Stefan Monnier wrote: > > * If a new machine is genuinely more efficient (and we keep being > > told that they are!), > > The capacity of laptop batteries has been stable around 50-100Wh for > decades, so the detailed and concrete data about potential improvement > in efficiency is readily available in the form measurement of how long > each laptop can be used on a single charge. > > Improvements over time have been real, but not super fast. > I'd say it's about doubled every 8-10 years?
Note that the 100Wh limit is imposed by aircraft regulations; there's no reason in physics that you shouldn't have a 250Wh battery. Manufacturers have chosen thinner and lighter designs, generally. Efficiency of battery use is partially hardware improvements (especially screens and SSDs) and partially software. The Linux kernel folks have done an impressive job in this area. -dsr-
