Updated
Updated · CNET · Jul 27
HP OmniBook Tops 34 Hours on One Charge as Average Laptop Battery Life Jumps 5 Hours
Updated
Updated · CNET · Jul 27

HP OmniBook Tops 34 Hours on One Charge as Average Laptop Battery Life Jumps 5 Hours

1 articles · Updated · CNET · Jul 27

Summary

  • HP’s OmniBook 3 16 lasted more than 34 hours in CNET’s battery-drain test, extending a three-year run in which Snapdragon-powered OmniBooks have set the endurance pace.
  • Nearly 17.5 hours is the average battery life for laptops tested so far this year—about 5 hours longer than last year and almost double the 8 to 9 hours typical from 2020 to 2023.
  • Apple’s Arm-based M-series chips first drove the modern battery-life leap, but Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X line pushed Windows laptops ahead in 2024; Intel’s Lunar Lake and Panther Lake chips have also produced 24-plus-hour systems.
  • Smaller, more efficient processors—not bigger batteries—are behind the gains, with 3nm to 1.8nm designs, Arm architectures and mixed performance-efficiency cores cutting power use.
  • Twenty-two tested laptops now exceed 20 hours and nine top 24 hours, suggesting all-day battery life is no longer limited to premium models.

Insights

Why might a cheap, bulky laptop easily outlast a premium ultra-thin model in today's battery wars?
Are lab-tested 34-hour battery claims hiding the reality of how fast these power cells degrade over time?
Will Qualcomm's new budget chips finally make laptop chargers obsolete for everyday users?