That is a Lithium Ion vs Lithium Polymer difference and not something Apple is asking for specially. Other laptops which use Lithium Polymer batteries also use rectangular cells.
I know, though Apple does seem to be specifying the lithium polymer size, where as other manufactures may just take stock size X, Y or Z. I've actually been disappointed by the generally slow adoption of lithium polymer batteries, as my old iPaq in 2000 used one. Compaq also went the route of building a sealed in, non removable, form fitting battery.
I didn't say anything about weight. That was Tom.
I wasn't trying to imply anything about weight either. I was talking more about the volume of space required to support a removable battery. Taking a laptop with identical dimensions, a laptop with a user removable battery will have a smaller percentage of the total volume dedicated to storing energy compared to a laptop with a non user removable battery. And with the Apple laptops, it's enough of a difference to add around 40% more energy capacity based on the specs.
Previous Topic
Index
