Power hungry iPad

[Seadog]

PC Mag did a few tests on the new iPad and found out that should mean a lot to all of us. With the new screen set at maximum brightness, the iPad would only play video for 5.5 hours. The iPad 2 would get almost 8 hours. With the brightness set at 50% the same video test lasted 11 hours. For those with concerns about the demands of 4G, the new iPad managed to do 25 hours of 4G streaming on a charge.

To show the how much of battery demand the new iPad has, look at these numbers. The iPad 2 has a 25 watt-H battery. The MacBook Air has a 35 watt-H battery. The new iPad has a 42.5 watt-H battery, but it is using the same charger as the iPad 2 (10 watt), but the MBA uses a 45 watt charger. It takes the new iPad 7 hours to fully charge, while the iPad 2 took 4 hours. I wonder if this would be a great opportunity for a vendor to design a 25+ watt charger for the iPad?

 

[Lunar]

can't imagine me ever running my iPad at maximum brightness, when mine is set at maximum it's almost unwatchable, and even too bright when in bright sunshine.

In the home, I find around 40 to 45% brightness gives a really superb bright picture

 

[AQ_OC]

The dock might be the limitation to going to a beefier charger.

I keep my brightness bar in the dead middle, but I keep auto-brightness on. If I turn auto-brightness off, my iPad always immediately gets much brighter. I'm not even at 50% most of the time.

The idea of anyone using 100% brightness blows my mind.

 

[Lunar]

From fully charged mine managed just over 8.5hrs, that was with brightness at it's usual 45% and I watched 2 x 2hr films, couple of hours TV streaming, bit of web browsing, and listening to music with bluetooth headphones for about 1.5hrs too, so not too bad at all. I don't think battery life is too much of an issue at all. (3/4g was off)

 

[Seadog]

You have to remember that a lot of novices have not learned about the brightness setting, nor how it could affect the battery life. One of the function of these forums is to educated the new and long time owners of this device to better enjoy its features. Even if it does not affect us directly, we can pass the information on to our friends and family with iPads.

 

[AQ_OC]

Perhaps there should be a "best practices" FAQ type thing...and on it should be the list of the perils of 100% brightness 24/7. That would be quite a list, I think.

 

[beesknees]

50ish percent for me, not for battery but for comfort. 100 percent is like staring at a lantern.

 

[Lunar]

Yes 100% brightness would be like a lighthouse to me too..and I'm amazed to read that some users have their set so hight... hmmm.. strange.

However 'seadog' does have a point, it is possible that there are members who have not yet got fully into their iPads unlike some of us who are possibly on their second iPad. I'm now retired, but was in the TV repair business for many years, so in effect have 40years experience in that trade, (going back to when Valves/Tubes were used...lol) so what may seem second nature to myself and perhaps some others, I acknowledge that it's easy to forget that not everyone may be conversant with things that seem obvious to us... so have taken 'seadogs' comments on board. Though one has to be careful that having to explain something so obvious as brightness may come across as a little patronising, but yes I suppose it is possible that some new users may not know how to adjust it.

 

[johnml]

I can't see how anybody likes 50% or below on brightness. Mine seems too dark so I keep it at around 70%. My battery last all day even watching tv and movies - 80% of my iPad is 4G too!

 

[beesknees]

Yes 100% brightness would be like a lighthouse to me too..and I'm amazed to read that some users have their set so hight... hmmm.. strange.

However 'seadog' does have a point, it is possible that there are members who have not yet got fully into their iPads unlike some of us who are possibly on their second iPad. I'm now retired, but was in the TV repair business for many years, so in effect have 40years experience in that trade, (going back to when Valves/Tubes were used...lol) so what may seem second nature to myself and perhaps some others, I acknowledge that it's easy to forget that not everyone may be conversant with things that seem obvious to us... so have taken 'seadogs' comments on board. Though one has to be careful that having to explain something so obvious as brightness may come across as a little patronising, but yes I suppose it is possible that some new users may not know how to adjust it.

It depends on who they are. A true geek is going o crawl through every option and setting within an hour of powering up a new gadget. We don't believe in defaults.

 

[Diane B]

The dock might be the limitation to going to a beefier charger.

I keep my brightness bar in the dead middle, but I keep auto-brightness on. If I turn auto-brightness off, my iPad always immediately gets much brighter. I'm not even at 50% most of the time.

The idea of anyone using 100% brightness blows my mind.

Mine is generally at 50% or less with auto but I do have to up the brightness when I'm sitting at our pool (NC) in the summer. I would hope people don't use 100% for much else (I don't even go to 100 then--and I am sitting under roof--I'm not crazy and sit out in the US southern sun and read either) or they will burn out their eyeballs LOL.

 

[xGary]

I actually have it at 100%. Maybe mine is defective but 100 makes it look like a normal laptop screen. The colors don't pop anymore at a lower brightness which destroys the whole point of a retina display.

 

[AQ_OC]

I actually have it at 100%. Maybe mine is defective but 100 makes it look like a normal laptop screen. The colors don't pop anymore at a lower brightness which destroys the whole point of a retina display.

Colors on mine pop at 40 to 60 %. 100% would burn a hole in the back of my head.

 

[beesknees]

I actually have it at 100%. Maybe mine is defective but 100 makes it look like a normal laptop screen. The colors don't pop anymore at a lower brightness which destroys the whole point of a retina display.

Maybe you should have it checked. Technology has gotten more durable but I would still be afraid of running it at 100 percent all the time.

ETA: Just playing around with it, 55ish percent with auto off is as high as high as I can go comfortably.

 

[Lunar]

I can't see how anybody likes 50% or below on brightness. Mine seems too dark so I keep it at around 70%. My battery last all day even watching tv and movies - 80% of my iPad is 4G too!

Everyone is different, but if your using 4G a lot one can assume your out and about in sunlight a lot of the time, so therefore would likely need it brighter, and if you can get a full day out of the battery with 4G activated also, IMO your doing pretty well.

My wife and I are retired, so except for short breaks and holidays, (which we have many) we tend to spend more time at home than obviously someone working, so it's quite reasonable that our 2 iPad's are used inside a lot, 45/50% is still qute a bright picture on the screen... So perhaps I have enlightened you how someone would find 45/50% more than plenty.

IMO, If set too high you lose contrast, cause pixel bleed, reduce pic quality, & increase glare & blooming, and if overdriven for long periods at near 100% brightness may even cause premature pixel failure.

For some reason my wife always turns the sound off while playing her games on the iPad, which I can never understand as in my opinion they enhance the game, but that's her choice. IOW not everyone is the same... you do whatever makes YOU happy... have a good day.