In most cases, a laptop battery will last anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours or more. However, the exact amount of time a battery will last on a single charge depends on the laptop model, the screen size and brightness, and how the laptop is used.
I am a longtime laptop user and have used one exclusively for work and personal browsing for over a decade. I, like many other laptop users, have always been curious about battery life and how my computer stacks up to the average laptop when it comes to how long a full charge lasts.
Read on to learn more about not only the average battery life you can expect from a laptop, but also what goes into determining how long it will last.
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Key Takeaways
- The average battery life of a laptop ranges from as little as 2 hours or less, up to 10 hours or more.
- The bigger and better your laptop battery, the longer the device will generally last.
- The size of your screen and how bright you like it to be can impact battery life.
- How you use the laptop and the kinds of things you do can have a major impact on your battery life.
Factors That Influence Battery Life
These are some of the many factors that will influence whether your laptop lasts all day, or needs to be charged frequently.
1. Laptop Model
The first factor is the actual laptop model that you have. While many laptops will look similar on the outside, they will feature different components on the inside. They will have different graphics cards, processors, and batteries.
Knowing your model number and type can help you learn more about what sort of battery is in your laptop, and how long the manufacturer says it should last.
Also, it is important to know that the highest quality laptop doesn’t always mean the longest battery life. For example, a high-quality gaming laptop full of high-end and intensive parts, will generally not last as long as a laptop that uses less power due to lower-end components.
Make sure to learn about the battery size and capacity before making a laptop purchase, as these are very important when it comes to determining battery life. The bigger and better the battery, the longer it will last in general.
2. Screen Brightness and Size
The screen size also plays a major role in figuring out how long a laptop will last on a charge. A large 17+ inch screen size takes a lot more power to run continuously than a small 11-inch screen will.
How bright the screen also holds a lot of importance. While a bright screen may look great for browsing, gaming, or watching movies, it eats away at your battery incredibly quickly. If you want to reduce your brightness, either use your function keys or move the slider.
3. Usage
Arguably the most important thing when it comes to determining battery life is how the laptop is used. Someone who uses their laptop for browsing or using word processing software will have much better battery life than someone playing games or watching videos all day.
These intensive tasks use much less power and will only get you a fraction of the battery life. In a similar vein, prolonged usage of a laptop will also influence battery life. Older laptops with older batteries won’t normally last as long on a single charge as a brand new battery will.
If you want to see your usage and what has been using up your battery on your PC, you can simply go to Settings > Battery and scroll down to battery usage per app.
FAQs
Here are a few frequently asked questions (and their answers) about the average battery life of a laptop.
How long will my laptop battery last before needing to be replaced?
In most cases, laptops will last around 3 to 5 years, give or take a year. They may remain functional for longer than that, but their specs may not be up to speed and they may struggle to run newer and more advanced programs and apps.
But this too will depend on usage and how you treat the computer. If you only use the laptop for light tasks and make sure to keep it clean and free from damage, you could easily get a decade or more from your laptop.
Which brands have the best battery life?
Many of the biggest and best laptop brands out there like Apple, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus and others are all relatively comparable in the battery life department. Most of them use similar batteries and offer similar performance and lifespan.
However, many of these companies have multiple different laptops on the market, and that is where differences can arise. Always check the specs to make sure you choose the right model from your favorite brand to ensure you end up with a battery life that you are happy with.
Today, most new laptops (even the cheapest options) will generally offer at least a few hours of battery life. If your brand new computer is struggling to last more than an hour or so, it could be a sign that your laptop or the battery inside it is defective.
Final Thoughts
While most laptops will last between 2 to 10 hours or more on a single charge, the exact duration will depend on the type of laptop and how high-quality the battery is, the size and brightness of your screen, and how you use the laptop on a daily basis.
How long does your laptop last on a single charge? If you feel like we left something out of this article that could have made it better, don’t hesitate to let us know in a comment below!
