macbooks have such good advertised battery life because they're tested with only Apple software, and Apple software is designed specifically for their hardware, so it's much more efficient. This means that if you run any non-Apple software, even something simple that theoretically shouldn't require lots of computation, the battery life drops significantly.

How accurate is this? Can anyone point me to decent third-party statistics on Macbook battery life when using non-Apple software?

5 replies

naemorhaedus · 6 months ago

I use a wide variety of software and battery life is very good. I'm quite happy about it. It's one of the selling points of M-series Macs, so don't worry about it. Obviously if you're running back to back 4k video encodes then you'll burn through it quicker.

2 upvotes on reddit

narc0leptik · 6 months ago

You're not getting 20 hours or whatever bullshit marketing numbers they come up with.

If you're not using Safari you're going to have worse battery life web browsing also. You can just search for this stuff online and peoples comments on Reddit in terms of realistic battery life.

2 upvotes on reddit

Njmcq · 6 months ago

This claim refers to the operating system. macOS is designed to work efficiently with Apple’s hardware. That claim is not referring to non-Apple applications that run on the Mac. In saying that, Safari typically consumes less battery than something like Google Chrome, for example. But that’s not something you should be concerned with when looking to buy a Mac. If you want a Mac, go for it!

2 upvotes on reddit

EpiZirco · 6 months ago

Some developers are good about trying to make their code efficient, and others not so much. It is going to vary from app to app.

Chrome, for example, is notorious for its inefficiency.

6 upvotes on reddit

ExtremeWild5878 · 6 months ago

So I'm running a 16 inch M3 Pro MBP, and I run a ton of software that is not natively Apple, however I may not get the full 24 hours that is advertised, but I will say that you can easily get more than 15 hours on one charge. If I'm being quite honest the Apple silicon chipset is very efficient and these machine don't suck down power like their intel counterparts do. Search around on Reddit for applications that people complain about being memory huggers (like Chrome for example) and avoid them and I'm sure you'll have a more pleasant experience with your MacBook. Also don't forget that there are also additional power options built into MacOS to better help you manage you battery consumption when on the go so don't forget about that.

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/macbook • [2]

Summarize

To M4 users, how does the M4 base model’s battery life compare to the MacBook Air 15” M3?

Posted by Fong_168 · in r/macbook · 7 months ago

Hi everyone, I’m planning to buy either the MacBook Pro 14” M4 base or the MacBook Air 15” M3, but I’m concerned about battery life. I’ve heard that the 15-inch Air has amazing battery life, but aside from the display size, the 14” M4 seems better in most aspects.

My old MacBook Air M1 lasted at least 8–10 hours depending on my usage. It’s a tough decision!

2 upvotes on reddit

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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-15-M3-review-Apple-s-large-everyday-MacBook-gets-a-power-up.811701.0.html

2 replies

milorambaldi47 · 7 months ago

I bought both to test them out. Unscientifically, they both had similar battery life. The M3 had better battery life when watching videos. Not sure if it had to do with ProMotion and the speakers. Web browsing and light gaming was equal for both. I thought the M4 would be better with the advertised 24 hours battery life but it was negligible. I never fully run down the battery but I was able to get at least 7 hours at 50% battery usage on low power mode.

I came from the M1 Air (RIP the wedge) which remains the best computer I’ve ever used. The Pro felt like a step backwards in terms of thickness but the speakers and the screen are phenomenal. The 15” Air speakers are no slouch and I kept it for the battery life, ergonomics and screen size.

1 upvotes on reddit

rainy_diary · 7 months ago

Both have similiar battery life.

Could read these reviews.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-14-M4-review-The-M4-base-model-with-important-improvements.923443.0.html

1 upvotes on reddit

See 2 replies

r/laptops • [3]

Summarize

Apple VS other Brands

Posted by Much-Drama-3424 · in r/laptops · 3 months ago

I have been using Apple MacBook for years. Time to get a new one. How is the current MacBook compare with other brands? Longevity, battery life, etc.

I asked many friends said the new other Brands only last for 3-5 years.

What’s your thoughts? Light gaming like LOL, and some office work. 16 RAM, 512GB.

2 upvotes on reddit

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https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1883962-REG/apple_mw123ll_a_13_macbook_air_m4.html

12 replies

The_B_Wolf · 3 months ago

This is a great time to buy a new MacBook. Apple is the king of laptop land right now because of Apple Silicon. It has take five years for the rest of the industry to respond. They are only now beginning to with laptops featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon silicon. But they haven't caught Apple yet and they still have some compatibility issues to work out.

Pretty much no one can touch Apple on performance and battery life and price, considering you can get an M4 MBA for $850. It hasn't always been this way, and I'm sure it won't always be this way, but right now if you need a laptop you should begin by asking yourself why you should not buy a MacBook Air. Because without a good reason, most people should.

3 upvotes on reddit

CubicleHermit · 3 months ago

If your workloads support using the MacOS, and you are looking at the "inexpensive for a premium notebook" end of the market, the Macbook Air M4 is pretty hard to beat.

The moment you need more RAM, or a faster processor, or more disk, premium PC models start looking more competitive. In part, that's because with pretty much all PCs, you can upgrade the disk, and on many PCs you can still upgrade the RAM.

> Pretty much no one can touch Apple on performance and battery life

Nobody can touch Apple on the intersection of performance and battery life, but plenty of machines will outperform Apple's, even at a given price point, if you'd rather optimize for performance rather than for battery life and compactness.

2 upvotes on reddit

sous_vide · 25 days ago

What PC processor is faster than an M4 though?

1 upvotes on reddit

Much-Drama-3424 · OP · 3 months ago

Thanks for detail explanation. That’s very helpful. Where do you find the $850 M4 MBA? I checked Best Buy, Apple, Walmart, eBay, can’t find anything like that.

1 upvotes on reddit

CubicleHermit · 3 months ago

1 upvotes on reddit

Tee-hee64 · 3 months ago

And if you want to try Windows I'd say the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i is the closest to MacBook experience for battery life, thinness, lightweight, and build quality.

1 upvotes on reddit

Much-Drama-3424 · OP · 3 months ago

Just realized you probably talking about 256 GB at amazon, do you?

1 upvotes on reddit

The_B_Wolf · 3 months ago

Yep. Not the model I would buy, but you can. Nobody can outperform, out-battery and out-quality it at that price.

1 upvotes on reddit

I-Take-Dumps-At-Home · 2 months ago

Idk, I was in the market for an affordable, portable laptop. I thought long and hard about getting a M4 MBA, but it just really annoys me that apple only gives you 256GB of storage with the base model. I ended up buying an HP omnibook that has a core ultra 7, 16GB ram, and 1TB ssd for $799. I would have paid $200-300 more for the same storage on a MBA.

1 upvotes on reddit

ToThePillory · 2 months ago

For battery life you're highly unlikely to beat the Mac.

Longevity, I find PC and Mac pretty comparable.

If laptops were typically lasting 3 years there would be an EU inquiry or something, I don't know why people just drag bullshit like this out of their arse. Your friends are just making shit up.

Even 5 years, it's trivial to find shitloads of laptops on eBay older than that.

Gaming, you're probably better off with a PC laptop. For light weight, battery life, probably better to get a Mac.

1 upvotes on reddit

TeddieSnow · 3 months ago

There's another way to look at this. Would you rather pay $6000 for a laptop that lasts 6 years, or $3000 for one that lasts 3 years?

That is, if you pay twice as much for a Mac --

-- does that guarantee you'll get twice the life? And if you do --
-- money wise it makes no difference. And who says --
-- the PC will die in half the time? Where is that written down? So really --
-- why not buy a four year warranty and accept you're giving up the laptop after that?

3 upvotes on reddit

CubicleHermit · 3 months ago

There's usually a knee in the price/performance curve. It's almost always best to look for that, and buy no higher than min of (your current needs, that knee.)

Software changes rapidly. There are very good odds that Microsoft or Apple will release something incompatible with machines released today in the next 3-5 years; even if the baseline OS is still compatible then, you'll be missing support for features. Sometimes these are questionable (arguably, not having an NPU that supports Copilot+ on Windows 11 is a feature!) but over time it adds up to having a second-rate experience at best.

2 upvotes on reddit

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r/apple • [4]

Summarize

MacBook Pro 2021 battery life tested — here’s how they stack up

Posted by Guilty_Commission_79 · in r/apple · 3 years ago

tomsguide.com

208 upvotes on reddit

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RedditUsr2 · 3 years ago

edit: sorted list here

MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro 14:08
MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 Max 15:31
Asus Zenbook 13 OLED 14:57
Dell XPS 13 OLED 7:59
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 13:30
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD) 12:03
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 10:42 (120Hz)
MacBook Air M1 14:40
MacBook Pro M1 16:25

197 upvotes on reddit

iamapersonality · 3 years ago

I wanna see the 16” with M1 pro. I’m thinking that’ll have the longest battery, but want to confirm the step down there does indeed equate to more battery life.

6 upvotes on reddit

chaiscool · 3 years ago

The test is a bit sus... zenbook 13 oled is rated to only have ~10+ hr is this review. The 30% difference is significant.

What’s the parameter for this test?

39 upvotes on reddit

[deleted] · 3 years ago

As someone with a Ryzen 5700u laptop I don’t believe then zenbook numbers at all. I get 3-4 hours max (of actual usage) and thats with a 47Wh battery the Zenbook is 67Wh. My M1 air can handle a higher workload for a full day easily.

7 upvotes on reddit

electricpheonix · 3 years ago

The Zenbook and 13 inch mbp are really impressive to me. Thanks for the tl;dr!

46 upvotes on reddit

chaiscool · 3 years ago

13 MBP is okay, but the zenbook doesn’t tally with other reviews which is ~30% lower.

20 upvotes on reddit

CircleBeykoff · 3 years ago

Sorted the list by time:

Laptop	Battery life (hours:mins)
Dell XPS 13 OLED	07:59
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio	10:42 (120Hz)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (15-inch, AMD)	12:03
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360	13:30
MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro	14:08
MacBook Air M1	14:40
Asus Zenbook 13 OLED	14:57
MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 Max	15:31
MacBook Pro M1	16:25

Edit: added leading zero.

45 upvotes on reddit

[deleted] · 3 years ago

Well fuck. Looks like the battery won't be as big of a problem as I thought it would be. Still don't know how they did the battery test though and at what brightness.

22 upvotes on reddit

eggimage · 3 years ago

thing is, when mix in heavy workloads, the battery life difference will really show.

also it’s been tested that even with Low Power mode, the M1 series is still super powerful, i’m sure people doing mid range tasks can take full advantage of that

82 upvotes on reddit

Mr_Budder · 3 years ago

From what I've seen, the M1 Pro and M1 Max seem to use similar battery life when performing time-limited heavy workloads because, yes, they do use more power, but they're using it for a shorter period of time because of how much faster the chips are.

Of course, if you're just pushing the system to 100% utilisation on everything for the sake of it and fully draining the battery, the higher end chips will obviously use more than twice the power and so have less battery life. But it's rare that anyone would need to do that.

1 upvotes on reddit

annaheim · 3 years ago

> M1 Pro (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU or 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU), with optional M1 Max with up to 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU

For anyone wondering what 14" SKU they used.

I got the 10c/16gpu and I wonder how much difference that makes to battery life.

23 upvotes on reddit

ComputAni · 3 years ago

Yeah I’m really curious about this too. I hope we can compare not only m1 pros to other laptop chips, but also between m1 pro variants. Wondering if there’s a hit on the higher core variants.

8 upvotes on reddit

See 12 replies

r/macbookair • [5]

Summarize

Base model battery

Posted by Legitimate-Leg2446 · in r/macbookair · 3 months ago

I am loving the battery life on my new MacBook Air M4. I upgraded from a 2010 MacBook and the difference, of course, is like night and day. Lol. I can actually sit somewhere and do work for a while without being plugged in. Awesome 🌞

10 upvotes on reddit

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PrestigiousEcho1468 · 3 months ago

How long battery are you getting

1 upvotes on reddit

Legitimate-Leg2446 · OP · 3 months ago

Just studying and doing schoolwork and looking for jobs, it is lasing all day (early morning to late at night) without even being reduced by a quarter. I could probably go a couple of days without needed to recharge.

2 upvotes on reddit

southindianPOTTU · 3 months ago

Wow j thought I had a decent upgrade! My MacBook Air is 2014 and I also just bought the m4!

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/macbook • [6]

Summarize

Battery Comparison: MacBook Air 15in (M3) and MacBook Pro 14in (M4)

Posted by The_Krakene · in r/macbook · 8 months ago

I'm deciding between a MB air m3 15 inch, and a MB pro m4 14in. I've done alot of consideration and the deciding factor for me has boiled down to battery life.

I've seen lots of different reviews and concerning posts about this topic, and i know the advertised battery life is grossly misrepresented, so can someone provide some personal experience/input?

How many hours does each device last under moderate workload (browsing, video playback, light graphic design, word documents, etc) on regular brightness?

1 upvotes on reddit

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narc0leptik · 8 months ago

If you really want the absolute best battery life then wait for the M4 Air to come out in 3 months. How can you afford such an expensive laptop as a teenager? Is your family rich or something?

1 upvotes on reddit

The_Krakene · OP · 8 months ago

I've always saved my allowance because I never saw a use for it until now. So I have quite a bit saved.

1 upvotes on reddit

narc0leptik · 8 months ago

Well in that case go for the M4 Base Model; it's the more efficient chip. Best bang for your buck performance wise; the M4 base model laptop has a higher single-core performance score than the M3 Pro chip. $1399 on Amazon right now https://www.amazon.com/Apple-2024-MacBook-Laptop-10%E2%80%91core/dp/B0DLHBYRPS It will have better thermals than the Macbook Air because of the thickness of the chassis and having a fan. It will have the best resale value, the best display.

If you wanna save some cash you could buy a used 2021 16" M1 Pro off of Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace/Offerup from a private party. Apple 2021 16" M1 Pro sells for upwards of $1000 on eBay, so $800 would be a fair price for a 2021 16" M1 Pro which is what they would get after eBay fees if they sold on eBay.

Really with Apple Silicon the battery life is good enough with anything it really don't matter what you pick as long as it's M1/M2/M3/M4.

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/mac • [7]

Summarize

i’m surprised

Posted by LukeTheDuck15 · in r/mac · 8 months ago

I have a 2015 MBA on opencore sequoia for personal use. But I have a $1000 business laptop that is more expensive than my Macbook and it feels a lot slower even though it has more than double the ram and power. I can only get four hours of battery on my windows laptop, but I can get a good seven hours on my MacBook I’m just surprised that a 10 yr old laptop feels faster than a 4 yr old laptop.

4 upvotes on reddit

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Darkomen78 · 8 months ago

That's a Mac. :-)

7 upvotes on reddit

LukeTheDuck15 · OP · 8 months ago

I never had good experience with Windows. Although I do find it easier to use apps like word and PowerPoint on windows. But I haven’t been surprised with Microsoft recently with their new snapdragon surfaces. I feel like the closest thing to a Windows MacBook will be a surface. I’m either considering buying a powered M powered Mac and use Microsoft office on that or get a copilot plus PC for Microsoft Office.

2 upvotes on reddit

thelastspike · 8 months ago

If you can, give Pages and Keynote a fair chance. I haven’t touched Word or PowerPoint in at least 5 years.

2 upvotes on reddit

DavidtheMalcolm · 8 months ago

If your Mac feels slow, you question whether you should buy a new one when this one breaks. If your PC gets slow most people will just think they need to buy a new PC from a different company that will still come with Windows. It's the same paradigm with Chrome.

Companies that don't make the hardware their software runs on have no reason to care if it makes the user's device worse. This is one reason why Facebook's platforms are all so terrible on mobile.

1 upvotes on reddit

EhOhOhEh · 8 months ago

How well does it run Xcode?

1 upvotes on reddit

Strange-Story-7760 · 8 months ago

Have you thought about upgrading? Like you say, it’s a 10 year old laptop. Should get onto apple silicon

1 upvotes on reddit

CrocodileJock · 8 months ago

Wait until you try the latest M-series MacBooks...

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/macbookpro • [8]

Summarize

Battery life difference between 1.4 and 2.4ghz MacBook Pro

Posted by XJericho7 · in r/macbookpro · 5 years ago

Just what title say. I’m about to buy my first MacBook Pro 13”, and battery life is important to me, so i just need to know which model perform verter in terms of battery life.

23 upvotes on reddit

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wiseman121 · 5 years ago

The difference is not that different, usually 2hrs at most.

If battery life is very important I'd recommend considering the MacBook air.

4 upvotes on reddit

XJericho7 · OP · 5 years ago

Battery life is vert important to me, but i need the extra power of the pro. I’ve tried the 2018 air, and its not enough for me. So i’m looking for the 13” pro with better battery life.

Anyways 2hrs are a lot!

1 upvotes on reddit

AnticipateRisk · 5 years ago

I’m no expert but here is my experience.

I returned the 1.4 as it was having battery issues. Draining quickly. MacBook was shutting down with about 25 percent left. Apparently it’s common as well.

I got a really good deal on the 2.8. Love it! Battery last longer for me as well and no battery shut down until 0%. I can’t tell you why it’s lasting longer - it just does. About 2 hours.

1 upvotes on reddit

nineteenseventyfiv3 · 5 years ago

Because the way the base model is configured makes it run on boost clocks pretty much constantly, which results in it averaging rather close or higher than the 2.4 model TDP-wise while running hotter. It's not really a 15W machine.

^(And I got a sneaking suspicion that Apple did it for benchmarks.)

3 upvotes on reddit

SporadicErratic · 5 years ago

i’ve seen a lot of comments saying that for everyday use you should see the same battery performance as they’re both pulling 15 watts but if anyone has concise info on this, i’d like to know as well

13 upvotes on reddit

kf97mopa · 5 years ago

This, mostly.

The way it works is that the CPU won’t draw any more power than it needs to do the job. For most tasks, it will not draw 15W, because the task doesn’t require more, so these two models will draw the same amount of power. This is also why the performance difference is fairly small, because they both hit max turbo with no power limit to bring the clocks down.

If you do something that uses more power, the 2.4GHz one will draw more...but it will also be done faster, and will feel faster to use. So in the end, it comes down to the task - if what you do feels the same speed on both models, they will draw the same amount of power. If the 2.4 GHz feels significantly faster, it will draw more. In my experience, the first situation is far more common.

Note that 3D gaming is the most common example of the other kind of situation - the 2.4GHz model has the power limit to rev the GPU higher and produce better frame rates, but it will also kill he battery in about half the time. There are few other situations like that, though.

10 upvotes on reddit

XJericho7 · OP · 5 years ago

I agre with you, but i wish i could see a real world comparision. You are right but this is only theory, maybe other factor we ignore can make the difference.

1 upvotes on reddit

XJericho7 · OP · 5 years ago

Did you know if ther’s a way to disabile turbo boost in Catalina and undervolt the cpu it self? I think that in this way i can reduce the power that the cpu suck and the overall experience would be the same.

2 upvotes on reddit

daveotronica · 5 years ago

Picked up the quad i5 2.3 13" with touchbar very cheaply on eBay.
Initially I was disappointed with the battery (maybe the reason it was going cheap?) - but then I installed Volta and now battery life can reach double digits with light use.
Of course, like with any machine, intensive apps like photoshop/final cut/logic pro etc. will see that reduce to around 2 hours regardless.

1 upvotes on reddit

JayRosDJ · 5 years ago

How hard was to configure Volta? Do you know if you have to re-configure Volta every time you format you MacBook or the setup is saved somewhere else?

1 upvotes on reddit

daveotronica · 5 years ago

I just select "low power when unplugged" in Volta. So when in battery power, it's using less power and therefore lasts for much longer. Power goes back up when charger is connected. "Low power" on my Quad i5 2.3 seems still very fast for most tasks, if not all. If you need more power, easy to switch.

It's just one switch - hardly complicated. The "undervolt" option is for older macs, as far as I know.

2 upvotes on reddit

grovolis · 5 years ago

There’s power banks that can charge a MacBook Pro these days. You are not going to same much with a different cpu.

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/macbook • [9]

Summarize

Which macbook has the best battery life?

Posted by throw_away_8224 · in r/macbook · 1 year ago

[deleted]

01 replies

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1 replies

[deleted] · 1 year ago

16” MacBook has the biggest battery @ 100wh (the biggest allowed on an airplane anyways) so it’s gonna have the best battery life assuming you have a conservative screen and keyboard brightness set.

1 upvotes on reddit

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r/macbookpro • [10]

Summarize

Does the 8 core MacBook Pro have better battery life than the 10 core?

Posted by jikesar968 · in r/macbookpro · 3 years ago

Has anyone compared both these models as far as battery life is concerned?

6 upvotes on reddit

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FreeDinnerStrategies · 3 years ago

Verge review says yes, but I don’t trust the way they conducted their tests. They had three different people test each 14 Max, 16 Max, and 16 Pro with their own individual work loads and compare those numbers.

3 upvotes on reddit

kevan0317 · 3 years ago

It 100% depends on what you’re doing, what you leave open, and where you are (bright screen or dark screen.)

1 upvotes on reddit

nathanjoasht · 3 years ago

I think technically yes because less cores draw less power but don’t rely on these stress tests all over youtube, it mainly represents the professionals who use demanding software. The average user will not notice any difference.

If you’re upgrading from an intel mac the m1 pro will blow your mind with the battery life.

If you’re upgrading from an og m1 you might notice a couple hours less but it’s still way better than the intel machines considering the added gpu cores and 120hz promotion mini led screen

12 upvotes on reddit

jikesar968 · OP · 3 years ago

I'd be upgrading from a 2019 13 inch Core i7. Do you think the 10 core is worth it?

2 upvotes on reddit

nathanjoasht · 3 years ago

hard to say without any context for what you do. Personally I am coming from 2012 15” i7 bought the m1 mbp during the school sale, returned it and got the base 14” coming next week.

If you’re the type of person who always wants the newest features but doesn’t necessarily need the power, stick with the base model and upgrade every 2-3 years. If apple release 240hz and face id i will probably upgrade again because those are two features i want to see in the future.

If your work requires the power by all means spec out your machine to allow you to do what you need to do for work.

Jumping from the 2012 i was really impressed with the m1 and for my workload i probably would’ve been okay with it, i’m mainly getting the m1 pro base for the screen and the ports, two weeks without magesafe made me sad lol.

can’t find the source right now and don’t remember if apple released the graph in the keynote or if i read it on a private website but

the m1 pro is suppose to be faster than the m1 which is already faster than the same gen i9 that to me blows my mind.

3 upvotes on reddit

[deleted] · 3 years ago

Theoretically, yes, but I think the difference would be negligible. There might be a large difference between pro and max battery life however.

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