As a refreshing change of pace, we have news of an Apple update actually ADDING battery life to one of their devices. The Mac Observer has performed extensive tests on the final build of the recent OS X 10.8.3 update and has found that it adds 20+ minutes of battery life for Retina display MacBook users.
We decided to also run tests on our 2012 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (rMBP). We privately tested each beta build of 10.8.3 on both MacBooks as they were released and, starting with build 12D76, we saw a noticeable jump in battery life on the rMBP. Running time went from 398 minutes, which was roughly the same as the public release of 10.8.2, to 421 minutes, a change that persisted with the final build.
Other MacBook models, such as an 2011 MacBook Pro, and a 2011 13-inch MacBook Air didn’t show a similar increase, so the joy seems to be restricted to those lucky owners of Retina display MacBook Pros.
Sure, 23 minutes might not seem like a big deal, but it could be just enough juice for you to get a project finished while away from an AC outlet. Or yes, more than enough extra power to post numerous tweets about your MBPro’s longer battery life.
More details are available at The Mac Observer website.
