Linux on used Macbook - Battery Life

[tinfoil-hat]

Hi there,

I am searching for an affordable Laptop, that can run Linux with max. battery life, so I was pointed out that MacBooks have insane battery life. Has anyone tried Linux on an old Macbook and if yes, how long did they last and with what model?

 

[ML_113]

insane battery life

I doubt it - maybe it's the M1, M2 series which have long battery life, but the day they can be made to work with Linux is still far away.

 

[sphen]

Allow me to point out the obvious that an old MacBook is likely to have an old battery in it.

Mac laptops running the Mac operating system have had a longstanding reputation for superior battery life over their Windows counterparts, year after year. Apple has had a longstanding focus on battery life between charges from the user experience viewpoint. Apple hardware and software designs are optimized for long battery life. It is my personal observation that Apple leapfrogs ahead on battery life, the competitors catch up, and then the cycle repeats.

Apple switched to the M1 and M2 processors (ARM) in part due to battery power considerations. For battery life, the new processors have given Apple an advantage. Having written that, even if you compared Intel Macs against their Intel counterparts of the same era, they competed well on battery life.

The real question is whether a given Linux distro can make the most of the Apple hardware to get the longest possible battery life.