Replace MacBook Air battery -v- Replace Computer
 

Just trying to get some thoughts on this...

I have a MacBook Air that is about 4 years old. The battery life has gradually faded over the years, and right now I probably get 2 hours from a fully charged battery (this is watching movies and doing other offline things while on a flight without power).
A friend of mine has gotten his battery replaced (via a Genius bar appointment) and said the cost was about $300.
With the new battery, his machine has returned to normal battery life. When mine was new, I'd get to use it for an entire PHX-PHL flight (using WiFi along with movies) :)

There's rumors that there are new Mac's coming out in a month.
Based on the current MacBook Pro on Apple's site, the fully-loaded machine is about $1800. I'd expect a new one would be similar, I'd hope under $2000.
I'd expect a new machine to last at least 4 years, of course would love longer.


What say the experts here? New battery or new machine?

I have a trip to China in mid-November, and would like to do either prior to then (there will be power on that flight, so that isn't a huge issue, I'm just setting that as a target time).

i would say new machine... (and maybe sell the mba/keep it as backup)

newer intel chips are faster/more power efficient. 4 years is a decent time for an upgrade if you're itching for one (guessing sandy/ivy bridge on your mba?)

Don't know where you got the the $300 figure but Apple's website lists the Macbook Air as a $129. Source

If you want to do it yourself iFixit is an excellent source and while it's moderately difficult it's not impossible... if you go that route then pick a third party battery at the cost should be about $40-50. Any more and then it's probably easier to just go to Apple....

As to whether or not you should do this versus replace a computer I went through the same question with my wife's computer. it's a 2009 Macbook Pro and since the battery replacement it's been a perfectly fine computer. so if you're okay with the computer then by all means just replace the abttery....

But the next generation of Macbooks should be pretty nice I would think....

FDW

I'm in a similar situation - my 2013 MBA's battery is at about 80% of design capacity. I'm totally happy with the computer, so I still give it some time for the battery to further deteriorate. Meanwhile I just plug it in on longhaul flights :) and I also have one of these 16Ah batteries

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005N92WNG (main thing - it has 19V DC output)

with this cable

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HQHTUGU

Charges the MBA and any gadget that charges via USB

Thanks for the tip. Will look into buying them.

Those prices are not bad!

I think I'm going to get the new MacBook Pro when it comes out.

Do you have a use for the old MacBook Air? I usually hand it down to a relative. Then you can decide whether they would appreciate the extra battery life or not and let that drive your decision.

I'd get the battery replacement at the genius bar--the last time they took my computer in, they virtually refurbished the whole darn thing. Then you can use your older computer for trips to China. Buy a new speedy model (when available) and keep it away from China to keep from getting hacked on hotel wifi networks.

Also in a similar situation with a mid-2012 MBPr with heavy use of Photoshop and Lightroom. Absolutely love the machine but considering the to be announced replacement. Just made an appt to have the battery swapped out and defer the ~$2k in a new machine for a year or so.

Thank you! $129 certainly sounds better than $300. I was just going off of what a friend told me, but evidently he had more than just a battery done (or way overpaid).

I'll probably go some evening this week to get it taken care of. I'd like to hang onto the computer for at least another 1-2 years (just got a new iPhone so would like to keep my Apple expenses in check ;) )

Make sure you make an appointment... nothing more frustrating than showing up at the apple store without one....

Good luck
FDW

Take it to the Apple Store. They changed my battery for free even though my MBP was 3 1/2 years old. It seems that my battery had deteriorated way too fast. The battery was supposed to have at least 80% capacity after X cycles. It was below 20% after 3/4 of that number of cycles.

If you had AppleCare and it were within the 3 years since you bought the MBA, would battery replacement be covered?

I wonder if their replacing it for free were an anomaly or not.

Yes, but only if due to a faulty battery, or if the battery deteriorates/fails prematurely. AppleCare does not cover normal wear on the battery due to normal use.

Ok. So being at 80% within the 3 year period is normal use?

It depends on how many charging cycles your battery has had. If your battery is rated for 1000 cycles for example, and it fails beyond 75% before the 1000 cycles are up, then it's under warranty. The batteries differ between different models and generations/model years.