Apple recently reinvented the battery with their release of the new iPad. The new iPad packs a battery with 70% more capacity while roughly maintaining the same size. So it comes as no surprise that an iPad with twice power capacity as it’s predecessor would take almost twice the time to charge. But is your iPad really done charging when it reaches 100%?
The answer is no. If you want the most out of the battery life on your new iPad, you should leave it plugged in for at least an hour after it “says” it’s “done charging”. This mainly because your new iPad’s battery gauge is a big fat liar…
Dr. Raymond Soneira of Displaymate Technologies had a conversation with Cult of Mac explaining the theories and facts behind this charging mystery.
“I measured the power actually drawn by the AC adapter and found that the new iPad continues to charge for up to 1 hour after it claims to reach 100%,” says Dr. Soneira. “This affects the battery run time if you stop charging when it says 100%.”
“If getting maximum battery runtime out of your device is crucial, people need to keep recharging their new iPad for longer than iOS claims.”
iLounge also added to the topic with some testing,
[The new iPad] “switches from a lightning bolt (‘still charging’) to plug (‘done charging’) battery icon five to ten minutes after reaching 100 percent”.Notably, iLounge found unusual, non-linear reported battery drain during our numerous battery tests, with the third-generation iPad sometimes reporting a battery loss of just two percent over the first hour of testing, then averaging 10% of loss each hour afterwards while performing the same tasks.
So it looks like if you want the maximum run-time on your new iPad, make sure you give it an hour longer to charge. There hasn’t been any word on if this is consistent throughout any other iOS devices. But one thing’s for sure, the iPad has a massive battery and obviously needs much more juice.
While we’re on the subject, we just so happen to be giving away a new iPad to one lucky fan. Check out the details here!
Have you experienced any shortcomings with your new iPad’s battery life?
