Apple’s iPad Air outperforms competing tablets by a significant margin when it comes to battery life, according to a new test conducted by Which? Test Lab, a consumer test organization in the United Kingdom.

In a battery usage test that covered both Internet and video use, the iPad Air bested both the iPad 2 and the Retina iPad Mini, as well as tablets from competing companies like Amazon, Google, and Samsung.

Tablet Battery Life
With the Internet (web browsing) test, the iPad Air saw 658 minutes of battery life, or nearly 11 hours. The Retina iPad mini came in second place with 614 minutes of battery life, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 lasted just 483 minutes and 481 minutes (eight hours), respectively. Apple’s iPad 2 also performed well, lasting 590 minutes.

In the video test, the iPad Air lasted quite a bit longer than its competitors at 777 minutes (almost 13 hours). The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and the Nexus 7 from Google came in second and third, at 714 minutes and 669 minutes, respectively. The Retina iPad mini and the iPad 2 fared decently at 660 and 604 minutes, respectively, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 came in dead last with 465 minutes of battery life (7.75 hours).

For the tests, Which? set all of the tablets at a brightness of 200 nits (what it calls a reasonable daytime brightness level) and checked battery life while web browsing over wi-fi (with 3G enabled) and during video playback. The tests may not be entirely reflective of real world usage given variations in browsing and video watching habits, but the experiment does give a clear overall view of the battery life of the iPad Air compared to its competitors.

Top Rated Comments

the8thark Avatar
145 months ago


No more words are needed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tankmaze Avatar
145 months ago
Its the only tablet to buy. Enough said.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adnbek Avatar
145 months ago
Almost all of those compared are 7 inch tablets or so?
Highly unfair (fanboy?) test. A 10" tablet versus 7-8 mostly tablets. Should've been iPad mini retina for this, and the Air versus 10" android/windows tablets.
In case you two didn't notice, the iPad Mini, and other 10" and 9" inch tablets also figured in those charts.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lincolntran Avatar
145 months ago
And if it was the ipad mini versus 7-8 tablets it also wouldn't take the top prize..

Really? Do you seriously believe that? iOS7 is freakishly optimized like you wouldn't believe while android is freakishly unoptimized.

On another note, I do like we browsing on my mini retina and I only need to charge it once a month.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newagemac Avatar
145 months ago
The performance optimization in iOS7 is nuts! This really just shows how far ahead iOS7 is past Android when you compare similar sized devices. It will be interesting to see the battery life of the iPhone once they go with the larger size allowing a similar sized battery as its Android counterparts.

Also looking forward to seeing what iOS7 can do for battery life in something like a watch. Interesting times ahead that's for sure.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikeAnd Avatar
145 months ago
If you can't afford an iPad...

...go with a Tesco Hudl. Obviously.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...