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by techrat 1748 days ago
"Lots," eh?

Every laptop I've ever owned will run with the battery disconnected.

Except the Macbook, of course.

The simple fact of the matter is that Apple routinely makes design decisions that are not only questionable, but compromise the usable life of the device in the process. And keep repeating the same mistakes over and over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaJ8pDlxi8

Having reduced or nonexistent performance after removing the battery was never normal. It's bad design. Period.

https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-s...
2 comments
guenthert 1748 days ago
It's not just Apple. I can confirm that a Samsung Galaxy Note S4 will not run from its original charger on its own. A Battery is required during boot (whether to act as supply for current peaks, compensate for losses on the thin cable during such current peaks or whether the system expects to talk to the controller built into the battery, I cannot say).
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wtallis 1748 days ago
You said "almost all apple idevices", which pretty clearly indicated you were talking about more than just laptops. I replied in that context.
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techrat 1748 days ago
Your argument is that iDevices like the iPod and iPhone require more stringent 'massive capacitor' power delivery with an inline battery over... more power demanding/complex devices like laptops? And other phones that had removable batteries?

Sounds like an attempt to handwave away bad design principles.

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wtallis 1748 days ago
The extent to which a device relies on the battery as a capacitor even when plugged in depends on both the peak current draw of the device, and the size of the charger.

Smaller devices like phones tend to be paired with downright tiny chargers, but modern smartphone SoCs can draw a lot of power in short bursts (cf. all the controversy about Apple trying to prevent brown-outs when operating the phone with a worn-out battery). Apple's laptops are usually paired with power bricks that roughly match the maximum sustained power draw of the laptop. Windows gaming laptops tend to ship with power bricks that are 2-3x larger than any Apple power brick.

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